The Guyanese vessel, MV Chandra 1, seized by the Surinamese military in the Corentyne River, has been released after an agent acting on behalf of the owner paid a heavy fine, and the vessel and crew are expected back in the country this afternoon, the vessel’s owner said.
The vessel, which was on its way to Skeldon to transport bulk sugar for export, was escorted to Nickerie by three military vessels, a move which Guyana has deemed an act of aggression and has protested.
Stabroek News has learnt that to date Suriname has not responded to the Guyana government’s note verbale on the issue.
The owner of the vessel, Kampta Persaud, yesterday told the Stabroek News that the crew, including the captain and the vessel had been freed by the Surinamese military on Wednesday afternoon but owing to a breakdown in the starter of the vessel they were unable to travel back to Skeldon yesterday morning.
In addition, he said that two pilots were required to escort the vessel back to Skeldon but only one was available yesterday afternoon.
Persaud said that once the vessel arrives at Skeldon it would be loaded with sugar for export for its return trip to Demerara.
Meanwhile Suriname’s de Ware Tijd English edition said on Wednesday that Suriname has ignored Georgetown’s protest about the seizure since the MV Lady Chandra I sailed the Corentyne River without a Surinamese pilot on board as requested by the Maritime Authority of Suriname (MAS), which in May 2006 restarted the piloting of (international) ships on the river.
De Ware Tijd said that the Guyanese government was informed about the requirement for all ships using the river, including Surinamese vessels of a certain tonnage.
In response to this, President Bharrat Jagdeo told the media on Wednesday that Guyana does not recognize Suriname’s administrating of the waterway. He said that the Corentyne River was a border river on which both countries should have user rights. In the case of Suriname, he said that the neighbouring country was trying to impose sovereignty unilaterally over the river even though Guyana has indicated a willingness to discuss the issue.
Stating that Guyana was not an aggressive country and relies heavily on diplomacy, he said that when Suriname used force to evict the CGX oil exploration rig from Guyana’s territorial waters in June 2000, Guyana did not respond with force but sought the route of international law and was vindicated after diplomacy failed. “That, however, does not say that our response will be the same all the time,” he said.
The fact that they must pay a fine to be released, he said was “not good enough for my government” because the river has the characteristics of a border river and leaving sovereignty aside and which has not been settled, both countries should have full user access.
Guyana has also informed the Secretaries General of Caricom and the United Nations about the seizure of the vessel which it says was impacting negatively on Guyana’s economic and security interests.
It is clear that Surinam enacted a crackpot law in May 2006 insisting on Surinamese pilots on board all NON-SURNIMESE crafts. This rule was clearly enacted to cause trouble with Guyana which is her neighbour. That Guyanese ship has suffered humiliation and financial loss in this instance.
Question: Since May 2006; has this law been enforced multilaterally or is the law being used in only certain instances because of spite.
Surinam should try and understand that Guyana is a country as large as the UK and it will not always be poor. If oil is found off-shore, Surinam might wish to cultivate a local friend.
Guyanese and Surinamese diplomats should not be sitting on their hands at this important time!
THANK YOU TOR YOUR FAITH IN GUYANA
good point Satish … where are our diplomats? …. this is a very important issue, and as President Jagdeo point out, this is a border river that both countries can have user rights to – a situation that i am sure will have no ill effects for either side, can’t or diplomats negotiate this?
While I support first seeking diplomatic solutions I ask – Who are and where are our diplomats??
It’s been enough time for Caricom and the UN to have said something in response to Guyana complaining about Suriname’s actions.
Suriname’s actions towards Guyana are very disrespectful – To begin with there exists diplomatic missions between these countries but Suriname seems always to choose strong arming over diplomacy. If this doesn’t stop then Guyana will have no recourse but to explore and use other available options.
That is the million dollar question! Who and where are our diplomats. And more specifically, who is our diplomatic representative in Suriname and has (s)he been as effective on the job as we would expect? There is a lot of hypocrisy shown by our government in its dealings with Suriname. At the informal level we are compelled to tread cautiously because many of us have private economic interest vested in our neighbour. However, when she chooses to remind us (occasionally) of the mutual but tenuous relationship that exists between the two countries, we throw our hands up in mock exasperation and protest vociferously without any real sincerity. It is just a game between our government, its supporters who live and work around the border between the two countries, and the Surinamese. All of these stakeholders have economic interests in the dynamic within which they are all involved and the latest incident is just another move by our neighbour to assert her position of relative ascendancy and dominance in this dynamic!
I say it’s high time Guyanese give them a taste of their own medicine, For years Guyanese suffered abuse at the hands of the surimamese officials especially the scouto’s (Military Police) Guyanese women was raped repeatedly and the guyanese men beaten and even killed just for fun by the military police in suriname, A friend of mine was beaten and put to use a power hose and wash a stretch of concrete from night till morning just for kicks “fun” by the MPs and now they taking things to a whole different dimention with what seems to be their own maritime laws, someone told me that the surinamese are coming over to Guyana to buy oil,sugar and other food items the same way guyanese used to go to paramaribo to shop and be subjected to all sorts of abuse, i guess it can be fair game to ketch dem and give dem the boots treatment.
Zero Tolerance
At least you have got your message through to our Guyanese nation, emphasising that our pregnant Guyanese ladies were raped constantly, our men were robbed and exploited for cheap labours and Surinamese military have moored on our Correntyne shores and arrested our Guyanese nationals on our soil.
I have made such a comment too, but you are lucky for yours to be published, as for me, I do not know the reason why SN has blocked and not published the relevance of my comments
I have lived and worked in Suriname for more than 5-years, prior my migration as a foreign born Dutch national to the Netherlands.
