SOFA WITH SURINAME IN FORCE

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000721 SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/CAR LLUFTIG AND L/PM TMITCHELL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: MARR MASS PREL PGOV NS SUBJECT: SOFA WITH SURINAME IN FORCE ¶1. On November 1, the Embassy received a diplomatic note dated October 20 from Suriname's Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming acceptance of the text of a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) proposed in the Embassy's note of April 11, 2005. The SOFA was approved by Suriname's Parliament on June 23 under the implicit approval provision of the Constitution. On June 24, in response to a question, the then Speaker of the Parliament, now Vice President indicated that the SOFA was in force. ¶2. There is no explanation for the prolonged delay between procedural approval and the receipt of official notification, but it is not out of the ordinary. The Ministry's note concludes by noting that the agreement shall be deemed to have entered into force as of the date of the note. ¶3. Embassy will fax copies of the notes to L/PM and pouch certified copies to L/T. ¶4. Comment: Conclusion of the SOFA is the result of a long, hard effort by Embassy Paramaribo. In 2004, Suriname lost the chance to host an orphaned New Horizons exercise, which would have been a first for the country. Although a draft SOFA had been before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for more than two years, it was only on the eve of the exercise's arrival that the GoS concluded that proposed language regarding exemption from customs inspection made the draft unacceptable, and the exercise went to Guyana. This absurd loss of a valuable opportunity prompted the Embassy to launch an all-out effort to obtain a SOFA. Perhaps stung by criticism from a public put out that the exercise and its monetary benefits went to neighboring Guyana, the government agreed to engage. Even then, constant pressure from the Ambassador was required to move the process along. After the Asia tsunami, Ambassador made sure that having a SOFA in place expedited the provision of relief by U.S. military personnel. Post warned that an agreement was a prerequisite for future exercises, as the previous practice of relying on an exercise-specific exchange of notes was too time consuming, and Suriname's habit of eleventh hour response didn't mesh with our planning timetable. When no agreement was approved by late Spring, an exercise planned for August was scrubbed. ¶4. The Embassy now finds itself with a SOFA, but, with no military exercises planned for the foreseeable future, the agreement appears to be of minimal value, unless there were a need to bring in military personnel on short notice to respond to a disaster. It is a pity that our forward planning seems to preclude actually exercising the agreement we sought so hard to obtain. BARNES NNNN