(De Ware Tijd) PARAMARIBO — After four years of absence of a Surinamese ambassador in the Netherlands it is time for a change. When president Desi Bouterse accepted the Dutch charge d’ affairs as ambassador, the disrupted diplomatic relations between the two countries were restored.
The new relationship was discussed by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Suriname and the Netherlands, Winston Lackin and Frans Timmermans, respectively, during a break of the General Assembly of the UN. Suriname has not named a candidate for the position in The Hague, although there are already speculations that a current NDP Minister might be nominated.
Opposition political parties have reacted favorably to the restored relations. VHP leader Chandripersad Santokhi says the Netherlands has a double tie with Suriname. Apart from being the former Motherland it is also home to over 380,000 Dutch of Surinamese descent.
NPS chairman, Gregory Rusland, says it took the government four years to correct a wrong decision to sever the ties with the Netherlands. He considers it a pity it happens so close to the next year’s elections.
Rusland emphasizes that the cooled relations with The Hague was not the result of differing views, but rather personal issues. He regrets the Surinamese society was dragged into the personal conflict, but he is happy that the government heeded the call by the public to right the wrong. Rusland hopes Suriname names a new ambassador soon.
