Van der San: “Leaders are mediocre and narrow-minded”

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Eugène van der San, former director of the President’s Cabinet, has sharply criticized the mediocrity and narrow-mindedness of current leaders in Suriname. In the case regarding whether or not to grant a state funeral to the late former president Desi Bouterse, he emphasized that there are clear rules. According to Van der San, Bouterse was entitled to a state funeral because he held the highest office in the country twice.
Van der San finds it incomprehensible that some people claim the public would be offended by a state funeral for Bouterse due to the conviction associated with his name. He points out that during his political career, Bouterse, with the NDP, achieved a historic number of 26 seats.
In an interview with LIM FM, he explained that under his leadership as cabinet director, it was already established that sitting and former presidents are entitled to a state funeral. “They served the country at the highest level. Nowhere does it say that these officials can be denied a state funeral,” said Van der San. He added that if anyone believed Bouterse should not be granted a state funeral, they should have prevented him from becoming president in the first place.
The previous arrangement, according to Van der San, was clear and left no room for interpretation: the sitting president had no authority over granting or denying a state funeral. He accuses the current government of changing this policy in April 2022 based on opportunism, adding that vice presidents would also be eligible for a state funeral.
Van der San accuses the current rulers of having an unfriendly attitude towards Bouterse and his family. He calls the public release of the autopsy report on the cause of the former president’s death an additional humiliation.
According to Van der San, the original system of state funerals was intentionally designed to prevent arbitrariness. He stresses that it must remain a legal process. “The current approach undermines the essence of a state funeral and shows a lack of respect for the system,” said the former cabinet director.