Rudi André Kamperveen (27 September 1924 – 8 December 1982) was a Surinamese football player, sports administrator, politician and businessman.
During his playing career, the centre forward represented and captained the
Suriname national football team
The Suriname national football team (; Sranantongo: ) represents Suriname in international football. The team is controlled by the Surinaamse Voetbal Bond (), which is a member of CONCACAF.
History
Although the former Dutch colony is located ...
in the 1940s. He played professionally in Brazil (
Paysandu Sport Club) and Netherlands during his playing career, becoming the first Surinamese player to play professionally in the Netherlands in the process while plying his trade for
HFC Haarlem.
After his playing career he became Minister for Sport in Suriname. He also helped establish the
Caribbean Football Union
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football (soccer), football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Union was e ...
which was formed in 1978 and he was selected as the union's first President. He was also a vice-president of
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
.
He was killed in 1982 as part of 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 ...
. His body reportedly showed injuries to the jaw and a swollen face, 18 bullet wounds in the chest, a shot wound in the right temple, a fractured femur and a fractured arm.
He was inducted into the
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
hall of fame. The
André Kamperveen Stadion is named in his honour.
Early life
Known as Suriname's Man of the People, Kamperveen or 'Ampie' as he was more commonly called was born 27 September 1924 in
Paramaribo
Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...
,
Surinam. Having pursued
athletics,
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
,
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
and
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
,
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
was his first love and the sport he was best at. He started playing as an 11-year-old on the Dr. Sophie Redmond Straat and signs of potential were noticeable at an early age. In 1942 he was called up for
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Few nations, such ...
at the age of 18.
Association football career
Club career
MVV
Kamperveen joined the military club
MVV during his service, competing in the
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...
, the top flight of football in Suriname. He was a crowd favorite, scoring many goals and helping MVV to win a national championship in 1948.
Paysandu SC
In 1950, he joined
Paysandu Sport Club from
Belém
Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará), often called Belém of Pará, is the capital and largest city of the state of Pará in the north of B ...
, Brazil where he signed on a 1-year contract. He became the first professional football player from Suriname, joining a club that was used to winning, this proved to be a big change for Kamperveen, where he learned
Brazilian Portuguese
Brazilian Portuguese (; ; also known as pt-BR) is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of Portuguese language native to Brazil. It is spoken by almost all of the 203 million inhabitants of Brazil and widely across the Brazilian diaspora ...
in order to communicate with his teammates.
In December 1952 a Caribbean All-Stars team came to Suriname to play exhibition matches at the
Cultuurtuinlaan. Kamperveen was called up to play for the Caribbean All-Star team together with Michel Kruin and
Humphrey Mijnals from Suriname. He scored two goals in the opening match for the Caribbean All-Stars against the
Suriname national team in a 2–2 draw. Two more matches were played against the national team, which ended in a draw and a loss for the All-Stars, while two additional matches played were lost to
S.V. Robinhood and
S.V. Voorwaarts. It is worth mentioning that Kamperveen had already played for the Suriname national team prior to being called up for the Caribbean regional team.
HFC Haarlem
In 1954, Kamperveen relocated to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
to study at the
CIOS in
Overveen. Aside from football he took classes in
boxing
Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...
,
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
,
jiu-jitsu and
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
.
After completion of his studies he attended the Sporthochschule in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
,
West Germany
West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...
.
During his period in the Netherlands he signed with
HFC Haarlem competing in the
Netherlands Football League Championship
The Eredivisie (; "Honour Division" or "Premier Division") is a professional association football league in the Netherlands and the highest level of the Dutch football league system. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start ...
and in the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
and becoming the first Surinamese player to compete in the Netherlands.
He scored two goals against
Racing Club Heemstede on 19 August 1956 in a 2–1 win in the first round of the
KNVB Cup
The KNVB Beker (; ), branded as the TOTO KNVB Beker for sponsorship reasons, is a competition in the Netherlands organised by the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) since 1898. It was based on the format of the English FA Cup. Outside the N ...
. Haarlem were however eliminated in the second round by
Alkmaar '54. That same year, Kamperveen graduated with an A-level diploma from the
KNVB, the highest level diploma issued by the Dutch governing body of football. At the end of the season he returned to Suriname.
International career
Suriname
Kamperveen played for the
Suriname national team. He made his debut in 1945 at the age of 21.
