Roy Dennis Horb (13 December 1953 – 2 February 1983) was a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...

se military officer. He was one of the sergeants who committed a

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

in Suriname on 25 February 1980, and the right hand man of army leader

Dési Bouterse Desiré Delano "Dési" Bouterse (; born 13 October 1945) is a Surinamese military officer, politician, convicted murderer and drug trafficker who served as President of Suriname from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 1987, he was Suriname's ''de facto ...

Biography

Horb was a sergeant in Suriname. In 1979, he asked

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 Henck Alphonsus Eugène Arron (25 April 1936 – 4 December 2000) was the first Prime Minister of Suriname after it gained independence in 1975. A member of the National Party of Suriname, he served from 24 December 1973 with the transition gover ...

government with a violent military

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

, 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 11 March 1982, a counter-coup was attempted by

Surendre Rambocus Surendre Sradhanand "Soerinder" Rambocus (5 May 1953 – 8 December 1982) was a Surinamese serviceman. For a short period, he was the highest-ranking officer of the Suriname National Army. He was involved in the unsuccessful coup d'état of March ...

Wilfred Hawker Wilfred Hawker (1955 – 13 March 1982) was a sergeant-major in the Surinamese military who was involved in two unsuccessful coups d'état in the early 1980s. Hawker was executed by the ruling military government for his role in the plots. He was ...

, 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 7 December 1982, the military rounded up 16 opponents who had criticized the military government and held them at Fort Zeelandia in

Paramaribo Paramaribo (; ; nicknamed Par'bo) is the capital and largest city of Suriname, located on the banks of the Suriname River in the Paramaribo District. Paramaribo has a population of roughly 241,000 people (2012 census), almost half of Suriname's ...

. They were all

murdered Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

, with the exception of

Fred Derby Frederik Marinus Emanuel Derby (March 31, 1940 – May 19, 2001) was a Surinamese politician and trade unionist. He was the only survivor of the December murders. In the years before his death he fought for an investigation into these events, an ...

, whom 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 Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation ...

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and Pe ...

. Horb was against this support. He went to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

for talks with the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

. When his CIA contacts asked him if they could do something for him, he ordered two racehorses. As a result, his contacts were exposed. Horb had been promoted to Major and deputy commander of the Surinamese army. In January 1983, Horb turned in his resignation from the army. On 30 January 1983, Horb was arrested himself along with Sergeant and at least 13 others. They were put in prison on charges of undermining state security. They were accused to be involved in a plot to murder Bouterse. On 2 February 1983, Horb was found dead in his cell in the penal barracks of the Military Police.

Legacy

After his death, the book ''De Decembermoorden in Suriname'' (The December Murders in Suriname) was published written by an insider and based on testimony by Horb. The book detailed the events which took place at the

December murders The December murders (Dutch: ''Decembermoorden'') were the murders on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized the military dictatorship then ruling Suriname. Thirteen of these men were arrested on De ...

, and revealed that Bouterse had personally shot two of the victims. The author later revealed himself as , the former minister of agriculture, who was arrested on 30 January 1983, and deported to the Netherlands. According to Sariman, Horb had given him a tape with his

testimony In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. Etymology The words "testimony" and "testify" both derive from the Latin word ''testis'', referring to the notion of a disinterested third-party witness. La ...

Notes

References

*Wim Hoogbergen, Dirk Kruijt ''De oorlog van de sergeanten: Surinaamse militairen in de politiek'' (2005) *Jan Sariman ''De Decembermoorden in Suriname: verslag van een ooggetuige'' (1983) {{DEFAULTSORT:Horb, Roy 1953 births 1983 deaths December murders Surinamese military personnel