Caribbean Community leaders condemn violence in Suriname after protesters storm parliament

NASSAU, THE BAHAMAS

Caribbean Community leaders condemned Friday the storming of the Parliament of Suriname, a fellow member country where anti-government protests descended into chaos as protesters forced their way into the building and others demonstrated in the streets, clashing with police.

The protests, which had started peacefully, were triggered by austerity measures imposed by the government of President Chan Santokhi, which condemned the violence. A former Dutch colony in South America, Suriname had a 54.6% inflation rate last year. Its population is about 610,000.

The country, part of the 15-member Caribbean Community known as CARICOM, has been struggling, like other countries in the region, with rising food costs and the ongoing fallout of the COVID-19 epidemic.

“We respect every citizen’s right to protest within the confines of their constitution and the relevant laws of the country,” Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said at a closing CARICOM press conference. “We stand in solidarity in recognizing the democratically elected government led by President Santokhi and we do hope that all actors can respect the rule of law and respect people’s rights to move freely, and we certainly condemn the storming of the Parliament.”

Skerrit mentioned recent events in Brazil and the

Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, saying such behavior is unacceptable.

“It appears this is becoming a practice in our hemisphere and something we all need to seek to condemn and stamp out,” he said. “We call for calm and a restoration of peace and order and allow for dialogue to take place.”

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said what happened in Suriname is “most unfortunate.”

“People can express their views. But there is no excuse for violence,” she said. “The ultimate loss is also to the stability of the country.”

Mottley said leaders know there is “a lot of hurting” in the region as a result of the increased costs of food, fertilizers and other agricultural necessities since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But she said “it is unacceptable for anyone to be putting people’s lives at risk.”

“Whether we like it or not ... we are at war with the climate crisis, we are at war with cost of living, we are at war with the pandemic, we are at war with so many things.”

CARICOM heads of government met in the Bahamas for three days, where they addressed a number of regional issues, including the continued economic fallout from COVID-19, climate change, the migration crisis and deepening hunger.

Jacqueline Charles: 305-376-2616, @jacquiecharles