Suriname to answer Guyana’s concerns on past invasion plan – Santokhi

In an invited comment to this newspaper, Santokhi said that Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodriques-Birkett had expressed the country’s concerns to Surinamese Ambassador to Guyana Manorma Soeknandan who then related them to the Surinamese Foreign Affairs Minister.  Santokhi, who was in Guyana attending a bilateral ministerial meeting between Guyana and Suriname on Tuesday, said the matter was engaging the attention of the Surinamese Home Affairs Minister. The Justice Minister, however, opined that without any particular evidence it would be very difficult to investigate. Nevertheless he stressed that the message had been delivered and at an appropriate time, the Surinamese Government will respond.

On February 12, a statement by the Office of the President (OP) referred to press reports in Suriname outlining the country’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 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 while adding 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.

Following this statement, Rodrigues-Birkett, in an address to the National Assembly, criticized the current Surinamese administration for its silence on reports of a past plan to invade this country’s New River Triangle and its failure to dissociate itself from it. She said that Suriname had also not clarified that it opposes the use of force against the territorial integrity of this country. She emphasized that this is important given continued agitation in Suriname for the annexation of local territory. The Foreign Affairs Minister also disclosed Guyana’s intention to make official protests at the international level concerning Suriname’s continued aggression.