CARIBBEAN TODAY


REGION


Ex-Surinamese military dictator

among 25 to be tried for killings


PARAMARIBO, Suriname,
CMC The highly anticipated
trial of 25 people implicated
in the Dec. 1982 extrajudicial
killing of 15 political oppo-
nents of the then military
regime is to start on Nov. 30,
sources close to process here
have revealed.
 "I can confirm that the
Military Court has decided to
start the 8 December Trial on
Friday November 30," said
spokesperson, Marjory
Sanches.
 Surviving relatives and
human rights organizations, in
a first response, voiced relief
with the announcement of the
trial date.
 On Dec. 8, 1982, 15 politi-
cal opponents of the military
junta, led by than army com-
mander Desi Bouterse, were
tortured and ultimately exe-
cuted by military officers.
Amongst the victims were
union leaders, journalists,


scholars, lawyers and universi-
ty professors.

APOLOGY
 In 2000 the Court of
Justice ordered the prosecutor
general to start a criminal
investigation into the extraju-
dicial killings after relatives
put forward a request in order
to block the limitation to pros-
ecute the case. In June a court
handed down a ruling order-
ing the prosecution of 10 sus-
pects who were fighting a
legal battle to be taken off the
list of suspects in relation to
the extrajudicial killings. In
March the former military dic-
tator publicly apologized to
the surviving relatives of dead.
 "I am apologizing to all
the surviving relatives," said
Bouterse at a meeting with
youth to mark the 27th
anniversary of his successful
1980 coup.
 The former army chief


had also
called for
amnesty for
the alleged
suspects in
the extrajudi-
cial killings
which led to
an interna- Bouterse
tional boy-
cott of his
administration and a with-
drawal of military support
from the United States and
the Netherlands.
 Bouterse said the entire
Surinamese community
should be part in seeking the
truth of that "dark chapter in
Suriname's history." The for-
mer dictator said he wanted
to tell the young people his
side of the story since, accord-
ing to him, representations of
the events back then by politi-
cal opponents were false.
0^


T&T's attorney general refuses to testify


PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad,
CMC A tribunal set up to
investigate allegations of wrong
doing against embattled Chief
Justice Satnarine Sharma failed
to hear testimony from Attorney
General John Jeremie as well as
two top business executives who
have all been implicated for their
alleged role in the efforts to
remove the head of the Trinidad
and Tobago judiciary from
office.
 The three-member tribu-
nal headed by retired Privy
Council Judge Lord Mustill, as
well as St. Lucian jurist Sir
Vincent Floissac and Jamaican
Dennis Morrison, had invited
Jeremie to make an appear-
ance before them on the
penultimate day of the public
hearings late last month.
 President George Maxwell
Richards had suspended Sharma
from his duties on June 13, 2007
until the hearing and determina-
tion of the impeachment pro-
ceedings.
 Sharma had been accused


by Chief
Magistrate
Sherman
McNicolls of
trying to
influence his
decision in
the case
against for-
mer Prime


[k
1/.


Minister Basdeo Panday,
who was on three charges of
failing to declare a London
bank account to the Integrity
Commission for three years
while he was head of govern-
ment in 1997, 1998 and 1999.
 McNicholls found Panday
guilty of the charges.

LETTER
 Senior Counsel Douglas
Mendes, who is representing
Jeremie, submitted a letter to
the secretary of the tribunal
along with a statement, dated
July 28, 2006 that the attorney
general gave to High Court
Judge Humphrey Stollmeyer.
Justice Stollymeyer had been


appointed by the Judicial and
Legal Service Commission to
investigate a land transaction
deal involving McNicolls. In
the letter Jeremie said he
"refer to the observation
made by the chairman of the
tribunal that an imputation
has been made by counsel for
the chief justice that the attor-
ney general has been a willing
and active participant and
possibly the instigator of a
cynical plot to wreck the trial
of Mr. Panday".
 The attorney general said
there was no truth to these
allegations and that he found
no evidence of alleged con-
spiracies and as a result could
not assist the tribunal other
than to refer to statements he
previously made. But Queen
Counsel Geoffrey Robertson,
who is leading Sharma's
defense, said that it would be
in the best interest of the
attorney general to testify and
exlain his role in the matter.


