PARAMARIBO – Relatives of the fifteen men killed by soldiers of the National Army on December 8, 1982 have filed a lawsuit against the State of Suriname. They demand compensation, reparation and an official apology.
The victims were labeled at the time by the Military Authority, which was part of the legitimate government, as collaborators who were preparing a coup with foreigners. The then commander of the National Army, who was also the head of government, Desi Bouterse, stated via radio and television that the arrested men had been shot during an escape attempt. This reading later turned out to be incorrect.
According to surviving relative Sunil Oemrawsingh, the claim has been submitted on behalf of all families. The plaintiffs want the State to acknowledge that the victims were wrongly accused and that the official statements at the time were unfounded.
The case will be presented to the summary proceedings judge on April 14. Dew Baboeram, better known as Sandew Hira and brother of victim John Baboeram, responds briefly to this issue. the True Time: he wonders whether similar steps are also being taken for survivors of the Internal War. “Can they (the relatives – ed.) also do that for the relatives of the Internal War?”
On the night of December 7 to 8, 1982, trade union leaders, journalists, lawyers and academics, among others, were executed in Fort Zeelandia. These were Cyrill Daal, Eddy Hoost, Jozef Slagveer, John Baboeram, André Kamperveen, Sugrim Oemrawsingh, Leslie Rahman, Harold Riedewald, Jiwansing Sheombar, Robby Sohansingh, Frank Wijngaarde, Soerindre Rambocus, Bram Behr, Kenneth Gonçalves and Gerard Leckie.
The surviving relatives are demanding 500,000 euros in material damage and 750,000 euros in non-material damage per family, excluding interest. In total this amounts to 18.75 million euros. In addition, they request a penalty of SRD 500,000 per day per family if the State does not comply with a judgment, and compensation for legal costs.
The State previously paid compensation to the owners of the radio stations ABC and Radika, which were destroyed by the military at the time.
