PROPOSED ARTICLE 98 SIGNING STIRS CRITICAL

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000828 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR WHA/CAR: LLUFTIG SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR NS SUBJECT: PROPOSED ARTICLE 98 SIGNING STIRS CRITICAL REACTIONS REF: PARAMARIBO 811 ¶1. (U) Summary. President Venetiaan's December 6 statement that Suriname plans to join the International Criminal Court (ICC) and sign a bilateral non-surrender (Article 98) agreement with the United States continues to reverberate in the press. It has been given new life by an Amnesty International (AI) statement of December 15 urging that Suriname's parliamentarians refuse to ratify an Article 98 agreement. The United States is widely condemned in the press. End Summary. ¶2. (U) President Venetiaan's December 6 statement in parliament (see reftel) prompted an Amnesty International statement on December 15 praising his decision to become party to the Court, while expressing concern about his decision to enter into an Article 98. Stating incorrectly that the United States has been actively campaigning against the Court, AI labels Article 98 agreements "impunity agreements" which it describes as illegal and in violation of other international conventions. (A copy of the statement is available on AI website.) The statement goes on to urge parliamentarians to "declare that they will not ratify any such unlawful agreement if it is signed." In this current round of discussions, the only parliamentarians to speak out against an Article 98 agreement are two members of the governing New Front Plus coalition, Sharmila Mangal and Ruth Wijdenbosch. Ms. Wijdenbosch is a member of the President's party and former deputy Speaker of Parliament. Wijdenbosch is quoted as saying the U.S. doesn't provide that much military assistance, so losing it for a matter of principle shouldn't be an issue. ¶3. (U) The media has been busy with the story. A local radio station used excerpts from an earlier interview with the Ambassador to provide a rejoinder to the AI statement on Friday morning, leaving the impression that the Embassy was remarkably quick off the mark in responding. Displaying the penchant for wild association which characterizes much of its work, some in the press speculated that USSOUTHCOM General Craddock's quick visit on Friday, December 16 was linked to controversy over a possible Article 98 agreement. A weekend piece in Keerpunt, a widely read political column, condemns the Bush Administration for the War in Iraq which it says was undertaken under false pretenses and tests, on a daily basis, international law. It chastises the U.S. for the abuses in Iraqi prisons and in Guantanamo and asks what happened to the American way of life and respect for other nations. The article concludes that someone accused of war crimes or crimes against humanity must be surrendered to the ICC. Monday's Times of Suriname had a nasty cartoon showing the U.S. trampling Iraq for oil and ignoring prisoners in Guantanamo, while a tiny President Venetiaan eagerly approaches with an agreement and American flag. An accompanying editorial accused the U.S. of creating too many victims as it pursued its goals and said it was in fact the cause of much of today's terrorism. It also stated that most of the civilized world had concluded that those guilty of crimes against humanity needed to be punished. While applauding the opposition of Ms. Wijdenbosch, the paper concluded that she couldn't be taken seriously as members of the coalition lacked the gumption to cross the leadership of the President. ¶4. (SBU) In a meeting with General Craddock on Friday, President Venetiaan reaffirmed his intent to conclude an Article 98, but noted this would take time; it would need to be ratified by the Parliament, but the politics wouldn't be easy, even though the government has a majority. ¶5. (SBU) Comment: The President's announcement and the AI reaction have unleashed a flood of criticism of the U.S., much of it visceral and uninformed. This very reaction will, we believe, cause a government not known for moving with alacrity to let the ICC/Article 98 issues simmer on the back burner for some considerable time. President Venetiaan has indicated an appreciation for the challenges the U.S. faces as the sole superpower which distinguishes it from every other nation. This has not, we believe, been the sole calculus in his decision. The military has pressed the civilian leadership on this issue, having a more realistic assessment of the value of American military assistance than Ms. Wijdenbosch. We will continue to urge the government to sign an agreement sooner, rather than later. In spite of the good state of civil-military relations, many in the current government, from the President on down, remain wary of an institution that twice staged successful coups. Our challenge will be to ensure that an Article 98 does not become a source of friction in civilmilitary relations. BARNES NNNN