MILITARY OFFICER VOICES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR AN

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARAMARIBO 000117

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: (##)
TAGS: PREL MARR NS
SUBJECT: MILITARY OFFICER VOICES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR AN
ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT


CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR BARNES FOR REASON 1.5 B AND D.

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) Summary. During a February 7 press "Information
Day" hosted by Suriname's National Army, a military
officer, Major Goerdeyal, called on the Surinamese
Government to sign an Article 98 agreement with the United
States or face losing US military assistance. Goerdeyal
declared that the days of the military coup were over and
that every member of the Surinamese Armed Forces from the
first day of recruit training is made to understand that
the armed forces serve under the civilian leadership of the
country. He also announced that the GOS was implementing a
plan to reinstate a national service program in response to
the military threat posed by Guyana. His remarks were
widely reported by journalists. Surinamese President
Venetiaan was reportedly extremely irritated by Goerdeyal's
public comments, so much so that he appended his speech to
the annual Diplomatic New Year's luncheon to remind the
military that the Surinamese Army is subordinate to the
civil authorities. However well intentioned, Goerdeyal's
statements have made our achieving an Article 98 agreement
with Suriname all the more difficult. End Summary.

ARTICLE 98
--------------


2. (U) During a specially organized "Information Day" for
the press February 6, Major Pertapsingh Goerdeyal, the head
of Suriname's Armed Forces (SAF) training and operations
division, voiced strong support for an Article 98 agreement
between Suriname and the United States. According to local
media reports, Goerdeyal warned that Suriname would lose
all the assistance that it currently received from SOUTHCOM
if it joined the ICC but failed to sign an Article 98
agreement. Noting that SOUTHCOM was currently the SAF's
largest donor and the only entity that trained Surinamese
military personnel abroad, he stressed it was in Suriname's
"highest interest" that cooperation between SOUTHCOM and
the SAF continue. Goerdeyal added that it was unclear what
the GOS decision on Article 98 would be but that time was
running out. The signing of an Article 98 agreement will
be discussed, Goerdeyal said, when Minister of Defense
Assen meets with senior SOUTHCOM officials at SOUTHCOM
headquarters in less than two weeks.


3. (U) Goerdayal told the press, "the US military attache
has told us that, if Suriname signs up to the ICC but not
to an Article 98 agreement, then within 24 hours he must
close his office, depart and all projects will stop."
(Comment: No such statement has ever been made by the
DATT's office in Paramaribo. End Comment.) Goerdeyal
added, however, that, as a clear incentive, SOUTHCOM has
made available a USD 1.6 project for the SAF that Suriname
can claim if it signs an Article 98 agreement. He
explained that Guyana was already making use of a similar
incentive project. Having already signed an Article 98
agreement, Guyana enjoys generous support from SOUTHCOM, he
claimed. (Comment. Again, sources for these statements
are unknown. End Comment.)


4. (U) Building the case for an agreement, Goerdeyal
highlighted the joint activities that will be carried out
by SOUTHCOM and the SAF this year, including:

-- The SAF and SOUTHCOM will participate in two Medical
Readiness Exercises, one in April and the other in
May, which would result in free medical treatment to
12,000 needy Surinamers.

-- The SAF will receive training via the International
Military and Education Training (IMET) Programs as
well as a first responder medical training to help the
SAF fulfill its newly extended mandate, including
emergency assistance coordination.
-- -Suriname will participate in a Joint Command Exercise
Training (JCET). During an October 2003 JCET, fifty
military personnel and ten police officers received
special anti-terrorism training. Goerdeyal deemed
JCETs particularly useful since they provide
Surinamese military personnel with the newest tactical
and technical tools.


-- SOUTHCOM has made available 400,000 USD in
humanitarian assistance through the Humanitarian
Assistance Program (HAP).


5. (U) In addition, Goerdeyal announced that as a sign of
solidarity between the two nations, SOUTHCOM had invited
Suriname to participate in the Trade Winds Exercise, which
will take place April 7-17, 2004, in the Dominican
Republic.


6. (U) To counter concerns that Americans accused of
committing a war crime might somehow escape justice via an
Article 98 agreement, Goerdeyal laid out the legal
framework underlying such an agreement. He explained that
under an Article 98 agreement, American citizens, including
military personnel, would be tried either in the country
where the crime allegedly occurred or in the United States
but not in the International Criminal Court (ICC).


7. (U) In other matters, Goerdeyal stated:

-- The days of military coups in Suriname have passed for
good. "The chance that the military would ever take
over via a coup is small." All recruits and all
members of the armed forces learn from day one that
they serve under the civilian leadership of the
country.

-- The Surinamese Army recently received applications
from 1,700 young men and women for 200 positions
within the Armed Forces.

-- The Surinamese Government is implementing a plan to
reinstate national service. Among other reasons, this
is being done in response to the military threat posed
by Guyana.

DISAVOWAL
--------------


8. (C) Goerdeyal's comments reportedly infuriated
Surinamese President Venetiaan, who called in his top
military officials over the weekend to file a report on
Geordeyal's remarks, which he reportedly characterized as
military leadership meddling in political matters. Both
Ministry of Defense Chief of Staff Justice Hew a Kie and
Suriname Armed Forces CHOD Ernest Mercuur told the Embassy
privately on February 9 that, in their reports to
Venetiaan, they disavowed Goerdeyal's remarks. They
stressed that the SAF did not seek to publicly pressure the
GOS to decide one way or the other on signing an Article 98
agreement. (Comment. Although they have consistently made
clear to DATT that they favor such an agreement, they
recognized it as a political decision. End Comment.) They
both regretted Goerdeyal's statement about "coups" as
unnecessary and unfortunate. They also rejected his
assertion that there was any plan in place to resurrect a
national service program, although they admitted that
Minister of Defense Assen had stated that such a plan might
be developed sometime this year. But, they stressed, the
national service plan has nothing to do with any supposed
military threats from Guyana.

VENETIAAN
--------------


10. (U) For his part, President Venetiaan added a comment
to the end of his prepared speech on the occasion of his
New Year's luncheon for the Diplomatic Corps February 9, in
which he stated: "We feel a need to stress the importance
of democracy in Suriname and in particular the rule that in
Suriname the army is subordinated to the civil authority in
the country. This should not be jeopardized in any way."

COMMENT
--------------

11. (C) The sources for many of Geordeyal's Article 98
declarations, including his claims of promised SOUTHCOM
support, are unclear. The swift reaction by Suriname's
President to Goerdeyal's worrisome statements demonstrates
the heightened sensitivity to any overstepping of bounds by
the military given Suriname's muddied past with military
regimes. Despite Goerdeyal's best intentions, the


statements may have adverse effects on our continuing
efforts to secure an Article 98 agreement with Suriname.
END COMMENT.

BARNES


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2004PARAMA00117 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL



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