Playing as a
center forward, he earned the captain armband in his first year with the team.
In 1946 the national team travelled to
Willemstad
Willemstad ( ; ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of Curaçao, an island in the southern Caribbean Sea that is a Countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It was the cap ...
,
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
to participate in a tournament with
Curaçao
Curaçao, officially the Country of Curaçao, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in the southern Caribbean Sea (specifically the Dutch Caribbean region), about north of Venezuela.
Curaçao includ ...
,
Aruba
Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...
and
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...
and Dutch club
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Netherlands, Dutch professional association football, football club based in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football league system, Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the ...
. Suriname were able to draw 1–1 with Colombia in their opening match, losing to Curaçao 6–0, and suffering record loses to Aruba and Feyenoord (8–1). The tournament was won by Feyenoord.
On 2 February 1947 he scored four goals in a 9–0 win over
French Guiana
French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
, the record highest win recorded by the Suriname national team.
In July 1948, Kamperveen travelled to the Netherlands with the Suriname national team, the team's first ever trip to Europe.
Kamperveen scored a goal in the opening match, which saw the national team play
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* Ajax (play), ''Ajax'' (play), by the an ...
at the
De Meer Stadion ending in a 2–2 draw.
Additional games were played against Feyenoord, Tilburg XI,
DFC and Den Haag XI. Kamperveen scored four goals on the tour in total.
In 1951, the Suriname national team played a series of friendly matches against
Náutico from
Recife
Recife ( , ) is the Federative units of Brazil, state capital of Pernambuco, Brazil, on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of South America. It is the largest urban area within both the North Region, Brazil, North and the Northeast R ...
, Brazil.
Kamperveen scored once in two matches played.
On 1 August 1954 the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
played Suriname at the newly built
National Stadion in Paramaribo. Kamperveen played the full match in the 4–3 loss at home.
Two days later the two teams played again ending in 2–0 loss to the Netherlands for Suriname. In 1957 he played in a friendly match for the national team against visiting
SK Rapid Wien
Sportklub Rapid (), commonly known as Rapid Wien or Rapid Vienna in English language, English, is an Football in Austria, Austrian professional football club playing in the country's capital city of Vienna. Rapid has won the most Austrian cham ...
from
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
winning the match 3–1 at home.
Managerial career
Suriname
In 1958, Kamperveen took over as manager of the
Suriname national team.
On 30 July 1958 the national team suffered its biggest loss under Kamperveen, when they were defeated 9–2 by the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
at the
National Stadion.
He managed the team in their first ever World Cup qualifications ahead of the
1962 FIFA World Cup
The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between ...
in Chile.
SV Transvaal
He took over the managerial position at
S.V. Transvaal in 1958 as well, leading the team to the national championship in the
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...
in 1962.
Career statistics
International goals
:''Scores and results list Suriname' goal tally first.''
Honours
Player
;MVV
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...
: 1948
Manager
;SV Transvaal
*
Hoofdklasse
The Vierde Divisie (; "Fourth Division"), formerly known as Hoofdklasse () is the second-highest league of amateur football in the Netherlands, and the fifth tier in general.
Background
The league was divided into two sections: Saturday and Sunda ...
: 1962
Individual
*SVB Golden ball award: 1960
Basketball career
Kamperveen played many sports apart from football.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...
was one of his favorites, having joined the basketball team of the
Surinamese military after enlisting.
Basketball had arrived in Suriname in 1941 when the
U.S. military arrived on
November 24th.
Games were organized between teams of the battalions of both militaries and local community teams.
The local basketball teams 'Surinam' and 'Chung Fa Foei Kon', a Chinese basketball club from Suriname and one of the strongest in the sports national history, were among the first teams to register in the country. Kamperveen played
point guard
The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the Basketball positions, five positions in a regulation basketball game.
A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position and is usually the shortest player ...
for the basketball team of the
Nationaal Leger.
The Surinamese Basketball Association was founded in 1947 with Kamperveen competing in the first official season. Kamperveen also played for the
Suriname national basketball team at the same time that he was playing for the national football team.
29 November 1957 was the first time the national basketball team played inside an arena. The game was between the national teams of
Suriname
Suriname, officially the Republic of Suriname, is a country in northern South America, also considered as part of the Caribbean and the West Indies. It is a developing country with a Human Development Index, high level of human development; i ...
and
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
. Kamperveen officiated the game which ended in an 81–78 loss to Trinidad and Tobago for Suriname.
