Guyana had turned down Holland’s request to arrest Bouterse- Former FM Rohee

Last Updated on Sunday, 5 January 2025, 20:56 by Writer

Guyana in the late 1990s had rejected The Netherlands’ request to arrest controversial ex-Surinamese military strongman, Dési Bouterse on the grounds that it would not have been in this country’s interest, former Foreign Affairs Minister Clement Rohee says in his memoir.

“I rejected the request on the ground that first, we did not have in our possession any official arrest warrant for Bouterse; secondly, that such a move would prove harmful to Guyana-Suriname relations and, thirdly that it could have dire repercussions as regards the huge Guyanese population in the neighboring country,” he states in his book titled My Story My Song.

Bouterse, a former soldier, died on December 24, 2024, while in hiding to avoid being arrested and sentenced to prison in Suriname for the murder of 15 government dissidents in December 1982, two years after he had come to power by a coup.

Mr Rohee said the request was made some time between 1993 and 1997 by the then non-resident Dutch Ambassador based in Suriname during a courtesy call to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The Ambassador wanted the Guyana government to give effect to the warrant by arresting Bouterse during a stop over he was scheduled to make at our international airport at Timehri where the Dutch authorities would have a plane waiting to fly him to Holland,” he states in his book.

He told Demerara Waves Online News that the Dutch envoy at the time had told him that Bouterse was wanted for alleged human rights violations.

Bouterse was convicted in absentia in 1999 for drug trafficking and an arrest warrant was issued. He was elected President of Suriname in 2010 and travelled freely to attend many international and regional conferences in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The former Surinamese leader enjoyed harmonious relations with then senior officials of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and the People’s National Congress. Former PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar and former Minister of State in the PNCR-led coalition, Retired Lt. Col. Joseph Harmon journeyed to Suriname on Saturday to pay their final respects to Bouterse.

He died from cirrhosis of the liver due to alcohol consumption.