(de Ware Tijd) THE HAGUE – The mission of the Organization of American States (OAS) will issue its report regarding a truth commission for Suriname this month. The OAS will then discuss the findings with Suriname’s government and decide on a possible follow-up, OAS Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin tells de Ware Tijd.
The OAS mission was in Suriname last month and met with several parties involved, including political parties. Ramdin, who is currently in the Netherlands, emphasizes that the decision to appoint a truth and reconcilliation commission is the government’s and the legislature’s, and that the OAS does not have any say in this so to speak. It can provide technical assistance when the commission is being established, “but we are awaiting the report first,” Ramdin says. He does not want to get ahead of matters, saying he will have the report in his hands soon.
Gerard Spong, former adviser of Suriname’s government for the 8 December trial, stated last week that he will go to the Inter-American Court for Human Rights (IACHR) and file a complaint against Suriname because of the adoption of the Amnesty Act which is affecting the trial. “Everyone has the right to file a complaint. The Court is independent and politics has absolutely no influence on its work,” is Ramdin’s first reaction. “Whether the complaint will be heard is also the Court’s decision,” he adds. Without passing judgment on the chances of Spong’s complaint, Ramdin does point out that in general, the IACHR hears a case if all legal procedures have been exhausted at the national level, and he cannot judge whether this is the case with the 8 December trial.
