At a press conference held last evening following the bilateral ministerial meeting between Guyana and Suriname on Crime and Security, Rohee said that the government had noted the plans of the Surinamese government to regulate the back track operations. “…At this time, the status quo remains in place but both countries will continue to discuss this matter in the future.”
When asked to specify what objections Guyana had with the proposal, Rohee declined to identify them. “We don’t have a specific objection, we have a number of concerns and those concerns have been discussed internally within the corridors of the government,” he stated. He noted that both Suriname and Guyana were sovereign states that would make decisions based on national interest, within the context of international relations. He said that while the proposals would have been made within this context. “Guyana, as a sovereign state, has taken the decision that the status quo must remain in place until such time as we determine that the situation will change,” he said, while adding that this “position is influenced by a number of concerns which is of national interest to Guyana.”
Rohee emphasised that while the status quo remains in place, the mechanisms that will follow from the decisions arrived at yesterday’s meeting with address all the security-related concerns that affect the cross-border relationship between the two countries. As yesterday’s proceedings got underway, Santokhi told reporters that his country is working on regularising the back-track route between Guyana and Suriname as the two countries are CARICOM members and facilitate the free movement of persons under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). According to the minister, Suriname did an examination of the “phenomenon” and it was found that on a daily basis there are approximately 350 to 400 persons using the route between the two countries. “Our view [is] that these two nations are two CARICOM nations and CARICOM has designed a policy on the movement of persons and movement of goods which should be very liberal and should be free,” the minister said.
However, Santokhi said there should be some control mechanism and their view is that the back track route on the Surinamese side should be institutionalised. He called for control mechanisms such as immigration and customs. “All the boats should be licensed and subjected to security conditions and should be cooperation with both governments. Both governments need to know who is crossing and why they are crossing,” Santokhi stressed.
The minister said his country has already done some infrastructural work and it is hoped that systems can be put in place later this year. He stressed the need for both countries to work together on this front.
Meanwhile, the minister said he does not see legalising the ‘back-track’ route affecting the ferry service between the two countries. “The ferry service would not go out of service; it would remain as the formal route between the two countries for vehicles and persons with cargos. The small vessels are for persons with hand luggage visiting the neighbouring areas, this is normal in two countries bordering each other. It is also happening on the East side between Suriname and French Guiana,” the minister said. “But we need to have a strong security control, you need to protect also those [persons] on the smaller vessels you need to subject all these people to security conditions and security measures and that would have a better control for both government and you would have safe travel and good oversight to what is going on…”
Many persons from Guyana use the ‘back-track’ route and in recent times there have been accidents, which resulted in the loss of lives as boat operators fail to implement safety measures.
During the closing press conference Santokhi reiterated his country’s position on the matter even as he outlined what had been agreed at yesterday’s meeting.
The Surinamese minister said that the district of Nickerie is most affected by this process and pointed out that traversing via the ‘back track’ avenue was a dangerous means of travelling. He said that the proposal meant Suriname putting officers in place and regulating points of entry and exit. He added that the proposal involved enforcing restriction on the amount of luggage that could be carried and regulating that the travelling persons not be allowed beyond Nickerie. (Oluatoyin Alleyne and Mark McGowan)
