Suriname: IMF board approves 3-year, $688 mln program for Suriname

The International Monetary Fund approved on Wednesday a three-year, $688 million program for Suriname, with some $55 million enabled for immediate disbursing.

“The program aims to rebuild Suriname’s foreign reserves, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement. “The authorities’ decision to move to a market-determined exchange rate will strengthen the economy’s resilience to external shocks. This step, together with the program’s catalytic effect on external financing, will address external imbalances and contribute to increasing foreign reserves to prudent levels.”

Read more at: IMF board approves 3-year, $688 mln program for Suriname | Financial Post

Suriname: Oil Majors Are Eyeing A Suriname Offshore Boom - by Felicity Bradstock

Majors are eying Suriname as the next big oil player. With recent success in neighbouring Guyana, Suriname offers hope for low-cost oil exploration and production going into 2021. Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell, Total, Apache are all showing interest in the South American state, hoping Suriname will provide oil for as little as $30 to $40 a barrel thanks to lower production costs. This is well below the average US production cost of almost $50 per barrel.

After years of political unrest, Suriname is eager to make a name for itself in the oil world and encourage economic stability and growth. The hard-hit economy has been further hampered by the Covid-19 pandemic, with the new government looking at the country’s oil potential to drag them out of economic disaster.

Read more at: Oil Majors Are Eyeing A Suriname Offshore Boom | OilPrice.com

Suriname: Who is Chan Santokhi, Suriname's new President?

Suriname's new President Chan Santokhi (61)

President Chan Santokhi (61) born in Suriname, which is a former Dutch colony.

He studied at the police academy in the Netherlands. After his return to Suriname, he became a police inspector and in 1991 was named chief of police.

From 2005 to 2010 he served as minister of justice. He ran for the presidency in 2010 but lost to Bouterse.

Bouterse was re-elected to a second term in 2015 and was confident of winning a third consecutive term in the elections this May 2020, but it was Mr Santokhi's party which emerged victorious.

The Progressive Reform Party won 20 of the 51 seats in the National Assembly, enough to form a coalition government with the General Liberation and Development Party. The latter is led by Ronnie Brunswijk, who will serve as vice-president.

President Chan Santokhi faces the difficult task of having to fix a totally mismanaged and bankrupted Suriname economy left behind by his corrupt predecessor, Desi Bouterse . Bouterse will also have to appear again in court soon, following his earlier 20 year jail sentencing for his part in the"December murders" in 1982, when he was the dictator of Suriname, and orchestrated the killing of fifteen prominent young Surinamese men who had criticized his regime.

Almere-Digest

Suriname Elects a New President, Ending Desi Bouterse’s Long Rule - by Anatoly Kurmanaev and Harmen Boerboom

SURINAME

Suriname elected a new president on Monday, ending the long rule of Desi Bouterse, who dominated the small South American nation’s politics since its independence through intimidation and charisma.

The president, Chan Santokhi, a 61-year-old former police chief and leader of the opposition, was elected to the office by Suriname’s Congress following a landslide opposition victory in the May general elections.

In handing Mr. Santokhi a victory, the Surinamese punished Mr. Bouterse, a former military dictator turned populist champion, for a disastrous economic crisis and the widespread corruption in his government.

Note EU Digest: Finally Desi Bouterse, who dominated the small South American nation’s politics since its independence in 1975 from the Netherlands, at first by a coupe d'etat, where he ruled as a dictator, and later, as a populist president, is President no more .

On June 2017, during a military court case, the prosecutor Roy Elgrin read his conclusions, and demanded a 20-year prison sentence for the main suspect Desi Bouterse. for the murder of 15 prominent  young Surinamese men on 7, 8, and 9 December 1982, who had criticized the military dictatorship of Bouterse then ruling Suriname. The cruel killing became known as the "December murders" "Dutch: December moorden) Bouterse his lawyer has deposited an appeal. Final ruling is pending.

