René Roemersma (27 March 1958 – 17 February 2021) was a Dutch activist and leader of the Dutch terror group

Revolutionary Anti-Racist Action Revolutionary Anti-Racist Action ( nl, Revolutionaire Anti-Racistische Actie), often abbreviated RaRa, was a Dutch terrorist left-wing group. The name "RaRa" in Dutch means "Guess ..." (who we are) (from the Dutch word ''raden''). RaRa was ...

(RaRa). Roemersma was the only convicted RaRa activist.

RaRa attacks and trials

RaRa attacked sites from Makro and Forbo and Shell gas stations. His goal was the withdrawal of those organizations out of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. On 11 April 1988 Roemersma and 7 other suspects were arrested. Roemersma was the only one to be convicted: he got 5 years imprisonment. A higher court ruled that proof against Roemersma on 5 of the 6 attacks had been acquired illegally and he was acquitted. Only the conviction for a 6th (failed) attack was upheld, for which he was convicted to 18 months of jail time, 6 months of which was suspended. As he already had spent 12 months in jail awaiting trial, he was freed.

After RaRa

From 2005 till 2006 Roemersma worked at the

Panos Institute The Panos Network (originally called Panos Institute) is a network of independent non-governmental institutes working "to ensure that information is effectively used to foster public debate, pluralism and democracy" (see Communication for Develop ...

in Paris. In May 2006 he attended the

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...

(OECD) conference ''Deepening Voice and Accountability to Fight Poverty: a Dialogue of Communication Implementers''. In 2006 he published a book, ''Verkiezingen in Congo, over loze beloftes en tellen tot diep in de nacht''.

Looking back

In November 2010 a Dutch TV program –

Andere Tijden ''Andere Tijden'' (''Other''/''Different Times'') is a history programme on Dutch television of the NTR and VPRO. There is also a version of the programme called ''Andere Tijden Sport'', which shows programmes about sports history. ''Andere Tijden ...

(''Other Times'') – brought a series of two documentaries on the RaRa group. A long interview with Roemersma was part of this series. Roemersma admitted ''being involved'' in the attacks, but did not elaborate on his involvement and did not say anything about committing the attacks. Still several Dutch newspapers claimed he had confessed the attacks. Because of the statute of limitations, no (new) prosecution could follow.
Roemersma did not confess or deny his involvement in the bombing of the house of Secretary of State

Aad Kosto Arie "Aad" Kosto (born 9 January 1938) is a retired Dutch politician of the Labour Party (PvdA) and jurist. Kosto attended the Gymnasium Leiden from April 1950 until June 1958 where he majored in Theology. Kosto worked as student researcher ...

. No preclusion present, the Public Attorney considered re-opening the case against Roemersma, but ultimately decided against it. René Roemersma died on 17 February 2021 in

Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...

, Spain.Enige voor rechtbank verschenen RaRa-activist René Roemersma (62) overleden
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Sources

* F. Hoekstra: ''In dienst van de BVD : spionage en contraspionage in Nederland'', Boom Onderwijs (2004), 1^ste druk, *
Het dossier RaRa (1985–1993)
College thesis, Utrecht University

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roemersma, Rene 1958 births 2021 deaths Anti-apartheid activists Dutch anti-racism activists Criminals from Amsterdam Dutch arsonists 20th-century Dutch criminals Place of birth missing Dutch expatriates in France