New Suriname president not welcome in Holland 'apart from in jail'

Monday 19 July 2010

New Suriname president Desi Bouterse is not welcome in the Netherlands, foreign minister Maxime Verhagen said in a statement on Monday.

The former Dutch colony's parliament on Monday elected Bouterse to the president's job. Bouterse, a former military dictator and convicted drugs trafficker, emerged as the winner of the May general election with 23 of the 51 seats in parliament.

The Netherlands will respect the result of Suriname's democratic election but will only have contact with Bouterse out of necessity, Verhagen said.

Drugs

'We cannot ignore the fact that Bouterse has been sentenced to 11 years in jail in the Netherlands for drugs smuggling,' the caretaker minister said. 'He is not welcome in the Netherlands other than to serve his prison term.'

Verhagen acknowledged that, as president, Bouterse enjoys immunity under international law. 'That means he can only be made to serve his sentence when he is out of office and it is possible to arrest him,' Verhagen said.

Bouterse was sentenced to jail for drugs smuggling in the Netherlands but avoided jail because Suriname does not extradite its own citizens. Before the election he was also on trial for his role in killing 15 political opponents in December 1982.

The South American country became a Dutch colony in the 17th century and gained full independence in 1975.

© DutchNews.nl

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