INACTION AS POLICY: ARTICLE 98 IN SURINAME

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000323

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C O R E C T E D - C O P Y COMMENT SECTION TEXT

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WHA/CAR FOR LAURA LUFTIG, ISN FOR JOAN CORBETT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/22/2017
TAGS: NS PREL PGOV KAWC
SUBJECT: INACTION AS POLICY: ARTICLE 98 IN SURINAME

REF: A. 2006 PARAMARIBO 802


B. 2007 PARAMARIBO 289

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


1. (C) SUMMARY: Under pressure from the Ministry of
Defense (MOD) and the uniformed military, the Government of
Suriname (GOS) appears to stick to its position that if it
joins the International Criminal Court (ICC) it will also
sign an Article 98 agreement. However, it will not be likely
to do either, as political opprobrium, particularly from
Parliament, would likely follow. The GOS rests comfortably
on the delaying tactic with the excuse that Surinamese laws
would have to be modified before it could join the ICC, and
debate on the issue in Suriname eventually withers out
through inaction. END SUMMARY

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No News May be Good News
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2. (C) When queried on June 21 as to whether Suriname has
made any progress in its decision-making process on the ICC
and Article 98, Head of the Americas Division Terence Craig
of the GOS Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said, in his
best unilluminating manner (ref A),"as far as I know we
still need to accede to the Treaty of Rome." (NOTE: In other
words, he said nothing.) Thus, the latest word from the GOS
remains that if it accedes to the treaty, it will also sign
an Article 98 agreement.

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Article 98 Widely Unpopular in Parliament
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3. (C) While the idea of acceding to the Treaty of Rome is
popular in Suriname, the idea of signing an Article 98
agreement is not, and that applies to both coalition as well
as opposition parliamentarians. Opposition sparkplug Harriet
Ramdien told Post that in addition to her opposition
colleagues, there are many coalition politicians who are
urging President Ronald Venetiaan behind the scenes not to
sign any Article 98 agreement. The coalition has been public
as well. Coalition member Ruth Wijdenbosch leads the push to
join the ICC, but has said publicly that she will vote
against any Article 98 agreement which might come before
parliament. This is ironic, as Ms. Wijdenbosch also chairs
parliament,s military working group. Internally within the
GOS, Post understands that the MOD and Chief of Defense Ernst
Mercuur have worked to sensitize their colleagues on the
detrimental effect that ICC accession without Article 98
signature would have on USG tangible support for Suriname,s
military. During public debate of the matter in January
2007, another prominent coalition member, Sharmilla
Mangal-Mansaram, said that "the only sensible standpoint is
immediate accession to the Treaty of Rome," but that to sign
an Article 98 agreement is to "throw your sovereignty in the
gutter," and that the U.S. position is "outrageous and
odious."

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"We,re Working on It"
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4. (C) In the face of MOD concern over possible loss of USG
military assistance, it is President Venetiaan and Foreign
Minister Lygia Kraag-Keteldijk who have repeatedly held back
progress on the ICC and the Article 98 issue, and they seem
to have done so by making up excuses. When parliamentary
discussion of the issue erupted earlier this year, Venetiaan
said he would need to consider within GOS circles how
Suriname should go about joining the ICC, but also that the
good bilateral relations with the U.S. must not be
endangered. Kraag-Keteldijk came to his rescue after this
standpoint was criticized as weak, waffling, and
opportunistic. She said that the problem lay in the
Surinamese legal system: the ICC recognizes the common law
system, while Suriname uses a civil law system. She added
that criminal law in Suriname would need to be adjusted for
international law, which demands "thorough and very specific
expert preparation." Coalition parliamentarian Sharmilla
Mangal-Mansaram called parts of this nonsense. Her January
22 comments remain the last public word on this issue.


5. (C) COMMENT: In a rare instance of defending a
standpoint the U.S. holds dear (ref B),Venetiaan and
Kraag-Keteldijk appear to have held the line on the ICC/98
question through their delaying tactics. Unfortunately,
avoiding the problem altogether by stalling is not the same
as enthusiastic support. Venetiaan,s concern for "good

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bilateral relations" with the U.S. may sound nice to USG
ears, but his waffling likely is more a nod to internal
politics. Venetiaan and his Foreign Minister likely have two
goals: one, to mollify Defense Minister Fernald and his Chief
of Defense, Colonel Mercuur, by maintaining U.S. military aid
levels, and two, to avoid public debate on the issue. They
secured the latter by not signing an Article 98 agreement and
the former by not acceding to the ICC. This is typical of
the non-confrontational, cautious politics of the GOS, and is
unlikely to change as long as Venetiaan and Kraag-Keteldijk
continue to hold their positions. However, if the opposition
comes into power, sentiment to join the ICC but not sign an
Article 98 agreement will be very strong, with few powerful
opponents. END COMMENT
SCHREIBER HUGHES