In memoriam  - Suriname's heroes December Massacre

Bram Behr journalist   

Cyrill Daal, union leade

Kenneth Gonçalves, lawyer

Eddy Hoost, lawyer

André Kamperveen, journalist and businessman

Gerard Leckie, university teacher

Sugrim Oemrawsingh, scientist

Lesley Rahman, journalist

Surendre Rambocus, military

Harold Riedewald, lawyer

Jiwansingh Sheombar, military

Jozef Slagveer, journalist

Robby Sohansingh, businessman

Frank Wijngaarde, journalist (with Dutch citizenship)

 

Read more at:

Suriname Elects a New President, Ending Bouterse’s Long Rule - The New York Times

Suriname: Washington, the Hague Should Not Sidestep Events in Suriname - by Even Ellis

On May 25, voters in Suriname decisively rejected the National Democratic Party (NDP) of incumbent President Desi Bouterse. Bouterse’s NDP declined from 26 seats in the 51 seat National Assembly to 16, behind the 20 won by Chandrikapersad Santokhi’s United Reform Party (VHP). Despite Bouterse’s occupation of the office since August 2010, Santokhi is now poised to replace him.

The VHP has formed an alliance with three other parties, the National Party of Suriname (NPS), the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (ABOP) party, and Pertjajah Luhur, leaving it one seat short of the 34 to choose the president.

In a system characterized by shady deals, shifting alliances, and political intrigue, Bouterse has ample resources, and strong motivation to avoid ceding power.

A generation of business and military elites have their fates tied to him through past patronage. Leaving the presidency implies losing the immunity which has protected Bouterse 1999 narcotrafficking charges in the Netherlands, and his conviction in Suriname for the 1982 murder of 15 opponents.

Read more at:
Washington, the Hague Should Not Sidestep Events in Suriname | Newsmax.com

Suriname: Economic Crisis Prompts a Showdown, and a Shutdown, in Suriname - by Harmen Boerboom and Anatoly

From the New York Times comes the report that the Suriname ground to a halt recently as its banks, shops and factories shuttered in a showdown between its beleaguered private sector and its authoritarian government over how to respond to a deepening economic crisis.

The closures brought a new and unpredictable tension to the streets of Paramaribo, the capital of this nation in the north of South America. Most people stayed home to comply with measures to fight the coronavirus pandemic. ran dry in the cash-based economy and supermarkets, afraid of being overrun by nervous shoppers, were closed. The showdown made Suriname, a Dutch-speaking ethnic melting pot of 600,000, the latest and most extreme example in South America of how the pandemic and a plunge in commodity prices are destabilizing weak economies and polarizing political systems

The slide in the price of Suriname’s two main export commodities, oil and gold, over the past month has effectively left the country without enough hard currency to pay off its debt and import basic goods, leaving the country on the verge of default. In addition, the departure of Dutch tourists as a result of the pandemic, which has sickened eight people in Suriname so far, has deprived the street economy of a significant source of euros.

 Suriname’s economy has gone into a tailspin just as the country is preparing for a crucial vote. In May, its president, the former military dictator Dési Bouterse, will seek another term despite being convicted of homicide by Surinamese judges and of drug trafficking charges by the Dutch.

His son, Dino Bouterse, is serving time in an American prison on drug- and terrorism-related offenses.

 In an effort to shore up the local currency, stem inflation and stop capital flight ahead of the vote, the government imposed strict new restrictions on foreign currency transactions. The governing party pushed the measure through Parliament at last month and it took effect 4 days later.

 The restrictions outraged business people and bankers, who say they repeat the currency controls that ruined neighboring Venezuela, a rare regional supporter of Mr. Bouterse. To repudiate the new limits, they brought commerce to a screeching stop.

“What has happened cannot and will not be tolerated,” said the Association of Surinamese Industry and the Association of Surinamese Manufacturers, which called on its members to strike in a joint statement. One of Suriname’s biggest food companies, Fernandes Group, closed most of its businesses on Wednesday, provoking a run on bread.

 The new measure made black market currency transactions punishable by up to three years in prison, and created a militia to stamp out illicit trading. But even as these measures were rolled out on, the cost of a dollar on the black market jumped to double the official rate as Surinamese rushed to get the scarce hard currency.

Read more at: Economic Crisis Prompts a Showdown, and a Shutdown, in Suriname

Suriname: Total and Apache tout ‘significant’ oil find in Suriname waters - by Myles McCormick and David Sheppard

Oil producers Total and Apache announced a “significant oil discovery” on Tuesday that they said proves oil-rich rock formations off the coast of Guyana cross into Suriname waters, where they are exploring.

