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Yair Nixon
1. The domestic legal system of the Republic of Suriname, as well as international normative standards to which the Republic of Suriname is subject, all recognize the individual's right to life and personal security.
2. Article 1 of General Decree A-11 establishing the Statute of the Basic Rights and Obligations of the Surinamese People, promulgated by the Military Authority on March 25, 1982, provides as follows:
Article I of the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man, to which Suriname is subject by virtue of its membership in the Organization of American States, provides that "Every human being has the right to life, liberty and the security of his person".
3. The Commission's inquiry concerning the Rights to Life and Personal Security in the Republic of Suriname centered around the events of December 1982, the detentions and executions referred to in the introduction. Considering that there are countries in this Hemisphere where thousands of people have been massacred, the deaths of fifteen citizens, however great a human tragedy, might seem a relatively minor event in the contemporary history of human rights delinquencies. But when this event is placed within its proper context, it acquires added significance.
The resident population of the Republic of Suriname is approximately 350,000. The majority of the country's inhabitants live in and around the capital, Paramaribo. Paramaribo is, moreover, the center of political and intellectual life and of the means of communications. Every important organization and group is headquartered there. On the other hand, the city of Paramaribo is sufficiently small that any dramatic event occurring in it sends shock waves throughout the community and, again because of the importance and centrality of Paramaribo, throughout the entire country.
But even in a country with a very large population and many important urban centers, the sudden seizure and killing of fifteen prominent citizens--the head of its most important trade union federation, the president of the national Bar Association, the owner of a leading radio station, the dean of economics at the national university and other persons of national stature--would shock the entire nation and have profound consequences for its political and social life.
4. As noted in the Introduction, shortly after the events in question, on December 14th to be precise, Suriname's military authorities released the names of fifteen persons who, they said, had been shot dead by security forces while attempting to escape custody. The names of the fifteen deceased and their occupations are as follows:
k) Suchrim Oemrawsingh - Former Member of Parliament. Member of the predominantly Hindustani opposition party, VPS. Brother of Bal Oemrawsingh, a lecturer at the Suriname Medical School, found dead after the coup attempt of March 1982;
5. Once the Commission decided to undertake a general report on the situation of human rights in Suriname, it began systematically accumulating data about the events of December, the circumstances out of which they arose, and their aftereffects. Information coming into the hands of the Commission from a variety of sources portrayed a pattern of events immediately preceding the killing of the fifteen from which it was possible to imply a decision at the highest levels of the armed forces to eliminate effective opposition. Particularly significant in this respect was evidence of participation by government troops on the night of December 7 in the destruction by fire of the headquarters of the Moederbond, two private radio stations (ABC and Radika) and the offices of an anti-government newspaper, Vrije Stem. The Commission also received information from responsible sources that the bodies of the fifteen showed signs of atrocious torture: broken jaws, arms and legs; smashed-in teeth; in one case a dislocated hip; and other signs of terrible maltreatment.
6. In order to corroborate this data, the Commission authorized Dr. David Padilla, Assistant Executive Secretary of the Commission, to visit the Netherlands and take testimony from relevant persons including those whom had seen the cadavers.
7. In Leiden, Holland, Dr. Padilla deposed a number of family members of the deceased who asked that their names not appear in this Report lest their relatives and friends in Suriname be subject to possible reprisals. In essence these witnesses testified to the following:
a. Between 2:00 a.m. and 3:00 a.m. on December 8, contingents of security forces consisting of not less than 3 soldiers arrived at their homes and either knocked on the door or fired weapons into the air or at their dwellings.
h. The family members never saw the fifteen victims alive again with the exception of Mr. Slagveer who made a public "confession" with Mr. Kamperveen on that state television. Both claimed to have participated in a coup attempt. Later he repeated his "confession" on the state radio station.
l. Different victims manifested different wounds. In general, the witnesses distinguished between bruises and swellings that indicated that the victims had been severely beaten. They had gunshot wounds that were small, deep and bloody and left larger exit holes on the sides and backs of the heads. All of the latter wounds indicate that the victims were shot from close range and from the front.
