Testimony during court martial of four Horb coup suspects refers to US

F-2012-32749

Confidential
Page 01 PARAMA 01961 261546Z
Action: ARA-16
Info: OCT-00 COPY-01 ADS-00 INR-10 SS-10 CIAE-00 H-01 NSC-01 NSAE-00 HA-08 L-03 PM-08 PA-01 OMB-01 USIE-00 SP-02 SNP-01 PRS-01

P 261412Z AUG 83

FM: AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO: SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0370
INFO: DIA WASHINGTON DC//

Confidential PARAMARIBO 1961
Released in full
E.O. 12356: DECL: OADR
Tags: PGOV, NS

Subject: Testimony during court martial of four Horb coup suspects refers to U.S.

  1. (U) Court martial of four supporters of late Major Roy Horb began August 24. Account of testimony which appeared in daily paper August 25 makes references to the United States. Excerpts from testimony as reported follow.
  2. (U) Begin text.
    According to testimony of late Major Roy Horb’s bodyguards who are suspects in the case, former President of Suriname Henk Chin A Sen and Major Horb were plotting to overthrow CINC Bouterse and discussed the plan at a series of meetings in the United States.

One suspect, Rudy Chotkan, concluded from these meetings that Chin A Sen wanted to be President of Suriname again, and was willing to help Horb by supplying weapons. One witness, former Sergeant Doelamarsidi, who traveled with Horb to the U.S., saw Horb and Chin A Sen in meetings but did not attend the meetings himself. Doelamarsidi also traveled with Horb’s bodyguards to Raleigh Falls, in the Surinamese interior, following their return to Suriname.

  1. (U) At Raleigh Falls, Major Horb told his guards that, although Chin A Sen offered weapons and manpower, Horb did not want to accept them, because “when Americans take over, you can’t get rid of them.”
  2. (U) Horb met with Chin A Sen at the latter’s house in Pittsburgh. Horb also went to Washington for secret discussions, according to suspect bodyguard Nojodikromo’s testimony. Suspect Rudy Chotkan, who accompanied Horb on the trip, said that Horb and Chin A Sen had been to Washington to meet with a guest who was “a man from the CIA who travelled monthly to the Caribbean region and was going to visit Suriname to spy.”
  3. (U) Former GOS Minister of Culture John Hardjoprajitno claims to have known nothing about the Horb–Chin A Sen meetings, and denies that he volunteered two of his men to Horb for use in liquidating Bouterse. End text.
  4. (C) Comments: Department will recall that Horb’s bodyguards were apprehended at same time as Horb himself in late January 1983. They have been incarcerated ever since, and are just now coming to trial before court martial. President Ramdat-Misier (formerly High Court judge) told ambassador that GOS also wished to court martial Hardjoprajitno, but Ramdat-Misier told them that would be contrary to law as Hardjo was a member of cabinet with ministerial rank, and law requires persons of such rank to be tried in civil court, for whatever crime may be alleged.
  5. (C) Rumors and allegations about Horb’s activities in U.S., particularly Washington in November 1982, had surfaced previously, but this is first public recurrence since Horb’s death last February.

Duemling

Confidential
Page 03 PARAMA 01961 261546Z

Source:

C05267191

Link:

Internal Link:

https://surinamepress.com/wp-content/uploads/1983/08/Testimony-during-court-martial-of-four-Horb-coup-suspects-refers-to-US-August-1983-C05267191.pdf

Date:
August 26, 1983
Categories:
Desi Bouterse, Foiled Coups & Plots, Planned Suriname Invasion
Tags:
Boxes:
F-2012-32749
Years:
1983
Persons:
Desi Bouterse, Duemling, Roy Horb
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