The companies heralded the potential for “prolific” oil production after drilling work at the Maka Central-1 well off the coast of the South American nation showed that the neighbouring Guyanese Cretaceous oil play — in which rival ExxonMobil has discovered billions of barrels equivalent of recoverable oil and gas — extends into local waters.

The two companies each own a 50 per cent stake in ‘Block 58’ where the well was drilled, after Total bought into it last month. Shares in Apache rose 20 per cent on the news to their highest level since May last year. Total shares were unmoved.

Read more at: Total and Apache tout ‘significant’ oil find in Suriname waters | Financial Times

The Americas - Cuban and Suriname relations: Cuba and Suriname reaffirm cooperation ties (+ Photo)

Cuba and Suriname reaffirmed today the common interest of deepening
cooperation ties, in the context of the celebrations to mark the 40th
anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.



Read more at: The Americas - Cuban and Suriname relations: Cuba and Suriname reaffirm cooperation ties (+ Photo)

Suriname Rice Production: Suriname eyes Cuba, Barbados rice markets

Suriname’s Agriculture Minister, Rabin Parmessar is in Cuba to secure rice exports for next year.  That country’s ministry says it will do everything to make urea fertiliser and other inputs

Read more at:
http://demerarawaves.com/2019/12/15/suriname-eyes-cuba-barbados-rice-markets/

Belgium - Antwerp: "Cocaine's new gateway into Europe"

Belgian Authorities report that last year they seized $ 2.5 billion of Cocaine

Read more at:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/cocaines-new-gateway-to-europe-busy-belgian-port-1519908386

The Netherlands: a multi-cultural food paradise - make sure you also try out Suriname food

Read more at:
https://www.eatingeurope.com/surinamese-food-amsterdam/

Suriname: Commemoration of Martyrs Killed by Bouterse Regime in December 1982

A sad day, December 8, in the history of Suriname, a former Dutch colony on the North Eastern Coast of South America, when 15 prominent young Surinamers were killed during a three day period 7, 8, 9, December of 1982 by Desi Bouterse, the then Military Dictator of Suriname and his henchmen.

Commemorations of this sad episode in the Suriname history were held in Paramaribo, Suriname, and Amsterdam, in the Netherlands today.

 Desi Bouterse who today is the "President" of Suriname, was condemned in June 2017 by a Suriname court to 20 years imprisonment for this hideous crime, however, he laid the judgement aside on June 30th 2017, saying "God put me here and no Judge can remove me". 

Giving these unmistakable facts, it has been recommend that whoever wants to honor these brave martyrs and protest against this unacceptable crime, should direct an e- mail with the following Text; "I respectfully request to know why Mr. Desi Bouterse is still the President of Suriname, after he was condemned in June 2017 to 20 years in prison for having been directly involved in the December 1982 murders of 15 prominent Suriname citizens Thank you, and sign your name.
 
The e-mail should be addressed to: suriname@un.int 
with cc's to InfoDesk@ohchr.org and to information@icj-cij.org
 
May these 15 martyrs Rest in Peace and always be remembered.

Almere-Digest

Suriname: A struggling country's past and future shaped by Alcoa and its aluminum - by Rich Lord and Len Boselovic

Suriname: The Brokopondo dam at Afobaka

The following excerpts come from a lengthy and fascinating  report in the US Pittsburgh Post-Gazette - Pulitzer Center , describing the Multi-National Aluminum Company of America's exploitation of  Suriname's (a former Dutch colony on the North East Coast of South America) natural resources (bauxite deposits) since 1916. 

It must be noted that several governments, especially in Latin America and Africa, have been receptive to the negative images and have adopted hostile policies towards MNCs. 

However, a careful examination of the nature of MNCs and their operations in the Third World reveals a positive image of them, especially as the allies in the development process of these countries.

Even as MNCs may be motivated primarily by profits to invest in the Third World, the morality of their activities in improving the material lives of many in these countries should not be obscured through miss-perceptions and negative publicity usually circulated by corrupt local governments.

"It electrified this South American country even as it drowned a jungle, so the 1.2-mile-long dam Alcoa built here to harness the Suriname River is more than stone and turbines. It’s a symbol, in this tropical land of 560,000, of progress, trauma and a global company’s ability to dominate a little country’s landscape and society.

