(de Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO – Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Lackin is very angry and disappointed that the delegation of the European Union (EU) that held a political dialogue with the government yesterday, used the occasion instead to lecture Suriname on the amnesty issue. The Minister claims that after the very long meeting, the EU delegation even produced a communiqué drafted beforehand, which would be presented to the media.
Lackin told the press yesterday afternoon that this communiqué was completely one-sided and in no way reflected what actually occurred and was discussed. Lackin told the EU delegation that Suriname is a small but worthy nation that will not be pushed around. The Surinamese delegation stated clearly that it will not accept the one-sided statement. Attempts to include Suriname’s views failed, as the EU did not want to change anything in the prepared document.
The six-person EU delegation included three Dutch representatives, including charge d’affaires Robert Petri. The French and Spanish Ambassadors were also present, while the delegation was headed by EU Ambassador Robert Kopecky. Lackin says the talks were frank and all agenda items and points of concern the EU has were thoroughly discussed, including the amnesty issue and the truth and reconciliation commission, yet this was not included in the EU’s communiqué.
The Minister says he is under the impression that the mission was only intended to discuss the amnesty issue and he is convinced this is the Netherlands’ doing. Lackin says during an interview with de Ware Tijd that EU headquarters in Brussels can expect a strongly worded diplomatic note from Paramaribo soon, in which the government will lodge a complaint about the result of the meeting and tell its version of events. Lackin says he is not under the impression that the disappointing results of the political dialogue will put pressure on relations with the EU or cause problems in this regard. He expects joint projects that had already been agreed on will proceed as usual.
