91997E4162

WRITTEN QUESTION E-4162/97 by Leonie van Bladel (UPE) to the Council (22 January 1998)

Subject: Concern about the human rights situation in Suriname

1. Is the Council aware of the arrest of 27 civilians and military personnel on 25 October 1997 in Suriname in response to the planning of an alleged coup?

2. Is the Council prepared to disclaim the action of the Netherlands Minister for Foreign Affairs who gave the order to hand over to the Suriname judicial authorities one of the alleged suspects who came to the Netherlands embassy in his underwear to apply for asylum in October 1997 given the fact that, in relation to a previous alleged coup on 8 December 1982, it is known that 15 people who were arrested on allegations of involvement in a coup were summarily executed in Paramaribo?

3. Is the Council aware of the fact that the Suriname state councillor Desi Bouterse has publicly accused a number of leading figures in Suriname of treason, including the human rights activist Stanley Rensch and the journalists Iwan Brave and Johny Kamperveen and the newspaper Ware Tijd and what consequences does the Council draw from this?

Joint answer to Written Questions E-4160/97, E-4161/97, E-4162/97 and E-4163/97 (18 May 1998)

The Council is only aware of the information provided by the Suriname authorities. According to this information, a number of persons have been arrested in the weekend of 25 October 1997 allegedly planning a coup.

The Council is also aware of a letter of the human rights organisation Moiwana 86 to the Inter American Commission on human rights concerning the case mentioned by the Honourable Member of Parliament.

In so far as the Council has been able to obtain information in relation to the case of the alleged suspect who came to the Netherlands Embassy in October 1997, that person was not seeking asylum.

The Council is of the opinion that should a hostage-taking case occur in Suriname the necessary measures would have to be taken in order to try to find a peaceful solution to an action of this type.

The Council is unaware of the allegations and accusations to which the Honourable Member refers to as having been made by Desi Delano Bouterse.

Furthermore, taking into account the fact that the judicial investigations referred to by the Honourable Member are still pending, the Council is not in a position to comment on this subject.