Now the Alcoa Corp. is leaving Suriname, and the Afobaka Dam’s future rivets everyone from the capital’s dealmakers to the forest’s subsistence farmers.

In a country just north of the equator that would fit within a combined Pennsylvania and West Virginia — a country that’s already in a downturn locals call “the crisis” — Alcoa’s decision to permanently end mining and refining has delivered a resonating blow.

Alcoa, the aluminum company founded in Pittsburgh in 1888 that eventually spanned six continents, set up shop here in 1916 when it found bauxite beneath the jungle floor. Cutthroat conditions in the global aluminum market compelled a shutdown in November 2015.

Halfway through that century, Alcoa finished the dam, flooding a forest people’s heartland but also jolting a plantation-based economy into the industrial age. Alcoa created mammoth mining and refining sites and raucous river towns, building a middle class while toughing out a nation’s independence, civil war and an unstable government.

Alcoa found in Suriname, circa 1916, “an almost forgotten and impoverished Dutch colony … which had to look forward to a future without a glimmer of hope,” according to a glossy, celebratory magazine the company produced in late 2014.

It was a land of subsistence farms and wild rubber extraction, plus “colonial plantations” producing cocoa, coffee and sugar. In Alcoa’s first half-century there, the company mined bauxite to the east and south of the capital and sent it abroad, by boat, for processing.

In 1958, the company, the local minister-president and the Dutch governor agreed on a plan to power an ore-to-aluminum industrial complex and signed the 75-year Brokopondo Agreement, named for the town just north of the proposed dam site.

From 1959 through 1965, Alcoa built the Afobaka Dam, and in Paranam a refinery to turn bauxite into alumina, and a smelter to convert that to aluminum ingots. The plans were crafted “on the drawing table of Alcoa’s Engineering Department in Pittsburgh,” according to a company history of the project.

The lengthy Brokopondo Agreement contained just one sentence about the 6,000 people living in 43 villages just upstream of the dam — leaving it to the government to “remove the population, the buildings and other property from the reservoir area.”

The lengthy Brokopondo Agreement contained just one sentence about the 6,000 people living in 43 villages just upstream of the dam — leaving it to the government to “remove the population, the buildings and other property from the reservoir area.”

The 1958 agreement gave Suriname’s government a fraction of the dam’s cheap electricity priced at 0.4 cents per kilowatt hour. But circumstances changed in 1999 when Alcoa closed the smelter, a big user of the dam’s electricity.

Although many say the smelter’s small size and environmental issues were the reasons for the shutdown, there was a nagging suspicion among some that Alcoa had another motive.

Henk Ramdin, Suralco’s general manager until retiring shortly before the smelter was shuttered, said many employees at the time believed the company could make more money selling the power than it could making aluminum.

“They didn’t say it openly, but I could feel it,” Mr. Ramdin recalled.

An Alcoa spokesman wrote that such decisions are based on “a comprehensive evaluation of market conditions, regulatory certainty, and capital requirements,” but declined to be more specific.

The dispute over the dam and electricity pricing came to head in October 2015, when Alcoa and Suriname’s current minister of natural resources signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding outlining proposed terms for Alcoa’s departure.

Alcoa agreed to clean up its mines and industrial sites to U.S. standards, to consider eventual mining of bauxite in western Suriname, and to give the dam to the country’s government at the end of 2019 — 13 years before the Brokopondo Agreement ended ".

For the complete report click here: A struggling country's past and future shaped by Alcoa and its aluminum | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Suriname: Investigators find €2 million hidden in Suriname-bound ambulance - by Janene Pieters

A 44-year-old man from Almere was arrested by the Tax Authorities’ investigative department FIOD after an amount of 2 million euros was discovered in an ambulance he wanted to ship to Suriname, Metro reports. He is suspected of money laundering.

According to the newspaper, the man wanted to ship the ambulance and a new Jaguar from Vlissingen to Suriname. But a Customs sniffer dog found the money in time.

The money, all 500 euro notes, was hidden in two plastic bags in the ambulance’s roof. The money, ambulance and Jaguar were all confiscated. The authorities also searched the suspect’s home and storage unit.

The car company that arranged the transportation of the ambulance and Jaguar is also under investigation. The company offers expensive cars for sale on its website, but does not report any revenue to the Tax Authorities. The authorities suspect the company launders criminal money by exporting expensive cars and money to Suriname.


