“No Surinamese victims during latest incident”

Suriname can’t claim with 100% certainty that the French Gendarmerie on February 27 destroyed private property on Surinamese territory. The incident reportedly took place at Mata Tabiki. Suriname’s Foreign Affairs (Buza) Minister Yldiz Pollack-Beighle on Thursday pointed out that Suriname and France are busy addressing the Marowijne River borderline issue and that Suriname has made it clear that the French Gendarmerie must refrain from taking violent action in the area. Minister PollackBeighle made it clear that France on February 27 violated the agreement with Suriname.

The minister also explained that no property of Surinamese citizens were destroyed. She has received word that the property of a Brazilian entrepreneur was destroyed. “No Surinamese citizens were involved in this incident,” Minister Yldiz Pollack-Beighle told parliament on Thursday. She nevertheless deemed the incident regrettable as there is a clear understanding on paper regarding the use of violence in the disputed area. The Surinamese government responded to the February 27 incident by suspending the joint patrols unilaterally. The Foreign Affairs minister also added that Suriname and France have made great progress as a result of the talks aimed at determining the borderline. Both countries will issue a joint statement regarding the issue soon. Meanwhile the Suriname government has released some funds so that the Border Commission and the Ministry of Regional Development can inform the communities located in the south eastern border region of the results of the talks.

Members of both the opposition and the coalition on Thursday strongly condemned the actions of the gendarmerie. The February 27 incident is reportedly the third incident to take place within a one-year period.