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