EMOTIONS OF SURINAMESE POLITICIANS TRUMP

C O N F I D E N T I A L PARAMARIBO 000722 SIPDIS SIPDIS WHA/CAR FOR LAURA LUFTIG E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/09/2016 TAGS: PGOV PREL EAID NS SUBJECT: EMOTIONS OF SURINAMESE POLITICIANS TRUMP SELF-INTEREST Classified By: Pol/Econ Officer Jesse Sanders for reasons 1.4 (b) and ( d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY On Tuesday, November 9, the President and Vice President of Suriname cancelled their meetings with visiting Dutch Minister of Planning and Development Agnes van Ardenne. News sources reported that the sudden change in schedules was seen as a protest against the recent security checks of Surinamese officials at Schiphol airport in the Netherlands. Also Suriname officials did not allow Minister van Ardenne the use of a venue that is usually made available for visiting Dutch Ministers to hold press conferences. A special session of parliament discussed the body searches that are made on every flight from Suriname to Amsterdam and promised judicial action. The President also approved immediate reciprocity in GOS,s police security checks of Dutch visitors to Suriname. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) Although accounts differ, local media reported that when on Sunday, October 22, 2006, Suriname's Minister of Labor, Technology, and Environment Joyce Amarello-Williams transited Amsterdam's Schipol Airport on her return to Suriname from the Far East, Dutch security police instructed her to step aside after she set off a metal detector. They then gave her a body search, patting down her body. A few days after her return to Suriname, Minister Amarello-Williams voiced her concern about the body search to Suriname's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs contacted the Dutch Embassy in Paramaribo to protest the incident and to ask for an explanation. According to the Dutch Ambassador, security police at Amsterdam's airport reported that these searches are routine and Minister Amarello-Williams was not singled out. ¶3. (SBU) Due to frequent drug smuggling, passengers arriving in Amsterdam from Suriname are subject to searches up to and including body cavity searches. Surinamese citizens, Ministers, and parliamentarians have protested this so-called "100% check" in the past. President Venetiaan wrote a letter to Dutch Minister President Balkenende earlier in 2006, likening body cavity searches to "assault, rape, and torture" of Surinamese citizens. ¶4. (C) COMMENT: Minister Van Ardenne is the most important Minister promoting developmental aid to Suriname. She also pushed through emergency aid to Suriname during flooding earlier in 2006. A Dutch Embassy official said that it may be more difficult for her on her return to Parliament to defend her position of continuing aid to Suriname. One might expect Suriname to treat the Minister more carefully. However, Surinamers' emotional response demonstrates a pattern of allowing feelings to trump self-interest, even at the highest levels of importance and international diplomacy. This is a cautionary tale for developed countries when working with post-colonial, developing countries like Suriname. END COMMENT SCHREIBER HUGHES