Suriname apologizes for 1986 massacre

MOENGO, Suriname, July 16 (Reuters) At a ceremony in a soccer stadium, Suriname's president apologized for an army massacre of at least 39 unarmed civilians carried out by the military regime in 1986.

Last year the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, linked to the Organization of American States, ordered Suriname to make the apology and pay nearly 3 million dollars in compensation to 130 survivors of the attack, known as the Moiwana massacre.

''Wrong intentions, a faulty decision, ended in the nightmare of a mass murder on innocent, defenseless citizens, on behalf of the nation,'' President Ronald Venetiaan told a crowd of hundreds gathered in a soccer stadium in the former bauxite mining town of Moengo in southeastern Suriname.

Suriname, a former Dutch colony on the northern coast of South America, was engulfed by a civil war during the 1980s that pitted guerrillas against the military leadership.

The massacre in the community of Moiwana, an eastern village first founded by escaped slaves, was part of a crackdown on the guerrillas.

Each of the 130 survivors has been paid 13,000 dollars as part of the court ordered compensation, Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi said yesterday.

Suriname was also ordered to set up a 1.2 million dollars development fund for the region and to provide assistance for refugees returning to the area.

''It does not feel very safe here ... an investigation has to be carried out so people can be punished for what they did,'' said Andre Ajintoena, a former village resident, to thunderous applause from the crowd.

''There may be persons here who have taken part in the Moiwana killings,'' added Ajintoena, who is chairman of Moiwana Association who lives in neighboring French Guyana.

No suspects have been prosecuted for the massacre.

REUTERS SY RK0959