Ebe van der Land, a police spokesman in the Dutch city, said Superintendent Bernard Welten has suspended all joint programs between his department and Surinamese police due to last month's election of Desi Bouterse as president by the former Dutch colony's parliament.

Bouterse is a former coup leader, convicted drug trafficker and accused murderer in Suriname. The two-time dictator's past had made his election last month by parliament uncomfortable for the international community, especially its former colonial ruler.

"For many years we have helped with building police stations in Suriname and with teaching them how we work in Holland," Van der Land said in a Thursday phone interview. "But our police chief announced that this must stop now."

Convicted of drug trafficking in absentia in 1999 in the Netherlands — prosecutors said he was the leader of the "Suri Cartel" — Bouterse was sentenced to 11 years. He avoided that punishment because Suriname doesn't have an extradition treaty with Holland, and now he enjoys immunity as head of state during his five-year term.

The 64-year-old president also faces a long-delayed trial in Suriname for his alleged role in the summary execution of political opponents in 1982.

Van der Land said Dutch Justice Minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin will meet with Welten and government officials to support or rescind his decision to cut police ties. He said Amsterdam's mayor is backing the decision.

After Bouterse's election, Dutch Foreign Minister Maxime Verhagen said the Netherlands would restrict contacts with him to "functional necessities" and stressed that Suriname's leader will not be welcome in Holland "unless it is to serve his prison sentence."

During his inauguration this month, Bouterse pledged to fight corruption and help impoverished communities in the vast rain forest hinterland. He also said he would further distance the former Dutch colony from the Netherlands.

Suriname's police and justice ministry did not immediately return Thursday calls for comment.