Rodrigues has also made known Guyana’s intentions to protest at the international level Suriname’s continued aggression, citing the recent reports. Suriname’s confrontational approach to the New River Triangle area has led to numerous diplomatic fall-outs between Guyana and its eastern neighbour.
Minister Rodrigues told Stabroek News yesterday that government is troubled by the information flowing out of Suriname and that protests would be lodged with the international organisations of which Guyana and Suriname are members. “We certainly intend to pursue this matter, but we also await word from the Surinamese government,” the Minister added.
Surinamese Ambassador to Guyana, Manorma Soeknandan, who met with Rodrigues at a hastily convened meeting yesterday, has denied any knowledge of the press reports coming out of Suriname on the issue. Soeknandan gave a commitment to contact authorities in Paramaribo before commenting, reportedly saying that she is unaware of the issues which Guyana has raised.
But in a strongly-worded statement released by the Office of the President (OP) yesterday, the Guyana government said it is taking the revelations in the Surinamese press seriously because Suriname continues to “agitate locally and internationally for the annexation of the New River Triangle area, a sovereign part of Guyana territory.” The statement referred to the press reports as outlining Suriname’s hostile intentions of invasion and it quoted members of the former Surinamese government and a President as being among those who spoke publicly on the issue. According to the OP statement, press reports in Suriname have pointed to public statements made in Parliament by Surinamese politicians, including a disclosure that a previous Surinamese administration had intentions to invade Guyana and seize the New River Triangle.
The government said that Suriname’s intentions were known, coming in the time of the internationally condemned expulsion of the licenced company, CGX, operating a rig engaged in oil exploration in Guyana waters. The expulsion of the CGX rig in June 2000 triggered a major fall-out between Guyana and Suriname and it culminated with an award from the International Law of the Sea (ITLOS) tribunal in 2007 largely in Guyana’s favour.
“These adventurists should know that Guyana was and is prepared at all times to rebuff invaders,” the OP statement said and it continued that “would-be adventurists should know that the borders of Guyana are fixed, internationally recognised and inviolate.” Guyanese troops drove out Surinamese intruders from the New River Triangle in 1969.
