Roy Horb
Roy Dennis Horb (1952 – February 2, 1983) was a Surinamese military. He was one of the sergeants who committed a military coup in Suriname on 25 February 1980. He was the right hand man of army leader Dési Bouterse.
Roy Horb | |
|---|---|
| Born | Roy Dennis Horb 1952 |
| Died | 2 February 1983 (aged 30–31) |
| Occupation | Military officer |
Biography
Horb was a sergeant in Suriname. In 1979, he asked Dési Bouterse to be chairman of a new military union, and to take the lead in an execute coup. On 25 February 1980, Bouterse, Horb and fourteen other sergeants overthrew the Henck Arron government with a violent military coup d'état, now known as the Sergeants Coup. Horb became the second-in-command. After the coup, he became a member of the National Military Council of Suriname.
On March 11, 1982, a counter-coup was attempted by Surendre Rambocus. Wilfred Hawker, who was in prison after a failed counter-coup in 1981, escaped. This counter-coup also failed and Hawker was captured and summarily executed by Horb.
On December 7, 1982, the military rounded up 16 opponents who had criticized the military government and held them at Fort Zeelandia in Paramaribo. They were all killed, with the exception of Freddy Derby, who Horb requested to be released. Bouterse gave Horb the orders to extort a confession of the prisoners, if necessary by force.
Bouterse and Horb had a difference of opinion on the way forward. Forced by international isolation, Bouterse sought support from leftist regimes of Fidel Castro in Cuba and Maurice Bishop in Grenada. Horb was against this support. He went to Pittsburgh for talks with the CIA. When his CIA contacts asked him if they could do something for him, he ordered two racehorses. As a result, his contacts were exposed.[1]
On January 30, 1983, Horb, now Major and deputy commander of the Surinamese army, was arrested himself along with Sergeant John Hardjoprajitno. They were put in prison on charges of undermining state security. They were accused to be involved in a plot to murder Bouterse. On February 2, Horb was found dead in his cell in the penal barracks of the Military Police.[2] He was 30 years old.
Notes
- "'het hele leger draaide om de cocaine'". De Groene Amsterdammer. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
- "Horb is vermoord". Waterkant.net. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
References
- Wim Hoogbergen, Dirk Kruijt De oorlog van de sergeanten: Surinaamse militairen in de politiek (2005) ISBN 90-351-2998-9
- Jan Sariman De Decembermoorden in Suriname: verslag van een ooggetuige (1983) ISBN 90-293-9435-8