Astrid Roemer, the Surinamese winner of the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren, came under fire after showing support for Dési Bouterse, who was convicted of murder
Five months ago, Astrid Roemer became the first author from Suriname, a former Dutch colony in South America, to win the prestigious Dutch-language literary award the Prijs der Nederlandse Letteren, and was praised by the judges for her “unconventional, poetic” works. But last week, the organisers announced that a ceremony for the poet and novelist, due to be attended by the king of Belgium, would be cancelled, after she came under fire for her comments about the former Suriname president Dési Bouterse.
While Roemer will still receive the £40,000 prize, plans for King Philippe to present her with the award in October have been dropped. Organisers said in a statement that “as a result of Ms Roemer’s recent views and statements”, a ceremony was “not appropriate”.
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