m. Dr. Paulus Baidjoe, a physician currently employed as a police doctor in Holland, saw all the bodies in the mortuary on December 10. As a relative of one of the deceased, he was permitted to view the bodies. Dr. Baidjoe, who consented to having his name used in this Report, testified that in addition to the wounds caused by beating and bullets, he observed that the sheets covering the cadavers adhered to the dead bodies at numerous small points due to dried bloodstains. His opinion as a police medical examiner is that they evidenced bullet wounds caused by shots made at the front of the bodies at close range.
n. Dr. Baidjoe noted that one of the cadavers evidenced a dislocated hip given the angle at which the leg was twisted and in light of its shortness compared to the other leg. His conclusion was that the cadaver had been subjected to a powerful blow of a blunt instrument which dislocated his hip.
o. Funerals at various cemeteries were conducted on Monday, December 13. None of the cadavers were embalmed. No autopsies were performed. The tombs were guarded by police and soldiers until December 17.
John Baboeram, lawyer. He was severely and brutally beaten in the face. Thus he had a broken upper jaw, almost all the teeth except one--on the upper right--were smashed in, and his lips were crushed. He had a horizontal would across the forehead. He also had a bullet wound on the left beside the nose, which had been covered with plasters later. Also wound, cuts on the cheeks, and bleeding in the face. One source reports a cut in the tongue.
Cyrill Daal, president of the biggest union in Suriname, the Mother Union. He had bullet wounds in the abdomen and several wounds in the face. Two sources reported eye injuries in general; one source mentions Daal's name in this connection. Two sources mention that someone had his scrotum shot off; one--another source--reports having seen that Daal was castrated. One source reports fractures of arms and legs.
Andr Kamperveen, businessman, former Minister of Culture and Sports, owner of radio station ABC. He had a swollen face and injuries to the jaw, probably a dislocation. He had some 18 bullets in the chest. A broken thigh was also reported. One source reports a broken arm. Another source reports a shot in the right temple.
Suchrin Oemrawsingh, lecturer at the University of Suriname, director of a computer center. He had a reasonably sound face under the circumstances. He had a small hole in the right cheek. He had a large hole in the right temple with some hair hanging over it. Later this was closed with a plaster.
Leslie Rahman, journalist with the press agency CPS. He had tears and cuts in the face. He had lumps on the forehead. One source reports having observed that strips of skin had been torn from the thigh.
Surindre Ranmbocus, military officer, condemned for his part in the attempted coup of March 1982 to 12 years in prison. He had open tears in the face and small tears in the lips and above the left eye. He was riddled with bullets from the left foot to the neck and across the middle. He had a swollen face.
Jiwansingh Sheombar, soldier, condemned for his part in the attempted coup of March 1982. He had a swollen face. His face was very dark in color due to the many hematomata. He had a severe jaw injury on the right side. He also had a bullet wound from the neck through the head and a bullet would in the skull. The pattern of a cross was drawn with bullets in the area of the chest and abdomen.
Josef Slagveer, journalist, owner of the press agency INFORMA. He had a swollen face with many hematomata, especially on the left side. He also had a jaw injury. Somradj (Robbie) Sohansing, businessman. He had injuries in the face. In particular, his teeth were knocked in and he had a fracture of the cheekbone. He also had bullet wounds in the area of the chest and abdomen.
8. During its observation in loco the Commission was able to secure additional testimony confirming that the fifteen were subjected to severe torture prior to their execution. The sources of this testimony insisted on anonymity. On the basis of other evidence and their perception of the general situation the members of the Special Commission concluded that the request did no reflect adversely on the veracity of the testimony.
9. In its initial explanation of the killings the Government and the armed forces appeared to justify them as the result of a lawful effort to prevent the escape of properly detained persons. Subsequently, it appeared to adopt a variant according to which the killings occurred as a consequence of a few nervous soldiers mistakenly concluding that the detainees were about to attempt an escape. But in conversations with members of the Special Commission during the observation in loco, neither civilian officials nor Lieutenant Colonel Bouterse urged a strictly juridical justification for the killings. Rather they seemed determined to show that the killings were an unfortunate excess mitigated by the surrounding circumstances, namely plots against the revolution. The following excerpt from the Commission's long and frank exchange of views with Lieutenant Colonel Bouterse is illustrative:
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