Judo career
Kamperveen became the first
black belt in the history of
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...
in Suriname. While studying in the Netherlands at
CIOS, Kamperveen took up judo graduating to
2nd dan in 1957.
On 3 May 1957 Kamperveen opened the first
dojo
A is a hall or place for immersive learning, experiential learning, or meditation. This is traditionally in the field of martial arts. The term literally means "place of the Tao, Way" in Japanese language, Japanese.
History
The word ''d� ...
in
Paramaribo
Paramaribo ( , , ) is the capital city, 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 p ...
, known as Kodokan on the Mgr. Wulfingstraat.
Named after the original
Kodokan
The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology
Literally, ''kō'' ...
in Tokyo, Japan, the Kodokan dojo is of great importance to the development of the practice in Suriname, organizing the first tournaments, it is the dojo where judoka Eddy Murray was given his first belts. Murray would go on to play a much bigger role in the Sport.
In 1964, Kamperveen made an attempt at founding the first national judo/jiu-jitsu association in Suriname. Although the attempt failed it did serve to further promote judo in the outlying districts of Suriname. That year he graduated judoka in
Nieuw Nickerie
Nieuw Nickerie. Retrieved 17 November 2009. is the third largest city in Suriname with a population estimated at . It is the capital (political), capital city of the Nickerie District, Nickerie district, and the terminus of the East-West Link (Sur ...
during half time of a football match as manager of
S.V. Transvaal. In 1968, he founded the Surinamese Judo Association, becoming the first chairman of the organization.
Broadcasting and Journalism
On 15 December 1950 the first edition of 'Sport Ontspannings Kroniek' (also known as SOK) was published as a weekly sports newspaper. Although not the first sports paper in Suriname, the previous publication folded after only two years in existence. Kamperveen and Jules Defares were the directors of the new paper. Initially a weekly, it was eventually published twice a week, becoming a weekly once more by 1955.
Kamperveen contributed a great deal to sports journalism in Suriname. He was heavily involved in some of the earliest live radio broadcasting of football matches as well, working with Surinamese radio stations Rapar, Apintie and SRS.
He founded the VSJS (''Vereniging van Sportjournalisten in Suriname'' (English, Association of Sports journalists in Suriname), becoming the first chairman of the organization in 1963.
On 20 October 1966 the first Surinamese television station went on air, the Surinaamse Televisie Stichting (STVS), and two years later, Kamperveen produced the first weekly sports show in Suriname for the station called 'Sportrevue'.
Radio ABC
On 6 December 1975 Kamperveen's dream, to one day own his own radio station, finally came true.
Ampies Broadcasting Corporation Suriname, commonly known as ABC, the lovestation was born. After years of working for Apintie, Kamperveen finally owned his own station. Both his sons, Johnny and Henk Kamperveen joined him to work at the station, Johnny as a host, and Henk as a director. Radio ABC is a popular station in Suriname, blending news, activities, sports, humor and a lot of music.
Administrative roles in Sports
Kamperveen held many administrative roles in regards to recreation, youth and sports throughout his entrepreneurial career. In 1957 he graduated with an A-level diploma from the Royal Dutch Football Association (
KNVB), having completed studies at the
CIOS and attending the Sportshochschule in West Germany. After becoming a board member of the Surinamese Football Association, he held various positions within the board of the
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
, the continental governing body for association football in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. He also helped form the
Caribbean Football Union
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football (soccer), football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Union was e ...
becoming the first president of the organization, and was elected vice-president of
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
, the global governing body for football.
Administrative positions held over the years include:
*In 1964 Kamperveen became a board member of the
Surinamese Football Association
The Surinamese Football Association ( ) is the governing body of football in Suriname. It organizes the Surinamese football league system, the Surinamese Cup, Suriname President's Cup, Suriname national football team, and the Suriname women's ...
.
*In 1968, he founded the Surinamese Judo Association, becoming the first chairman of the organization.
*In 1973, he was made a member of the
CONCACAF
The Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football, abbreviated as CONCACAF ( ; typeset for branding purposes since 2018 as Concacaf), is one of FIFA's six continental governing bodies for association football. Its 4 ...
disciplinary committee during the association meeting in Mexico.
*In 1974, he organized the country's first national billiards tournaments, setting a precedent of the sport.
*In 1975 on 6 August he became a board member of CONCACAF holding a chair on the board for one year.
