“You will get to know the gendarmerie”

The ABOP does not approve of the border agreement between Suriname and France. The border agreement clearly states that police units from Suriname and French Guyana can carry out joint operations within a range of 2 kilometers of the border. The ABOP, however, is hesitant about the agreement. The party pointed out that there are about 10 scarcely equipped police officers along the Suriname borders and about 130 heavily armed French colleagues who are members of special police units. The ABOP fears that the Surinamese villages along the Marowijne River will be caught off guard as part of a French agenda under the guise of a joint operation. “You will get to know the gendarmerie,” said MP Edward Belfort (ABOP) as he explained that the semimilitary unit is trained to come down hard on enemy forces. The party alleges that they have already committed unacceptable actions on the Marowijne River such as setting boats on fire, dropping outboard motors in the water and confiscating possessions of people who travel along the river. The ABOP pointed out that there is no guarantee that these excesses will not happen. According to the ABOP faction in parliament, the government has shown its incompetence by letting the French maintain law and order along the border with French Guyana. “Marowijne has always been treated in a stepmotherly way,” said MP Marinus Bee (ABOP). MP Ronnie Brunswijk and MP Edward Belfort also agreed with MP Bee. All three legislators suspect that France wants to continue Operation Anaconda on Surinamese soil. Operation Anaconda is aimed at taking actions against small scale gold diggers. The ABOP legislators left the conference room before their colleagues voted on ratifying the agreement.