US embassy cable - 04PARAMARIBO117

C O N F I D E N T I A L  PARAMARIBO 000117 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: (##) 
TAGS: PREL, MARR, NS, Article 98 
SUBJECT: MILITARY OFFICER VOICES PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR AN 
ARTICLE 98 AGREEMENT 
 
 
CLASSIFIED BY AMBASSADOR BARNES FOR REASON 1.5 B AND D. 
 
SUMMARY 
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1.  (C) Summary.  During a February 7 press "Information 
Day" hosted by Suriname's National Army, a military 
officer, Major Goerdeyal, called on the Surinamese 
Government to sign an Article 98 agreement with the United 
States or face losing US military assistance.  Goerdeyal 
declared that the days of the military coup were over and 
that every member of the Surinamese Armed Forces from the 
first day of recruit training is made to understand that 
the armed forces serve under the civilian leadership of the 
country.  He also announced that the GOS was implementing a 
plan to reinstate a national service program in response to 
the military threat posed by Guyana.  His remarks were 
widely reported by journalists.  Surinamese President 
Venetiaan was reportedly extremely irritated by Goerdeyal's 
public comments, so much so that he appended his speech to 
the annual Diplomatic New Year's luncheon to remind the 
military that the Surinamese Army is subordinate to the 
civil authorities.  However well intentioned, Goerdeyal's 
statements have made our achieving an Article 98 agreement 
with Suriname all the more difficult.  End Summary. 
 
ARTICLE 98 
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2.  (U) During a specially organized "Information Day" for 
the press February 6, Major Pertapsingh Goerdeyal, the head 
of Suriname's Armed Forces (SAF) training and operations 
division, voiced strong support for an Article 98 agreement 
between Suriname and the United States.  According to local 
media reports, Goerdeyal warned that Suriname would lose 
all the assistance that it currently received from SOUTHCOM 
if it joined the ICC but failed to sign an Article 98 
agreement.  Noting that SOUTHCOM was currently the SAF's 
largest donor and the only entity that trained Surinamese 
military personnel abroad, he stressed it was in Suriname's 
"highest interest" that cooperation between SOUTHCOM and 
the SAF continue.  Goerdeyal added that it was unclear what 
the GOS decision on Article 98 would be but that time was 
running out.  The signing of an Article 98 agreement will 
be discussed, Goerdeyal said, when Minister of Defense 
Assen meets with senior SOUTHCOM officials at SOUTHCOM 
headquarters in less than two weeks. 
 
3.  (U) Goerdayal told the press, "the US military attache 
has told us that, if Suriname signs up to the ICC but not 
to an Article 98 agreement, then within 24 hours he must 
close his office, depart and all projects will stop." 
(Comment:  No such statement has ever been made by the 
DATT's office in Paramaribo.  End Comment.)  Goerdeyal 
added, however, that, as a clear incentive, SOUTHCOM has 
made available a USD 1.6 project for the SAF that Suriname 
can claim if it signs an Article 98 agreement.  He 
explained that Guyana was already making use of a similar 
incentive project.  Having already signed an Article 98 
agreement, Guyana enjoys generous support from SOUTHCOM, he 
claimed.  (Comment.  Again, sources for these statements 
are unknown.  End Comment.) 
 
4.  (U) Building the case for an agreement, Goerdeyal 
highlighted the joint activities that will be carried out 
by SOUTHCOM and the SAF this year, including: 
 
--  The SAF and SOUTHCOM will participate in two Medical 
Readiness Exercises, one in April and the other in 
May, which would result in free medical treatment to 
12,000 needy Surinamers. 
 
--  The SAF will receive training via the International 
Military and Education Training (IMET) Programs as 
well as a first responder medical training to help the 
SAF fulfill its newly extended mandate, including 
emergency assistance coordination. 
-- -Suriname will participate in a Joint Command Exercise 
Training (JCET).  During an October 2003 JCET, fifty 
military personnel and ten police officers received 
special anti-terrorism training.  Goerdeyal deemed 
JCETs particularly useful since they provide 
Surinamese military personnel with the newest tactical 
and technical tools. 
 
 
--  SOUTHCOM has made available 400,000 USD in 
humanitarian assistance through the Humanitarian 
Assistance Program (HAP). 
 
5.  (U) In addition, Goerdeyal announced that as a sign of 
solidarity between the two nations, SOUTHCOM had invited 
Suriname to participate in the Trade Winds Exercise, which 
will take place April 7-17, 2004, in the Dominican 
Republic. 
 
6.  (U) To counter concerns that Americans accused of 
committing a war crime might somehow escape justice via an 
Article 98 agreement, Goerdeyal laid out the legal 
framework underlying such an agreement.  He explained that 
under an Article 98 agreement, American citizens, including 
military personnel, would be tried either in the country 
where the crime allegedly occurred or in the United States 
but not in the International Criminal Court (ICC). 
 
7.  (U)  In other matters, Goerdeyal stated: 
 
--   The days of military coups in Suriname have passed for 
good.  "The chance that the military would ever take 
over via a coup is small."  All recruits and all 
members of the armed forces learn from day one that 
they serve under the civilian leadership of the 
country. 
 
-- The Surinamese Army recently received applications 
from 1,700 young men and women for 200 positions 
within the Armed Forces. 
 
-- The Surinamese Government is implementing a plan to 
reinstate national service.  Among other reasons, this 
is being done in response to the military threat posed 
by Guyana. 
 
DISAVOWAL 
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8. (C) Goerdeyal's comments reportedly infuriated 
Surinamese President Venetiaan, who called in his top 
military officials over the weekend to file a report on 
Geordeyal's remarks, which he reportedly characterized as 
military leadership meddling in political matters.  Both 
Ministry of Defense Chief of Staff Justice Hew a Kie and 
Suriname Armed Forces CHOD Ernest Mercuur told the Embassy 
privately on February 9 that, in their reports to 
Venetiaan, they disavowed Goerdeyal's remarks.  They 
stressed that the SAF did not seek to publicly pressure the 
GOS to decide one way or the other on signing an Article 98 
agreement.  (Comment.  Although they have consistently made 
clear to DATT that they favor such an agreement, they 
recognized it as a political decision.  End Comment.) They 
both regretted Goerdeyal's statement about "coups" as 
unnecessary and unfortunate.  They also rejected his 
assertion that there was any plan in place to resurrect a 
national service program, although they admitted that 
Minister of Defense Assen had stated that such a plan might 
be developed sometime this year.  But, they stressed, the 
national service plan has nothing to do with any supposed 
military threats from Guyana. 
 
VENETIAAN 
--------- 
 
10. (U) For his part, President Venetiaan added a comment 
to the end of his prepared speech on the occasion of his 
New Year's luncheon for the Diplomatic Corps February 9, in 
which he stated: "We feel a need to stress the importance 
of democracy in Suriname and in particular the rule that in 
Suriname the army is subordinated to the civil authority in 
the country.  This should not be jeopardized in any way." 
 
COMMENT 
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11.  (C) The sources for many of Geordeyal's Article 98 
declarations, including his claims of promised SOUTHCOM 
support, are unclear.  The swift reaction by Suriname's 
President to Goerdeyal's worrisome statements demonstrates 
the heightened sensitivity to any overstepping of bounds by 
the military given Suriname's muddied past with military 
regimes.  Despite Goerdeyal's best intentions, the 
 
 
statements may have adverse effects on our continuing 
efforts to secure an Article 98 agreement with Suriname. 
END COMMENT. 
 
BARNES 
 
 
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            2004PARAMA00117 - Classification: CONFIDENTIAL 
 
 
 
v1.6.3