PARAMARIBO, Suriname, CMC- A judge has sentenced five people to eight years in jail for their roles in the 2023 riots in Pikin Saron that left at least two people dead.
The two men, identified as Martinus Wolfjager and Ivanildo Dijksteel, were killed during a shootout with police after gunmen fired upon and set fire to a police station in Pikin Saron, south of the capital Paramaribo on May 2, 2023.
The police said then that several employees of the state-owned mining company Grassalco, which operates a gold mine in the area, had been taken hostage by the gunmen. Police said that the insurgents belonged to the Kaliña Amerindian tribe, who rioted because they were dissatisfied with the alleged treatment of the indigenous people by the Surinamese government.
Justice Duncan Nanhoe imposed the sentence on Martin M., Guilliano Z., Rodney M., Joshua H., and Jonathan A. on Friday, saying that the case against them had been proven. A sixth person, identified as Mitchell Bergmans, who had earlier been acquitted of the crime, was not present in court on Friday. They were all identified as the main perpetrators or masterminds of the riot.
The public prosecutor, Romeo Rampersad, had demanded a 15-year unconditional jail term for the accused.
Lawyers, family members, and the members of the indigenous community said Friday that they were deeply disappointed with the verdict and an appeal will be filed. Attorneys Murwin Dubois and Milton Castelen say they believe the judge did not consider all the reasons behind the riot and had been selective.
Last year, the Indigenous Collective Suriname (IKSur) had called for the release of the six men with the IKSur chairman, Lloyd HF Read, saying then that the living conditions of the indigenous people in 2024 were subject to all kinds of discrimination and unjust actions by the Surinamese government.
“As the first inhabitants, the colonials drove us from the coastal plain to the interior. After Independence, all governments continued discrimination and unjust behavior through educational disadvantages, inadequate medical facilities, and a lack of sustainable
economic development.
“Now, even the areas to which we were driven without any recognition of our land rights are being issued to multinationals and local entrepreneurs. Friends and family of politicians also benefit from obtaining our land,” Read said.
He said that in 2015, the State of Suriname was internationally condemned through the Kalina Lokono Verdict. However, the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country “ignores its obligations under the verdict and continues its practices of exploitation and oppression.”
In its statement, the IKSur said taking action against ‘these forms of discrimination, restriction of freedom of movement, environmental pollution and poisoning of our waters, has resulted in the murder of two captured Indigenous people by the police on May 2, 2023.’
The IKSur said that while the authorities are “busy” trying to convict the six men, the investigation into the deaths of the two Natives Dijksteel and Wolfjager village “has still not started, and the requested independent modern forensic pathological investigation is being ignored.”
Meanwhile, the seven police officers involved in the incident have been designated as suspects in the deaths of Wolfjager and Dijksteel. Their trial began in early December and will resume on February 4. They are accused of deliberately killing the two men after they had already been detained.
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