TAIWAN AID PROPOSAL "IN THE GARBAGE?"

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000441 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS WHA/CAR FOR JROSHOLT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV NS CH TW SUBJECT: TAIWAN AID PROPOSAL "IN THE GARBAGE?" REF: A. PARAMARIBO 297 ¶B. PARAMARIBO 305 ¶C. PARAMARIBO 315 ¶D. PARAMARIBO 346 PARAMARIBO 00000441 001.2 OF 002 This cable is the fifth in a series (refs A-D) on Chinese and Taiwanese activities in Suriname in the spring and summer of ¶2007. ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: A Surinamese delegation including four parliamentarians traveled to Taiwan from July 16-20 on their "personal title," and returned to Suriname with an "official" offer of aid from the government of Taiwan (GOT). However, the government of Suriname (GOS) has never acknowledged receiving it, and one Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) policy advisor said on August 7 that he would advise the GOS to "throw it in the garbage basket." Meanwhile, the dollar-diplomacy battle between the GOT and the government of China (GOC) continues, with the GOC making generous donations via GOS Ministries, and the GOT creating ties with non-governmental organizations*in some cases via opposition politicians. While the GOT appears to have taken a small step forward in its campaign to make itself the player in Suriname, especially in public awareness, the GOS,s strong support of the One-China Policy is, if anything, clearer than ever. END SUMMARY -------------- Four Parliamentarians Travel -------------- ¶2. (SBU) After lengthy public waffling (ref D),in the end four parliamentarians journeyed to Taiwan for a "familiarization visit," traveling in their personal capacities rather than as officials representing the GOS. The most prominent was Hendrik Sakimin, of the coalition party Pertjaja Luhur; Pertjaja Luhur has significant ethnic-Chinese support, and its Chairman, Speaker of Parliament Paul Somohardjo, has Presidential aspirations for ¶2010. Sakimin was accompanied by fellow coalition parliamentarian Henk Deel and opposition colleagues Rashied Doekhie and Theo Vishnudatt. The most significant non-participant was Deputy Speaker of Parliament Caprino Alendy, who maintained until the last moment that he would go, only to announce after the delegation had left that he was staying behind out of concern for an ill fellow party member. Alendy has not bothered to refute assertions that his non-participation was a result of political pressure (an interpretation promoted by Taiwan's President Chen Shui-bian himself, who told Surinamese media he regretted the political pressure placed on Alendy not to participate). -------------- Taiwanese Offer "in the Garbage?" -------------- ¶3. (SBU) There was significant back and forth in the press as to whether the excuse of the parliamentarians of going on "personal title" was valid or not. For their part, the GOT did everything they could to make the delegation seem official: most important, the GOT handed over a letter offering aid, asking Sakimin to take it to GOS Minister of Foreign Affairs Lygia Kraag-Keteldijk. However, weeks after the delegation,s return, on August 8, Kraag-Keteldijk was still saying simply "I haven,t received anything." One of her policy advisors, Arnold Kruisland, was blunter, saying that should she ever receive it, he would advise her "not to react to it, or to throw it immediately into the garbage." Kruisland speculated that Sakimin had never handed it over because he was "advised not to." Sakimin responded on August 14 by saying he will indeed turn over the letter, but that he is still trying to determine the proper protocol for doing so as a "citizen." Meanwhile, Vice President Ram Sardjoe said, "it was not an official delegation, how can there be talk of an official offer of aid?" -------------- -------------- China Offers 100s of 1000s; Ministers Gladly Accept -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The GOC did not stand idly by during the Taiwan trip. On July 24, GOS Minister of Defense Ivan Fernald accepted the gift of U.S. $600,000 in military goods from GOC Ambassador to Suriname Su Ge. On August 8, GOS Minister of Health Celsius Waterberg and Ambassador Su oversaw the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for technical assistance for the GOS in the area of traditional medicine. PARAMARIBO 00000441 002.2 OF 002 And from July 30 to August 2, a delegation of the Europe China Foundation traveled to Suriname to explore investment in an auto-assembly line, harbor facilities, a teak plantation, and a bank and discussed its desire to use Suriname as an entry-point for access to markets in the Caribbean. The delegation was favored with meetings with three Ministers, including Kraag-Keteldijk. -------------- -------------- Taiwan Offers 1000s, NGOs and Opposition Gladly Accept -------------- -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The delegation to Taiwan did not return empty-handed, however; while the government of Taiwan made clear that the millions in aid offered in the "official" letter would require diplomatic recognition, the GOT did promise to funnel some no-strings aid for four small projects via NGOs: a ferry service, an agricultural school, subsidized fertilizer, and a community center. And on August 4, Suriname-Taiwan Friendship Foundation Chairperson David Chin ceremonially handed over goods and a check worth approximately U.S. $4600 to an orphanage in Paramaribo. Taiwan participant and opposition parliamentarian Doekhie,s district was the recipient of two of the projects. Fellow participant Vishnudatt enthused that the GOS should "reconsider diplomatic relations with Taiwan and make it a top policy priority." However, even he found room for the One-China Policy, adding that as Taiwan has now stopped calling itself the Republic of China, "there is only one China, on the continent of Asia... thus, our government can now also undertake diplomatic relations with Taiwan." ¶6. (SBU) COMMENT: The idea of parliamentarians traveling on their personal title was a thin farce, and the GOS,s clever sidestep (refusing to consider the GOT proposal rather than rejecting it outright) doesn,t underline their support of China in the way the GOC no doubt would like. But gray-area diplomacy is de rigueur for the GOS, and essentially, nothing has changed politically on the One-China issue. At best, the GOT can take satisfaction with once again having raised its public profile: coverage and debate on the Taiwan/China rivalry dominated the Surinamese press from March through August. Taiwan,s foot is now in the door. It might also be pleased with the favorable words the opposition parliamentarians threw their way--but Vishnudatt,s party has only one seat, and Doekhie held back from directly saying the GOS should begin diplomatic relations with the GOT. As long as China can continue to dump hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of aid on Suriname in regular intervals, Surinamese governments--whether made up of the current coalition parties or future governments from out of the opposition--are likely to continue to stick with the GOC as the safe, known alternative (without a word about human rights violations, environmental and safety disasters, and one-party rule). How safe and known the GOC now considers Suriname is harder to say: pricked by GOT efforts, the GOC increasingly treats Suriname as a key battleground in its fight for influence in the Caribbean. END COMMENT SCHREIBER HUGHES