The Surinamese government parties are not satisfied with threatening statements made by ex-president and chairman of the NDP, Desi Bouterse, on Monday, the government said in a statement on Tuesday evening.

Especially the statement by Bouterse that the Santokhi-Brunswijk government is in the process of throwing the people back fifty years and that “then weapons were added”, has led to a great deal of resentment, both in the government and in society. In 1980 Bouterse committed a coup d’état in Suriname with a group of soldiers.

Bouterse made his controversial statements in the NDP party centre in Paramaribo, where he went to after a session of the screeching rate. The former army chief was in court to express his view of the events surrounding the December murders.

On December 8, 1982, fifteen opponents of Bouterse’s military regime were murdered in Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo. The court-martial has previously sentenced Bouterse to 20 years in prison for his role in the December murders.

The speech to his supporters on Monday was partly about the resistance case against the conviction; however, the emphasis was on the current political situation he made the offending statements about.

Bouterse made it clear that he disagrees with Santokhi’s choice of a capitalist system. The former president is also concerned about the ethnic tensions in the country, which he says have been increasing again in recent months, while he believes that this has not been the case in recent years.

The coalition parties emphasize that inciting violence and taking up arms are not part of a democratic society. This has previously led to severe human rights violations in Suriname, resulting in innocent victims, a divided society, economic and financial mismanagement and poverty, the statement said.

“We don’t want these traumas anymore. Enough has been done. Threats will be answered appropriately and legally,” can also be read in the coalition’s response. “The NDP, and especially their leader, must know that law and law apply to everyone, no one is exempt from this democratic achievement,” the statement said.