In a brief statement at 10.50 am today, the US Embassy says it did not ask Guyana to arrest Surinamese President Desi Bouterse when he visited Guyana last year.
“The U.S. did not request Guyana to arrest President Bouterse last year. President Bouterse is the democratically-elected president of Suriname, and we respect the results of free and fair elections. We look to maintain our good ties with Suriname”, the statement said.
An in a later expanded statement, the US embassy added: “We look to maintain our good ties with Suriname. The United States values our friendship with democratic nations across our hemisphere. We stand steadfastly with others in support of sovereignty, independence, and stability. We share mutual values and face common challenges, and we work with our partners across the region to meet those challenges, including improving citizen safety, social inclusion, advancing economic opportunity, and strengthening democratic institutions.”
The issue came to the fore when President Bharrat Jagdeo told the Guyana Defence Force’s officers conference on Tuesday that a foreign power which he did not identify had asked him whether he would arrest Bouterse while he was here.
“…A particular foreign nation asked us if we will arrest the president of Suriname when he comes here because he is wanted…and I said to them no. I said maybe you can get some other country to do this,” Jagdeo said in response to the officer. Members of the media were asked to leave at this point.
Jagdeo pointed out the citizens of Suriname chose their leader and he questioned who are Guyanese to say who the country should work with when the people of Suriname, through a democratic system, made their choice. He said Guyana has to work with the country’s legitimate representative.
Bouterse had visited Guyana twice late last year.
When the President made his statement it was believed that it was the US that had made the request.
Bouterse is wanted in The Netherlands to serve an 11-year sentence for drug trafficking. However, Surinamese newspaper de Ware Tijd has since reported that it was able to confirm that The Netherlands had not asked for his extradition.
If it wasn’t The Netherlands and if it is not the US observers say it is now a mystery over which other country might be interested in arresting Bouterse.