Read more: Investigators find €2 million hidden in Suriname-bound ambulance - NL Time

Suriname president acts to again avoid trial in 1982 deaths - by Pieter Van Mael

Bouterse, Suriname's President stops his own murder trial 

President Desi Bouterse sought again Wednesday to prevent authorities from putting him back on trial for the abduction and summary execution of 15 political opponents when he was the military dictator of this South American nation.

Bouterse instructed Suriname's attorney general to immediately halt proceedings against him, invoking an article of the constitution that allows the president to issue such an order in the interests of national security.

The action follows a June court ruling that invalidated an amnesty law pushed through parliament by Bouterse's supporters after he was elected president. The court ordered the resumption of the trial against him and 24 co-defendants.

Since then, the political mood has been tense amid expectations that the president would seek to prevent the case from moving forward. Bouterse had said the trial poses a danger to the internal security of the country, which is struggling through a recession because of the sharp drop in commodity prices.

Justice Minister Jennifer Van Dijk-Silos confirmed that the government had invoked Article 148 of Suriname's constitution in the matter but declined to discuss the decision.

Bouterse said little as he entered and left a closed session of parliament. "Every decision has its advantages and disadvantages," he said, without providing details.

A court session in the case was scheduled for Thursday but it was not immediately clear how the judges would react to the government's action.

"We are shocked, not only because of the president's decision, but also because it was unanimously backed by the entire government," said Eddy Wijngaarde, whose brother, Frank, was among those killed by the regime. "We had hoped at least some ministers would have refused to back the president's latest attempt to make the trial impossible."

Bouterse and 24 allies from his time as a military dictator in the 1980s avoided trial until November 2007 on charges stemming from the execution of the 15 prominent political opponents, an event known locally as the "December killings" that stunned the lightly populated nation on the northern tip of South America.

The former strongman returned to power in 2010 when he was elected president by parliament. Two years later, lawmakers passed an amnesty law and court proceedings were put on hold in a decision that outraged human rights activists.

Bouterse, who was re-elected by parliament last year, has accepted what he calls "political responsibility" for the military's killing of the 15 well-known journalists, lawyers and union leaders but said he was not present when the executions took place. Witnesses in the trial have disputed that claim.

Read more: Suriname president acts to again avoid trial in 1982 deaths - Houston Chronicle

Suriname: Court:" Murder trial against Suriname president must continue"

Murder Trial: Will Bouterse Finally Face Justice ?

A murder trial against Suriname's president for the 1982 deaths of political opponents is expected to resume soon after a military court ruled that an amnesty law is unconstitutional.

The court ordered that the trial of President Desi Bouterse resume by the end of the month in this South American country. The trial had been on hold since April 2012, when a parliament controlled by Bouterse's party approved an amnesty law.

"This is not only important for the relatives of the victims, this ruling is important for the entire country," lawyer Hugo Essed, a counsel for the relatives, told The Associated Press. "This shows Suriname is still a country with rule of law."

Essed said he expects that Bouterse will be sentenced on charges of murder in upcoming months. However, some relatives of the victims remained unconvinced.

"We cannot start celebrating yet," Sunil Oemrawsingh told reporters. "President Bouterse and his friends are in power. We have to expect they will once again put up obstacles in an attempt to sabotage the proceedings in court."

Bouterse did not attend Thursday's hearing. His lawyer, Irvin Kanhai, told reporters he still believes that only a constitutional court can review the amnesty law.

"I will discuss this situation with my client and go in appeal if necessary," he said.

A constitutional court was supposed to verify whether the amnesty law was legitimate, but such a court was never created. Four years later, the military court announced it had waited long enough.

"There is no sight of concrete actions by the government on when the court will be operational", said Judge Cynthia Valstein-Montnor, president of the military court.

She said local laws allow any judge to determine whether a law is in breach of the constitution. Valstein-Montnor said she found the amnesty law unconstitutional because Parliament approved it when the trial was ongoing and nearing its end. She also said the law violated of several human rights treaties that Suriname had signed in the past.

Bouterse and 25 allies from his time as a military dictator in the 1980s avoided trial until November 2007 on charges stemming from the abduction and summary execution of 15 prominent political opponents, an event known locally as the "December killings."