During my stay in Suriname, I can now sit and write a history of their aggression, manipulation, suppression, exploitation, etc. towards our Guyanese men, women and children and to which is still ongoing by the military police.
SN, should have given my “voice of “concern a chance, on this facility
Where were our experts on international law when the Surinamise inacted this law in 2006, did they not forsee this would become a problem. It seems our diplomats are always reactive rather than proactive to potentially dangerous situations. Such a move/law should have produced the strongest responce from them, so as to avoid reacting to this. We are a step daughter to Caricom and so our concerns and issues are always on the back burner, then too they are slighted by President Jagdeo’s refusal to be in Barbados for the signing of the EPA. I say we should look to Brazil for trade and leave Caricom for cricket. Until we have a shooting war with Suriname, our case will not be given the attention it deservers.
Suriname was accorded observer status in Caricom under Hoyte who refused for them to have full status (Suriname recognized that they needed to be a part of Caricom for their long term benefit and relations) because Guyana had some serious border and territorial issues to settle with Suriname. For them to become full members, they needed to be no dispute; all outstanding territorial matters with Guyana had to be settled. Hoyte was pressing home this advantage since he knew Suriname was anxious to join caricom to have a bilateral or regional solution in Guyana’s favour. The membership rules include that for admission, a new member should not have pending dispute with a standing member. In this case, Guyana had border and territory disputes – out in the Atlantic, corentyne river, and new river triangle – with Suriname.
When the PPP got into government and Dr. Jagan, in what Clem Seecharran has revealed to be his proclivity for reckless haste and his ignorance of the real world around him, allowed Suriname full membership. He was strongly advised against doing this by people with knowledge of the issues and the implications of these issues should he agree that Suriname be admitted to Caricom before an amicable and binding solution was reached. He disregarded this advice and advised Caricom that Suriname be admitted unconditionally….Rohee was his Foreign Affairs Minister and the records are there at the MOFA, if they have not been intentionally removed, to prove this. SN can indeed provide verification to my contention of Dr. Jjagan’s recklessness re this issue surrounding Suriname’s admission to Caricom.
In otherwords, Dr. Jagan sunk Guyana’s position because of this lack of understanding of how these matters work. He effectively dismissed all of Guyana’s positions as not valid in the eyes of the Surinamese which is why we had the CGX incident which had to be settled at the UNCLS. We have to go back right there to deal with all the new provacations to the PPP supporter fishermen and now sugar ships…….caricom has no jurisdiction as a mediator or even a binding arbitrator in Guyana and Suriname matters which existed before their admission because Cheddi derecognized Guyana’s claims in the eyes of Suriname. So Jagdeo is rather acrobatic with the facts (when he fully well knows the reason why Suriname can do as it pleases on the corentyne river) to be saying he does not recognize Suriname’s “unilateral administering” of the corentyne river. This was the sticking point in caricom’s involvement in the CGX matter; Guyana had no alternative that to go to the costly last resord, the UNCLS.
What nonsense is this if the river is recognised as an international waterway why would ships need a surinamese pilot(S) on board the said ships? Something isn’t right here.
Suriname claims that they own the river….that’s why.
We need to establish our presence in the river…..to protect our shipping logging and other industries that utilize the river…I can’t imagine how our Govt feels to be ignored by their Surinames counterparts….Let us assert ourselves to protect our interest in the Corentyne River..
Madan Jagdeo… #70 village, student, teacher – Line Path Secondary…field supervisor SWR, very good batsman???????
the time has come to act and stop talking. regular patrols by the gdf is needed to protect our vessels plying the corentyne river.
Suriname’s government response was of no surprise…..
The Dutch probably said that people living in GT don’t respect court orders from GT why the heck they will honour your note verbale. So pressy decides we will not always use the same response, diplomacy. We may send the JS, if they fail we’ll send the GDF & if they don’t do it . . . . . . The Phantom gonna git you Suriname watchit!!!
Now Senor President, we do not have the military prowess to deal even with Suriname, much less Venezuela, if needed, My suggestion is that you, your government & advisors (eh eh is whey the honourable Roger Lunchtime!?!?!?) & seek ACTIVE PARTICIPATION of the OPPOSITION & ALL STAKEHOLDERS & come up with a plan to GOVERN GUYANA until you’re DEMOCRATICALLY voted OUT come next elections. As is we need urgent attention to placed on too many things for your incompetent government to do it alone until next elections.
Mr. / Mrs. Fulano de Tal ;
Why you and other Guyanese are referring to Suriname as “Dutch”, Suriname is not “Dutch”, if Suriname is “Dutch”, then Guyana, is “British”,
Suriname is Suriname, after the independence of Dutch-Guiana, Suriname was named, the very same way, after British Guiana gained independence, Guyana was named.
“Dutch”, is Holland or the Netherlands, which is in Europe, there is no other “Dutch” country/ies, else where, the others, are Antillians, even Suriname, is not an Antillian state or country.
Dear Sir/Mrs;
My tidy whites, are worsed than our Guyanese and Surinamese natives. Remember, they are known to be the “C.S.I.” (American : Crime Scene Investigation detective series) meaning “Colonialism Slavery and Imperialism)
My “tidy whites”, are referred to in the “Holy Bible, Chapter 23, verses 27-28″ , which is a pictographic emblem of existence to them.
So my brother/sister, I am much more a victim to my tidy-whites than of my natives of Guyana/Suriname. Forgive me, I do not wish to be hostile, I am only trying to educate my fellow Guyanese between Dutch and Surinamese.
Thank you for your understanding. Check out my above mentioned Bible verses.
My apologies; “Correction” Matthew chapter 23, verses 27-28