DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER VISIT HIGHLIGHTS

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000701

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR INL/LP - NBOZZOLO
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - LLUFTIG
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD
CARACAS FOR LEGAT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL SOCI ECON NS
SUBJECT: DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER VISIT HIGHLIGHTS
NEED FOR CLOSER LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION

REFTELS: (A) PARAMARIBO 689 (B) PARAMARIBO 198


1. (U) Summary. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot paid an
official visit to Suriname on October 21 to discuss the
future of bilateral relations and prepare for a visit by
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Balkenende next month. Bot and his
Surinamese counterparts discussed expanding law enforcement
cooperation between Suriname, Colombia, and the Netherlands;
ending a treaty governing treatment of Dutch nationals of
Surinamese origin; 100% controls at Amsterdam's Schiphol
airport; and the general process of moving towards a less
"emotional" bilateral relationship. End Summary.


2. (U) During his short visit, Bot met with newly installed
Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lygia Kraag-Keteldijk
and paid courtesy calls on recently reelected President
Ronald Venetiaan and his Vice-President Ramdien Sardjoe.
Bot's stay was in advance of Prime Minister Balkenende's
upcoming attendance at Suriname's 30th anniversary of
independence on November 25. Balkenende's visit to Suriname
will be the first by a Dutch prime minister since
independence in 1975.


3. (SBU) During his visit, Bot said that Suriname, Colombia,
and the Netherlands need to collaborate more closely in
combating drug trafficking. He included the U.S. in this in
off the cuff remarks during an evening address at the Lim A
Po academic institute. Transit countries, like Suriname and
the Netherlands, cannot handle the problem alone, making
closer law enforcement cooperation with source countries,
such as Colombia, necessary. He met with Minister of
Justice and Police Chandrikerpersad Santokhi to discuss this
broader collaboration and mentioned that he spoke with U.S.
Ambassador Wood and Colombian officials on the issue during
his recent trip to Bogota. He also said that other European
Union (EU) countries were closely watching Dutch efforts to
combat narcotics trafficking. Bot explained that his
country lies on a geographic pivot point, making it very
accessible to criminal organizations and a transit country
for drugs to the rest of Europe.


4. (U) Bot linked this EU pressure with the need to continue
100% controls on passengers arriving directly into Schiphol
from Suriname, Aruba, and the Dutch Antilles. The controls
continue to be a diplomatic sore spot between Suriname and
the Netherlands. During a press conference, Kraag Keteldijk
emphasized the unpleasantness of the controls. Bot said
that for the moment there are no plans to end it and that
even Dutch officials returning from Suriname are subject to
it.


5. (SBU) A "Separation Agreement" signed by both sides when
Suriname became independent was also a hot topic. The
agreement governs how Dutch citizens of Surinamese origin
should be treated upon their return to Suriname. The
agreement has been controversial and even led to a lawsuit
against the State. Kraag-Keteldijk said the agreement is no
longer relevant 30 years after independence and that she
would like to bring an end to it. Bot was more equivocal.
He promised to send a delegation to Suriname before the end
of 2005 to discuss the matter, which he said was legally
complex. According to the Dutch Embassy, ending the
agreement would be politically unpopular with the 350,000
Dutch of Surinamese origin currently living in the
Netherlands.


6. (U) In a discussion at the Lim A Po institute, Bot warned
that Dutch-Surinamese relations will be affected by further
Dutch integration into the EU because Dutch decisions and
regulations will often be governed by Brussels. He also
stated that his government would like to expand relations
with Suriname, but would like these relations to be less
emotional and more business-like. He said he wants "more
telephone rather than megaphone" diplomacy, but still
considers the countries' common language, culture, history,
and people significant.


7. (U) In order to reduce poverty, Bot urged Suriname to
improve its investment climate for foreign investors and
spur domestic private sector growth. Responding to a
question about Suriname's banana access to the EU market, he


said he had been involved in the early negotiations and that
Suriname had lost out because it waited too long to make a
decision, presumably referring to a banana export licensing
deal where a company ended up with what should have been
Suriname's license. He praised Suriname for contributing
towards the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market
Economy as the organization's recent chair. He also
mentioned the opportunities opening up for Suriname from a
planned road system extending through the Amazon region,
from having Surinamer Albert Ramdin as the Deputy Secretary
of the Organization of American States (OAS) and from
Suriname's good relations with Brazil, China, Indonesia and
India. He also encouraged Suriname to tap into Surinamese
academics living in the Netherlands to help develop the
country.


8. (SBU) Contacts at the Dutch Embassy felt the visit went
very well and Bot was able to discuss all of his agenda
points. Same day protests organized by former military
dictator and convicted narcotics trafficker Desi Bouterse
against President Venetiaan's government did little to
disrupt Bot's visit, but it did push it out of the lead
story on local TV news. (See reftel A).

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COMMENT
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9. (SBU) The Dutch interest in expanding law enforcement
cooperation with Suriname and Colombia is a welcome
development. Dutch assistance in this realm has produced
real results in Suriname, including the March arrest of the
leader of major drug trafficking and money laundering ring.
(See reftel B). Because of a shared language and legal
system, the Netherlands is uniquely equipped to provide
close support to Surinamese police and prosecutors. The
100% controls at Schiphol have met success in deterring
small-time cocaine mules traveling from Suriname, but to
truly address the trafficking problem, the Dutch need to
assist Suriname in deterring large cocaine shipments
transported out of Suriname via commercial container vessels
that end up in Dutch ports.

BARNES


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