CHINA/TAIWAN: MUZZLING THE FREE MEDIA IN SURINAME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000315

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

WHA/CAR FOR LAURA LUFTIG

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV NS CH TW PHUM
SUBJECT: CHINA/TAIWAN: MUZZLING THE FREE MEDIA IN SURINAME

REF: A. 2007 PARAMARIBO 297

B. 2006 PARAMARIBO 802

C. 2007 PARAMARIBO 305

Classified By: A.S. Utschig for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

This cable is the third in a series on Chinese and Taiwanese
activities in Suriname in the spring of 2007.


1. (C) SUMMARY: Government of Suriname (GOS) Vice President
Ramdien Sardjoe "requested" that a local news show leave out
parts of its programming dealing with the China-Taiwan
controversy as debate raged in May as to whether China or
Taiwan would be the better partner for Suriname. Local and
regional media associations protested Sardjoe,s action,
which he most likely took at the request of the government of
China (GOC) embassy in Suriname. GOC embassy staff also
reportedly placed intimidating phone calls to one of the
show,s reporters. Even in the midst of a charm and funding
offensive by Taiwan (ref A),Chinese efforts paid off and the
GOS muzzled its press. END SUMMARY

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State Intervention into China Issue Coverage
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2. (C) Media reported that on May 10 the popular television
news show "Suriname Today" was not broadcast after
intervention of GOS Vice President Ramdien Sardjoe. The
topic of discussion for the show, which airs on the
state-owned Suriname Television Foundation (STVS) was the
controversial GOS "One China Policy;" the Surinamese public,
press, and even some politicians have been taking sides on
whether the GOS should align with long-time ally China or
opportunistically take the "bling" from Taiwan. Before the
show went on the air, Sardjoe advised station management to
leave out statements made by individuals who were asked to
comment on the controversy. In his defense, Sardjoe later
said that "the China-Taiwan issue is an internal Chinese
affair and interference from Suriname could jeopardize the
ties the country has with Beijing," and that his intervention
should be seen in light of "protecting Suriname,s
interests." While Sardjoe does not characterize his actions
as censorship or violation of the freedom of expression, the
Surinamese Association of Journalists did, and reported the
incident to the regional Association of Caribbean Media
Workers, which voiced strong protest, calling Sardjoe,s
actions a flagrant violation of the right of free expression.

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Chinese Embassy Plays Hardball
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3. (C) According to Nita Ramcharan, host of "Suriname
Today," GOC Ambassador to Suriname Su Ge played a role.
After Su was interviewed by one of the show,s reporters,
Ramcharan says Su,s staff repeatedly phoned her, urging her
not to use his remarks in any program in which pro-Taiwan
speakers would also appear. Ramcharan says embassy staff
even came to the television station to emphasize their point.
The normally charming and mild-mannered Su is rumored to
have delivered an unusually blunt demarche to the GOS to
complain about the blitz of newspaper ads and television
documentaries sponsored by the Taiwan-Suriname Friendship
Association (which have ranged from a travel program to a
program touting the Taiwanese aid package).


4. (C) COMMENT: Sardjoe,s intervention is not the first
time the GOS has abruptly cut off discussion of an issue on
state owned media, and recrimination between some GOS
officials (who say journalists are sensationalistic at best
and liars at worst) and some Surinamese journalists (who say
officials are incommunicative at best and outright censors at
worst) is endemic. Moreover, Post observes that both sides
have a point. First-hand, Embassy Paramaribo has suffered
frequent inaccuracies and misquotes of Embassy issues on the
part of Surinamese journalists, while at the same time
experiencing near-constant unresponsiveness from the
Surinamese government to Embassy demarche requests (ref B).
Nevertheless, what is most interesting in this case is the
dynamic of GOC/GOS relations in this tiny country.
Effectively, the GOS folded to Chinese Embassy pressure with
startling alacrity, especially considering the normally
torpid pace of the GOS bureaucracy. If, as Post suspects,
the GOC is using the GOS as its point-man in its
pan-Caribbean efforts to insinuate itself into the region
(ref C),nipping Taiwanese efforts in the bud is crucial.

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Never mind that it ran roughshod over freedom of the press.
Post will continue to monitor reaction to the protest from
the Association of Caribbean Media Workers, but suspects that
this gesture had no teeth. China scored a "win" in its
ability to influence the GOS. END COMMENT
SCHREIBER HUGHES