Van Dijk Selous: 'I refused to provide police security for my fellow ministers and senior individuals'

Lawyer Jennifer van Dijk-Selous says that during her tenure as Suriname's Minister of Justice and Police, she refused to grant police security to individuals. Her policy reportedly went so far as to refuse to do so for a fellow minister.

“The Minister of Justice and Police from 2015 to March 2017 refused to provide police security for individuals. She also refused to provide police security for her fellow Minister.

And there was the DNV (National Security Directorate) that took care of the rest. The soldiers had to protect the ministers and Gospol was protected by the corps. And that was it. I was very strict about… my colleagues bothering me. “I refused to allow police officers to act as guards, security guards,” Van Dijk Selous said on Bacana Toure.

Last year, current Justice Minister Kenneth Amoxie said that about 250 police officers were deployed to protect ministers, the vice president and the president of Suriname. The minister then said he was still working to reduce that number and redeploy those officers back to regular policing.

The Suriname Police Union (SPB) has pointed out several times that the current government has made tremendous efforts to staff the Suriname Police Corps (KPS) since taking power by taking people out of the process and bringing them into VIP security.

According to Van Dijk Selous, she faced a lot of friction with her colleagues and senior figures connected to the Office of the President, the President and the NDP because of her position. At one point, she was confronted about this by then President Desi Bouterse, but she stuck to her guns.

The Kosovo Police Service was also understaffed at the time. But she finds what is happening now simply appalling, especially when you consider the increase in the number of robberies.

“What is happening now is simply appalling. DCs and everyone else have police officers around them. Ministers have dozens of police officers. This means there is a dangerous and inappropriate use of force. And that is allowed,” the former minister said.