The former strongman returned to power in 2010 when he was elected president by parliament. Two years later, lawmakers passed an amnesty law and proceedings were put on hold in a decision that outraged human rights activists.

Bouterse, who was re-elected by parliament, has accepted what he called "political responsibility" for the killings by the military of the well-known journalists, lawyers and union leaders but said he was not present when the executions took place. Witnesses in the trial have disputed that claim.


Read more: Court: Murder trial against Suriname president must continue | Daily Mail Online

Suriname: Thousands protest against electricity, water price hike in Suriname

Suriname in turmoil: Desi Bouterse -Dictator turned President

For the second time in three weeks, thousands took to the streets of Paramaribo protesting against austerity measures from the Desi Bouterse led administration on Thursday.
Some protestors called for Bouterse to “go home” while others denounced price hikes for electricity and water.

The protest was organised by several worker’s unions and private sector organizations who have stated that harsher times are coming with another hike in the price of electricity coming in September this year and January 2017.

In a petition presented to speaker of the house, Jennifer Geerlings-Simons, the protestors claim that inflation has risen to 46 per cent, while the national currency is losing its value everyday due to an “incompetent monetary policy by the government”.

“Numerous public servants, pensioners, disabled persons and others who have become victims of the ongoing financial and economic crisis are serious financial problems and should be immediately compensated for the inflation”, protesters said in the petition.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved a Stand-by Agreement of US$ 478 million to boost the government’s economic restructuring program amid a drop in commodity prices.

The IMF also announced that it will immediately disburse US$81 million as part of a two-year agreement.

However, Members of Parliament from the opposition voiced their anger in parliament on Tuesday, accusing the government of by-passing the legislative in its engagement with IMF to strike the loan agreement.

The restructuring program aims to strengthen Suriname’s public finances following a drop in prices for its principal commodities namely gold and oil.

According to the IMF the sustained drop in the prices of gold and oil has caused substantial external and fiscal deficits, and international reserves have declined significantly.

These negative external developments, combined with the closure of Suriname’s alumina refinery in late 2015, have pushed the economy into a recession. “Implementing the structural reform agenda is essential to ensure a prosperous future for Suriname,” the IMF said in a statement.



Read more: Thousands protest against electricity, water price hike in Suriname - News - JamaicaObserver.com

Suriname: Guyana alleges Suriname’s Coast Guard harassing Amerindians, fishermen – by Denis Chabrol

Guyanese Press reports indicate that Guyana is probing reports that Suriname’s Coast Guard has been harassing Guyanese fishermen and Indigenous Indians who traditionally fish in the Corentyne River, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said Tuesday night.

He said Suriname’s Ambassador to Guyana has been already summoned to the Foreign Ministry about reports that the Guyanese Indigenous Indians at Orealla were being taxed at least GYD$10,000 to fish in the Corentyne River.

A number of the Indians has been recently released from the custody of Surinamese Coast Guard.

Harmon told Demerara Waves Online News late Tuesday night that Guyana would be registering its objection to ensure that its rights under international law are protected.

The Minister of State said the matter would be further addressed by Foreign Affairs Minister, Carl Greenidge when he returns from meeting in Ecuador. “There are wider issues of the use of the river that we have to deal with so the question of Orealla and the Amerindian people is one aspect of how the Surinamese have been treating with that river,” he said.

Harmon said fishermen were being pulled in and their passports and identification cards demanded.

With Suriname in the throes of a severe economic crisis, which has resulted in that eastern South American neighbour asking the World Bank for help, Harmon said Surinamese personnel appeared bent on exploring all available means to earn a quick dollar. “You can’t now impose almost a tax on them for that because that is what it amounts to,” he said.

The Minister of State said the encounters between the Indigenous Indians and the Surinamese Coast Guard have been reported to the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples.

Guyana Empowered People’s Action Network (GEPAN) says several Arawaks, who were fishing in the Corentyne River, were detained earlier this month by Surinamese Coast Guard personnel and returned the following day after they were warned against doing so again.

GEPAN President, Anna Correia has since written to Foreign Minister Greenidge detailing the incident as was related to her by former Toshao (Village Chief), Flloyd Edwards. “A group of villagers were fishing during the course of last week on the Corentyne River when they were stopped by the Surinamese Patrol and taken to Suriname where they were detained for several hours. Their families were not informed of the arrest and they were only able to return after having overnighted in Suriname. Attempts from the fishermen to explain to the patrol that they are Amerindians from Orealla who have strong ties with their Surinamese Arawak cousins of Apura, proved futile,”  states the letter dated January 26, 2016.

