(de Ware Tijd) UTRECHT — Demarcation of the 9,000 sq. kilometers Saramaccaners Zone has been completed. The Association of Saramaccaanse Gezagsdragers – tribal authority – (VSG) produced a draft map in cooperation with Narena, a department affiliated to Celos. VSG official, Hugo Jabini tells dWT that in the next two months the dialogue with neighboring tribes will commence.
The Inter American Court for Human Rights has clearly stated in its 2007 verdict that Saramaccaners are not allowed to annex zones belonging to other tribes. In the period ahead, the Saramaccaners will engage in discussions with Paramacaners, Aucaners, Matawai’s and Trio Amerindians. The Council of Ministers has allocated SRD. 150,000 for the meetings. When parties have reached an agreement, the VSG and Nerana will issue a final map, which will then be presented to the government for recognition. Jabini, who held a presentation on the Saamaka verdict in Utrecht on Sunday, expects the discussions to take two months. He hopes the Saramaccaners Zone can be demarcated definitely this year.
The 2007 verdict calls for demarcation and bordering of the Saamaka Zone and awarding the tribe a collective title according to their customs, without aggrieving other tribes and Amerindian communities. The draft has been discussed and approved in all Saamaka villages. When the Saramaccaners Zone has been demarcated the Surinamese government will need approval from the tribal authority for economic operations in the Zone