*In 1976, he became the honorary chairman of the Association of Sports journalists in Suriname. That same year he became vice-president of
FIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...
.
*In 1978 on 27 January the
Caribbean Football Union
The Caribbean Football Union (CFU) is the representative organization for football (soccer), football associations in the Caribbean. It represents 25 FIFA member nations, as well as 6 territories that are not affiliated with FIFA. The Union was e ...
(CFU) was founded with Kamperveen becoming the first president of the organization.
*In 1980 on 1 March he became the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports in Suriname. On 6 June of the same year he became a board member of CONCACAF once more, holding a chair on the board for two years until his untimely death.
*In 1982, he stepped down as Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports due to disagreements over the
Sergeant's Coup.
That year Kamperveen as vice-president of FIFA appeared along the center circle at the
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (, ) is a retractable roof association football, football stadium in Madrid, Spain. With a seating capacity of around 83,000 following its extensive renovation completed in late 2024, the stadium has the second-largest ...
in Madrid, Spain as king
Juan Carlos I of Spain
Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...
kicked off the
1982 FIFA World Cup
The 1982 FIFA World Cup was the 12th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams, and was played in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. The tournament was won by Italy national footbal ...
opening ceremony. Kamperveen would also witness the beginning of Surinamese compatriots
Frank Rijkaard and
Ruud Gullit
Ruud Gullit (; born Rudi Dil; 1 September 1962) is a former Dutch Association football, footballer and subsequent manager. Regarded among the greatest footballers of all time, he was also noted for his Utility player#Association football, abili ...
's International career with the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
in the buildup to the tournament before losing his life in 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 ...
. He would not survive to witness the rise and influence of Surinamese footballers in Dutch football throughout the eighties and nineties.
Personal life
Kamperveen is the father of three children from his first marriage. Two sons, Johnny and Henk, and a daughter Lilian. In 1976 his sons joined him at Radio ABC, Johnny became a popular radio host, while Henk became a director of the station. He was married to Lea van Leuvenum, his second wife. They were married in 1980 in New York City following his divorce from his previous marriage, they had no children together.
Political activities
Following the
1980 Surinamese coup d'état, Kamperveen was appointed Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports under Minister-president
Henk Chin A Sen. Due to disagreements over the political direction of the
National Military Council (NMR), he denounced his position and became vocal about his opposition through writing and on live radio on his own ABC station. Kamperveen believed the country should head in a more democratic direction, while
Dési Bouterse wanted a
military dictatorship
A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...
.
Death
On 7 December 1982 at 2:00 am, he and his wife were interrupted from their sleep by soldiers of
Dési Bouterse, the then dictator of Suriname. His guard dogs were shot and Kamperveen was taken away to
Fort Zeelandia, where he and 14 other men who had voiced opposition to the military regime were heard as "suspects in a trial" by Bouterse and other sergeants in a self-appointed court. After these "hearings" they were tortured and shot dead. The circumstances have not yet become completely clear; on 10 December 1982, Bouterse claimed on national television that all of the detainees had been shot dead "in an attempt to flee". That day his Wife went to the hospital to identify the body. He had sustained injuries to the jaw and a swollen face, 18 bullet wounds in the chest, a shot wound in the right temple, a fractured femur and a fractured arm.
His son Johnny had initially been reported as one of the victims of the murders. He was however able to escape abduction and together with other family members fled to the Netherlands. The ABC Radio building had been torched to the ground and completely destroyed on the night of the abduction as well. Kamperveen's funeral was on 13 December 1982, buried at the Annette's Hof cemetery in Paramaribo, his funeral attracted thousands of people and was led by vicar Rudi Polanen of the Moravian Church.
Posthumous

The Kamperveen family have long been involved with the prosecution of Bouterse, working with human rights organization and consulting with the
United Nations Human Rights Committee
The United Nations Human Rights Committee is a treaty body composed of 18 experts, established by a 1966 human rights treaty, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The Committee meets for three four-week sessions per yea ...