The Corentyne River borders the neighbouring countries.



 Almere Digest

Suriname Elections: (Poll) Party President Bouters,former dictator and convicted drug fugitive,seems to have upper hand

Desi Bouterse the colorful dictator-turned-president who has ruled Suriname ( a former Dutch colony) on and off since 1980, is looking to consolidate power when the small South American country holds general elections on Monday.

A convicted drug trafficker who has been a coup leader and an international fugitive, Bouterse is seeking to dispense with his alliance with one-time nemesis Ronnie Brunswijk and preside over the first non-coalition democratic government in Suriname's history. 

Bouterse's National Democratic Party (NDP) formed a government after the last elections in 2010 by forging a motley mega-coalition, returning him to power for the second time since his 1980-1987 military government.

But after the coalition fell apart, the NDP decided to go it alone this time, buoyed by strong standings in opinion polls.

The party needs to win at least 26 seats in the 51-member National Assembly to govern alone, and 34 seats to re-elect Bouterse -- the president is chosen by a two-thirds majority of parliament.

The main opposition is the V7, a coalition of six parties that accuses Bouterse of massive corruption and has a broad ethnic base in the racially diverse country whose 500,000 people have roots in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

The third main group, and possible power-broker, is the Alternative Combination alliance led by Brunswijk, a former guerrilla leader who fought a civil war against Bouterse's military government before teaming up with his former foe in 2010.

The party's base are the Maroons, the descendants of fugitive slaves who set up settlements in the Surinamese interior.

The smallest country in South America, Suriname was colonized by the British and Dutch and gained independence from the Netherlands in 1975.

Five years later, a group of sergeants led by Bouterse overthrew prime minister Henck Arron and installed a military government.

Whether in his dictator's fatigues and sunglasses or his sharp president's suit, Bouterse, 69, has loomed large over the country's politics ever since.

His regime put down two counter-coups and rounded up and executed 15 opponents in 1982, an event known as the "December killings."

Bouterse stepped down in 1987, but returned to power in 1990 in a second bloodless coup.

After leaving power a second time, Bouterse was indicted and court-martialed for the December killings, but his coalition passed a controversial amnesty law in 2012 that aborted the trial.

The president and his family have faced a host of other legal woes, adding to the country's reputation for drug running, money laundering and graft.

The Netherlands convicted him in absentia of cocaine smuggling in 1999, but he remained free because Suriname does not extradite its citizens.

Earlier this year, a Dutch court rejected his third bid to have the conviction overturned.

In March, a US court sentenced his son Dino, who had served as his father's top counter-terrorism official, to 16 years in prison on charges of trying to aid and arm Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.

Bouterse has shrugged off these scandals and bolstered his popularity with expanded social welfare programs, free university education and lavish spending on infrastructure projects such as bridges, schools and housing.

The V7, formerly known as the New Front, accuses him of corruption and populism, and warns the tab for these projects will hurt when it arrives.

It also blames the NDP for an energy crisis it says was caused by shady deals with US-based aluminum giant Alcoa for the Afobaka hydroelectric dam, which generates most of the mineral-rich, upper-middle-income country's power.

In all, seven parties and four coalitions are vying for the ballots of 350,000 registered voters, who will also elect their district and local representatives.

Polls open at 7:00 am (1000 GMT) and close 12 hours later.

The first, partial results are expected at 10:00 pm, with a projection of the full results early Tuesday.

EU-Digest

Suriname: Four International Delegations to Monitor Elections in Suriname on May 25, 2015

Suriname President Desi Bouterse

At least four international organizations confirmed today their presence in the elections in the Republic of Suriname (a former Dutch Colony), set for May 25, in which President Desire Delano Bouterse is favorite to continue his "management" of the political party he leads.

According to the Suriname electoral authorities, the list of observers includes 11 members of the Caribbean Community, 20 from the Union of South American Nations, 24 from the  Organization of American States and five from the European Union.

Read more: Prensa Latina News Agency - Four International Delegations to Monitor Elections in Suriname