Kraaijer: ontslag op staande voet

Paramaribo - De Surinaamse Vereniging van Journalisten (SVJ) is er verontrust over dat de Nederlander Paul Kraaijer ruim een kwart eeuw met spionage bezig is geweest en zich in Suriname als journalist heeft gevestigd. 

Hij was in die periode in Nederland ook als journalist actief bij diverse media. Hij heeft de journalistiek misbruikt om spionage-activiteiten te verrichten voor de Nederlandse Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst (AIVD).

Journalist en spion-zijn, stroken niet met de beroepsethiek.

De SVJ voert hoge ethische standaarden in haar banier en kan niet accepteren dat Kraaijer zich nog langer als journalist in Suriname uitgeeft. Hij heeft het journalistieke beroep reeds ernstig geschaad door zijn handelingen in de afgelopen 25 jaar.

Na zijn recente ontboezemingen over zijn verleden in de Nederlandse media 'De Telegraaf en 'Nieuwsuur' heeft de uitgever van Caribbean Media Group Paul Kraaijer terecht ontslagen. Kraaijer was hoofdredacteur van de nieuwssite ‘Super Suriname.com’ en medewerker van het blad Parbode.

Met het ontslag op staande voet is een duidelijk signaal gegeven dat zo’n persoon niet thuishoort in de journalistiek.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Freelance journalist for the Surinamese magazine Parbode and editor-in-chief of the news website ‘super-suriname.com’, Paul Kraaijer, was fired over the weekend following revelations that he was a former spy for the Dutch secret service.

In an interview he did on the basis of anonymity published by Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, Kraaijer disclosed that for 25 years until august 201 0 he spied on criminals , leftist groups and extremist animal rights groups for the Dutch government. A1though his identity wasn't revealed during the interview, a Belgian journalist also working in Suriname discovered who he was and subsequently exposed him.

Kraaijer moved to Suriname in 2010.

Publisher of Parbode Magazine, Caribbean Media Group (CMG), which also runs the ‘super-suriname.com’ website, noted that Kraaijer was fired to avoid any hint of conflicts of interest.

"The publisher and editorial staff believe that the combination of journalist and informer is totally intolerable and reject the actions and remarks of Paul Kraaijer," CMG manager Jaap Hoogendam and Parbode's editor-in-chief Eartha Tjan A Way said in an official statement.

According to Tjan A Way it is very important for the magazine and website to uphold its image of impartiality, reliability and credibility.

"Until the publication in De Telegraaf, the editorial staff of Parbode and super-suriname.com didn't know anything about his past. Parbode and the news site stand for pure journalism and want to avoid any hint of conflicts of Interest,” the CMG management further stated.

Kraaijer revealed that through the years he had infiltrated extremist animal rights groups and leftist organizations in the Netherlands, including the Anti Fascist Action group (AFA). In the 1990s he allegedly was the second in command of the AFA and its spokesman. lnformation and intelligence he collected were passed to the General Intelligence and Security Service (A1VD). He also actively participated in violent actions of these groups and intelligence he collected served to bring a violent animal rights activist in the Netherlands to justice.

In an e-mail to his former employer, Kraaijer said that he is shocked over his dismissal, since his work as a spy has nothing to do with his work as a journalist in Suriname. For years Kraaijer has maintained a website targeting environmental issues in Suriname and several other blogs. Since his dismissal his blogs have been closed.

Meanwhile the Dutch Association of Journalists has called on the minister of Home Affairs to explain why the Dutch spy agency was using informants disguised as journalists. According to the journalists organization these actions are damaging to the credibility of journalists.