Jamaica vows to handle abuse allegations against cops


KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC -
Prime Minister Bruce Golding
has called for the establish-
ment of a single independent
body that will investigate all
cases of abuse and unlawful
conduct by members of the
security forces in Jamaica.
 Golding met with Attorney
General Dorothy Lightbourne,
as well as the solicitor general,
the chief parliamentary counsel
and officials from the Ministry
of Justice, to discuss the issue in
light of the increased number


of allegations of abuse and
unlawful conduct against mem-
bers of the security forces by
the public.
 A statement issued here on
Sept. 22 said that Golding has
called for a report is to be sub-
mitted to him outlining the
legal and administrative steps
required to establish the
authority.
 "This report will take
into account the existence and
respective roles of the Police
Public Complaints Authority, the


Civilian Oversight Authority, the
Bureau of Special Investigations
and the Office of Professional
responsibilities and recommend
appropriate changes," Golding
said.
 "The government will
do everything possible to
strengthen and support the
police in combating crime and
in the lawful execution of their
duties. However this cannot be
at the expense of the constitu-
tional rights of the people."
0^


ST GEORGE'S, Grenada,
CMC The Bahamas has
been ranked as the richest
country in the Caribbean
by a Canadian website -
Aneki.com.
 The site, which derives
its information from numer-
ous sources, including United
Nations agencies and the
United States' Central
Intelligence Agency's World
Factbook, ranked The
Bahamas at number one with
a $21,300 per capital Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).
 Trinidad and Tobago was
ranked as the second richest
with a GDP of $19,700, a
position which would usually
have been held by Barbados,
which now ranks at number
three with a GDP of $18,200.
 Aneki.com ranks Antigua
and Barbuda as fourth, with a
GDP of $10,900; St. Kitts and
Nevis, fifth with a GDP of
$8,200; Dominican Republic,
sixth with a GDP of $8,000;
St. Lucia, seventh, with a
GDP of $4,800; Jamaica,
eight, with GDP of $4,600;


 country's first
HAMILTON, Bermuda, CMC
- Government has announced
that former Opposition Leader
Dame Lois Browne Evans
will become the country's first
National Hero and the May 24
Bermuda Day holiday will be
renamed National Heroes Day.
 The new combined court
and police building in Hamilton
is also to be named after Dame
Lois, who died earlier this year,
government said.
 A bronze statue or bust in
the likeness of Dame Lois will
also be erected at the new
building, according to Minister
of Community and Cultural
Affairs Wayne Perinchief.
 In a press release, Premier
Ewart Brown said: "Dame
Lois long believed there was a
need to instill national pride in
our people. I share that belief,
and in a very strong way this
government has made Dame
Lois' wish come true.
 "She would have never
chosen herself for this sort of
adulation. I'm proud we could
do it for her because she did so
much for all of Bermuda."

FIRST LADY
 Dame Lois was Bermuda's
first female barrister, Bermuda's
first female attorney general,
and the first woman to become
Opposition leader in a British
Commonwealth country when
she became leader of the now
ruling Progressive Labour Party
(PLP) in 1968. She served as


Cuba, ninth with GDP of
$3,900; and Grenada, 10th
with a GDP of $3,900.

EXEMPTIONS
 Under its ranking,
Guyana and Suriname, which
are Caribbean community
(CARICOM) countries, were
put with the South American
states, placing sixth and ninth
respectively.
 In the category of
richest countries in the world,
Luxembourg came in first
with $68,800 per capital GDP.
Equatorial Guinea, United
Arab Emirates, Norway,
Ireland, United States,
Andorra, Iceland, Denmark
and Austria followed in
descending order on the list.
 The sites also put heart
disease as the leading cause of
death; cancer as second; respi-
ratory infections and lung dis-
ease as third and fourth; and
HIV/AIDS as fifth. Traffic
accidents were ranked at
number 10.
0


National Hero
leader until 1972 and again
from 1976 to 1985. The PLP
won power for the first time in
1998.
 Dame Lois died on May
29, shortly before her 80th
birthday, and was laid to rest at
the Anglican
C.il d Jral
during a spe-
cially called
national holi-
day on June 6.
More than
1,000 people
attended the
church serv- Dame Lois
ice.
 Perinchief asked the public
for their suggestions on how
best to commemorate the life
of Dame Lois and her contribu-
tions to Bermuda back in July.
By Aug. 17, 101 submissions
had arrived at the Ministry of
Community and Cultural
Affairs. Among the most popu-
lar was a national public holi-
day in honor of Dame Lois and
naming the new court and
police building after Dame
Lois. Those recommendations
were accepted by Cabinet.
 Perinchief said: "The pub-
 lic response has been highly
 gratifying in recognizing the
 achievements of Dame Lois
 and reflects the profound
 respect for a Bermudian trail-
 blazer who fought for honor
 and justice."
 0


The Bahamas is richest

in Caribbean ~ website


Bermuda names Dame Lois


October 2007


lwww.caribbeantoday.com 11