in 1983 along with other victim families. The December murders trial - Suriname's trial of the century - commenced on 30 November 2007. This trial ended 12 years later, on 29 November 2019 with the sentencing of main multiple murder suspect Desi Bouterse to 20 years imprisonment. Judge Valstein-Montor motivated that `Bouterse had violated the right to life, by ordering the killings after extensive torture of the detained men. Valstein-Montnor: "The brutal murders enhanced the fear already omnipresent in 1982 Suriname". Bouterse's lawyer Irvin Kanhai objected to judgment a week after, meaning that he and his client object to the verdict by Court Martial, the body of 3 judges in the trial. Because of this object to judgement, Bouterse has to testify before court before the end of January 2020. If he fails to do so, he will be incarcerated. At the time of the murders, Bouterse was leading the so-called 'Blood Committee', a death squad. Judges in Suriname's 'court case of the century' made known on Friday 30 November 2019, the day that Bouterse and others were sentenced. Together with military sergeants Paul Bhagwandas and Roy Horb Bouterse decided over life and death at Fort Zeelandia, where 15 critics of Bouterse's military regime were killed by Bouterse's order, court findings showed. The murder victims were unarmed and completely defenseless, according to court findings. Dési Bouterse has long denied guilt and only accepted political responsibility for the murders as of 2007. In April 2012, Bouterse adjusted an existing 1992 'Amnesty law', granting all suspects in the December murder case amnesty. A few weeks later, on 12 May, Court Martial paused the trial because of this. On 29 June 2016, Public Prosecution requested Court Martial to end the Murder Trial upon request by the main murder suspect, president Bouterse himself. According to the main suspect in the trial, the state's security would be in danger in case of continuation of the court case. Bouterse made use of article 148 of Suriname's constitution. This order was made one day before the public prosecutor would make known his penalty requirement against main suspect Desi Bouterse. Ultimately, on 30 January 2017, Court Martial ordered for the continuation of the December murders trial. They found no issue in Bouterse's argument that 'state safety' would be in danger in case of continuation of the court case. On 28 June 2017, Bouterse heard his penalty requirement - 20 years jailtime - from Public Prosecution.
As of December 2018 the hearings in the court cases regarding the military men involved in the murders, were closed. From the end of 2018 into the following year, 2019, the lawsuit of the murder suspects who were tried as citizens because they had been government officials at the time of the murders. For instance former ministers John Hardjoprajitno and
Harvey Naarendorp were tried in this manner, but with the judicial investigation in the December murder trial, it became clear that undeniably Bouterse is the main one responsible for the killings. He was the one whom decided over life and death, according to court findings. The investigation on the murders commenced in the year 2000 up until 2007. Suriname's 'trial of the century' addressed as such, by than minister of Justice and Police
Chan Santokhi, back in 2007 has proven to indeed as Santokhi prophesied in an interview with Radio Netherlands Worldwide, that the multiple murder trial would function as 'testcase for the democratic state of law' in Suriname". This has proven indeed to be the case in the past 12 years. The outcome is that the main suspect, Desi Bouterse, 2 times president in row, has been convicted while being head of State. This shows that no one in this relatively young democracy, is above the law. Suriname is now known as the country where the main suspect in a multiple murder case, got convicted.
In 1993, Johnny and Henk returned to Paramaribo to rebuild the ABC Radio station, and after 11 years of absence, the love station was back on air in Suriname. In 2003, Johnny died from a viral infection at his home after years as a host on his father's station.
In 1988, the National Stadium in Paramaribo was renamed the
André Kamperveen Stadion to commemorate the stadiums 35th Anniversary, and on 1 October 2000 a bronze statue of Kamperveen was erected outside the stadium to commemorate the Surinamese Football Association's 80th Anniversary.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kamperveen, Andre
1924 births
1982 deaths
Association football executives
December murders
Culture ministers of Suriname
Sports ministers of Suriname
SVB Eerste Divisie players
Sportvereniging Nationaal Leger players
Paysandu Sport Club players
HFC Haarlem players
Eerste Divisie players
Footballers from Paramaribo
Politicians from Paramaribo
Assassinated Surinamese politicians
People murdered in Suriname
20th-century Surinamese businesspeople
Surinamese football managers
SVB Eerste Divisie managers
S.V. Transvaal managers
Suriname national football team managers
Surinamese men's footballers
Suriname men's international footballers
Surinamese men's basketball players
Surinamese male judoka
Surinamese journalists
Surinamese expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Brazil
Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands
Surinamese expatriate sportspeople in Brazil
Surinamese expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands
Dutch military personnel of World War II
Men's association football forwards
Point guards
20th-century journalists
South American politicians assassinated in the 1980s
Politicians assassinated in 1982