Former president of Suriname and ex-army leader Desi Bouterse regrets not seeing the shooting of fifteen political opponents in December 1982 coming.
“I’m not proud of that,” he said on Monday during a court-martial in court in Paramaribo.
It was the first time in court that Bouterse discussed the contents of the events 38 years ago, the so-called December murders. He did so by reading a statement.
The heart of his argument was that the political opponents had been rounded up and later killed for preparing an enemy invasion.
According to the former army chief, the court-martial never made any truth-finding. Important witnesses, such as the Dutchman Peter van Haperen, have never been heard.
Also, incriminating information from the Netherlands, among others, has been ignored by the court-martial, said Bouterse.