US embassy cable - 05PARAMARIBO701

UNCLAS  PARAMARIBO 000701 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR INL/LP - NBOZZOLO 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - LLUFTIG 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
CARACAS FOR LEGAT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, SOCI, ECON, NS 
SUBJECT: DUTCH FOREIGN MINISTER VISIT HIGHLIGHTS 
NEED FOR CLOSER LAW ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION 
 
REFTELS: (A) PARAMARIBO 689 (B) PARAMARIBO 198 
 
1. (U) Summary. Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot paid an 
official visit to Suriname on October 21 to discuss the 
future of bilateral relations and prepare for a visit by 
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Balkenende next month.  Bot and his 
Surinamese counterparts discussed expanding law enforcement 
cooperation between Suriname, Colombia, and the Netherlands; 
ending a treaty governing treatment of Dutch nationals of 
Surinamese origin; 100% controls at Amsterdam's Schiphol 
airport; and the general process of moving towards a less 
"emotional" bilateral relationship. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) During his short visit, Bot met with newly installed 
Surinamese Minister of Foreign Affairs Lygia Kraag-Keteldijk 
and paid courtesy calls on recently reelected President 
Ronald Venetiaan and his Vice-President Ramdien Sardjoe. 
Bot's stay was in advance of Prime Minister Balkenende's 
upcoming attendance at Suriname's 30th anniversary of 
independence on November 25.  Balkenende's visit to Suriname 
will be the first by a Dutch prime minister since 
independence in 1975. 
 
3. (SBU) During his visit, Bot said that Suriname, Colombia, 
and the Netherlands need to collaborate more closely in 
combating drug trafficking.  He included the U.S. in this in 
off the cuff remarks during an evening address at the Lim A 
Po academic institute.  Transit countries, like Suriname and 
the Netherlands, cannot handle the problem alone, making 
closer law enforcement cooperation with source countries, 
such as Colombia, necessary.  He met with Minister of 
Justice and Police Chandrikerpersad Santokhi to discuss this 
broader collaboration and mentioned that he spoke with U.S. 
Ambassador Wood and Colombian officials on the issue during 
his recent trip to Bogota.  He also said that other European 
Union (EU) countries were closely watching Dutch efforts to 
combat narcotics trafficking.  Bot explained that his 
country lies on a geographic pivot point, making it very 
accessible to criminal organizations and a transit country 
for drugs to the rest of Europe. 
 
4. (U) Bot linked this EU pressure with the need to continue 
100% controls on passengers arriving directly into Schiphol 
from Suriname, Aruba, and the Dutch Antilles.  The controls 
continue to be a diplomatic sore spot between Suriname and 
the Netherlands.  During a press conference, Kraag Keteldijk 
emphasized the unpleasantness of the controls.  Bot said 
that for the moment there are no plans to end it and that 
even Dutch officials returning from Suriname are subject to 
it. 
 
5. (SBU) A "Separation Agreement" signed by both sides when 
Suriname became independent was also a hot topic.  The 
agreement governs how Dutch citizens of Surinamese origin 
should be treated upon their return to Suriname.  The 
agreement has been controversial and even led to a lawsuit 
against the State.  Kraag-Keteldijk said the agreement is no 
longer relevant 30 years after independence and that she 
would like to bring an end to it.  Bot was more equivocal. 
He promised to send a delegation to Suriname before the end 
of 2005 to discuss the matter, which he said was legally 
complex.  According to the Dutch Embassy, ending the 
agreement would be politically unpopular with the 350,000 
Dutch of Surinamese origin currently living in the 
Netherlands. 
 
6. (U) In a discussion at the Lim A Po institute, Bot warned 
that Dutch-Surinamese relations will be affected by further 
Dutch integration into the EU because Dutch decisions and 
regulations will often be governed by Brussels.  He also 
stated that his government would like to expand relations 
with Suriname, but would like these relations to be less 
emotional and more business-like.  He said he wants "more 
telephone rather than megaphone" diplomacy, but still 
considers the countries' common language, culture, history, 
and people significant. 
 
7. (U) In order to reduce poverty, Bot urged Suriname to 
improve its investment climate for foreign investors and 
spur domestic private sector growth.  Responding to a 
question about Suriname's banana access to the EU market, he 
 
 
said he had been involved in the early negotiations and that 
Suriname had lost out because it waited too long to make a 
decision, presumably referring to a banana export licensing 
deal where a company ended up with what should have been 
Suriname's license.  He praised Suriname for contributing 
towards the establishment of the CARICOM Single Market 
Economy as the organization's recent chair.  He also 
mentioned the opportunities opening up for Suriname from a 
planned road system extending through the Amazon region, 
from having Surinamer Albert Ramdin as the Deputy Secretary 
of the Organization of American States (OAS) and from 
Suriname's good relations with Brazil, China, Indonesia and 
India.  He also encouraged Suriname to tap into Surinamese 
academics living in the Netherlands to help develop the 
country. 
 
8. (SBU) Contacts at the Dutch Embassy felt the visit went 
very well and Bot was able to discuss all of his agenda 
points.  Same day protests organized by former military 
dictator and convicted narcotics trafficker Desi Bouterse 
against President Venetiaan's government did little to 
disrupt Bot's visit, but it did push it out of the lead 
story on local TV news. (See reftel A). 
 
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COMMENT 
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9. (SBU) The Dutch interest in expanding law enforcement 
cooperation with Suriname and Colombia is a welcome 
development.  Dutch assistance in this realm has produced 
real results in Suriname, including the March arrest of the 
leader of major drug trafficking and money laundering ring. 
(See reftel B). Because of a shared language and legal 
system, the Netherlands is uniquely equipped to provide 
close support to Surinamese police and prosecutors.  The 
100% controls at Schiphol have met success in deterring 
small-time cocaine mules traveling from Suriname, but to 
truly address the trafficking problem, the Dutch need to 
assist Suriname in deterring large cocaine shipments 
transported out of Suriname via commercial container vessels 
that end up in Dutch ports. 
 
BARNES 
 
 
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