EARLY OPPOSITION TO PRESIDENT'S STATED INTENTION

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000811 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR WHA/CAR LLUFTIG, L/PM MIKE COFFEE SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR EAID NS SUBJECT: EARLY OPPOSITION TO PRESIDENT'S STATED INTENTION TO SIGN ARTICLE 98 REFS: (A) PARAMARIBO 790 (B) PARAMARIBO 637 ¶1. (U) Summary. In an appearance before the National Assembly on December 6, Surinamese President Ronald Venetiaan announced that Suriname intends both to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and sign an Article 98 agreement with the United States. (See reftel). Since then a spattering of voices opposing the President's announced intention has emerged, one coming from within his own governing coalition. End Summary. ¶2. (U) The most influential voice opposing the decision has come from National Assembly member Sharmila Mangal- - Mansaram, whose VHP party is a long-standing coalition partner of President Venetiaan's NPS party. She was quoted on December 10 in the local newspaper Dagblaad Suriname, which boasts the second largest circulation in Suriname, as saying she would do everything she could to prevent Suriname from signing the agreement. She argued that the Article 98 agreement undermines and is a violation of the spirit of the Rome Statutes, which she said the United States is misinterpreting. ¶3. (U) In the same Saturday edition, Dagblaad Suriname ran a letter-to-the-editor submitted by Roy R. de Miranda, who is the secretary general of an organization named the Clean Files Tribunal and is a frequent letter writer to Suriname's three morning newspapers. The organization is allegedly connected with former military dictator and narcotics trafficker Desi Bouterse's NDP, Suriname's largest opposition party. The letter accuses the Government of Suriname (GOS) of being a U.S. lapdog by first agreeing to realign the road in front of the Embassy (See ref B) and by now agreeing to sign an Article 98 agreement. The writer accuses the USG of violating human rights in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo and said the GOS should not take part in politics of hypocrisy. He concludes by saying Suriname should shed its beggar mentality and not sign the Article 98 agreement. ¶4. (U) The widely-read and influential Saturday editorial "Keerpunt," found in the newspaper De West which is generally well disposed to Suriname's military, criticized Venetiaan's announcement briefly in its week-in-review section. It said that by accommodating the U.S request for an Article 98 agreement, the President was once again handing over Suriname's national integrity to "big brother." The editorial page stated that by agreeing not to hand over Americans involved in human rights violations to the ICC, the President is helping create an "ubermensch" country. In the same edition, though, Keerpunt opined in a long column that Suriname needs a strong and effective defense force, and in order to achieve this as a small country it must not deny itself foreign assistance from larger powers, implying the United States. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) The Clean Files Tribunal letter will have little consequence on the Article 98 approval process in the National Assembly, but its sentiments may be an early window into opposition party plans to contest the agreement to gain political advantage by painting President Venetiaan as a lapdog of outsiders. With a thin 29-22 majority in the National Assembly, the President will need disciplined voting from his coalition partners to gain approval of an agreement, which is what makes the oft-outspoken Mangal- Mansaram's remarks significant. Her stated position, however, comes only days after the initial announcement, and it is not clear yet just how permanent her stance is. Backtracking from firmly declared positions is not entirely uncommon in Surinamese politics, and the President still has time to garner her support. Based on Post's experience in successfully negotiating a SOFA agreement and the road realignment project, it is not unreasonable to expect a painstakingly long gap between the President's public pronouncement of approval and the actual entering into force of the agreement. In those experiences, though, the President eventually made good on his pronouncements. BARNES NNNN