In light of allegations of corruption made by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo over Suriname’s failure to deliver on promised fishing licences, Suriname’s interim Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS) Krishna Mathoera has called his statements “an unfriendly act” and urged that he refrain from statements on the issue while diplomatic efforts are underway.
The Suriname Herald on Friday reported that Guyana’s ambassador Keith George was summoned on Thursday by Minister Mathoera following Jagdeo’s comments on the country’s handling of fishing licences for Guyanese.
It was reported that during the meeting, Interim Minister Mathoera labelled the Jagdeo’s statements as “irresponsible, not diplomatic and not in line with the spirit of cooperation as neighbouring countries.” The Suriname Herald said that the minister also indicated that the statements put unnecessary pressure on the relationship because both foreign ministers are busy discussing matters.
“Minister Mathoera further communicated the government’s position that the vice president’s statements are considered an unfriendly act that is in complete contrast to the good relations between the two heads of state.
“Finally, during this summons, the Vice-President of Guyana was called upon to await diplomatic efforts and to refrain from making any wide-ranging public statements on the matter, which are currently under discussion between the two countries. The ambassador of Guyana in Suriname will convey the message of the ad interim minister of BIBIS to the president of Guyana,” the Suriname Herald reported.
To date, the Guyana government has not reported that its Ambassador was summoned by the Dutch authorities and efforts by Sunday Stabroek to elicit a comment from Foreign Affairs Minister Hugh Todd and Foreign Secretary Robert Persaud were unsuccessful.
On September 17, Stabroek News reported that Jagdeo alleged that corrupt practices by authorities in Suriname have stalled its promised licensing of 150 local fishing vessels and said Guyana will be seeking CARICOM’s intervention to resolve the continued harassment of its fisherfolk that has been continuing as a result.
He was at the time addressing fishers in Region Six, where he was present for the start of the distribution of $150,000 one-off cash grants to them.
Jagdeo, who spoke to fishers at both Port Mourant and Skeldon, alleged that a Surinamese minister is linked to several people controlling the fishing boat licences and profiteering off of Guyanese fisherfolk, which has snared the agreement between the two governments to license 150 fishing boats here.
The agreement had been reached between President Irfaan Ali and his Surinamese counterpart Chandrikapersad Santokhi and was supposed to see licensing in place by January 1, 2022, but it has not materialised yet.
In expressing his frustration at the Suriname authorities who reneged on a written commitment to license the 150 Guyanese fishing boats, Jagdeo blamed corruption. He said there was “Massive, massive corruption in the allocation of these licences and a huge attempt to profiteer on the backs of Guyanese fishermen by many in authority in Suriname.”
Jagdeo also stated boldly that they have since discovered that a “particular minister in Suriname is linked to many people who are controlling these licences and they are then renting the licences to Guyanese so when we then exposed that, because we gave the information about the people in Suriname who were profiteering, we had the intelligence and we gave it to the Surinamese authorities, they then became upset because the matter came out in the public domain.”
He said that although Suriname’s President had told President Irfaan Ali that they would “allow (fisherfolks) to land their catch in Guyana,” Surinamese authorities are still continuing to harass Guyana’s fisher folks.
Jagdeo said Suriname’s Minister of Agriculture Rabindre Parmessar “seems to be more powerful than their President” as he has been “enforcing a different set of rules.”
Timeline
In a statement yesterday, the Foreign Affairs Ministry sought to explain the timeline of political and diplomatic efforts made by the Government of Guyana to secure SK fishing licences for its fisherfolk to fish in Surinamese waters off the Atlantic Coast. It said that the issue was discussed at the Presidential level in 2020. Following, at the first meeting of the Agriculture Working Group under the SDCP, which was convened in Suriname in November 2020, Guyana requested that Suriname issues 150 SK licences to Guyanese fishermen to fish offshore Suriname.
In agreeing to the granting of the licences, the Government of Suriname indicated that it would set up a government-owned company to be the business partner of the Guyanese fishermen with which they will sign a Vessel basing Agreement, and which will take care of the registration of the vessels of the Guyanese fishermen. This was in keeping with Suriname’s fishing legislation.
The Ministry informed that the Surinamese government also proposed the conclusion of a Fisheries Agreement between the two countries which would also address the granting of licenses. Guyana continued to engage in the discussions with Suriname in good faith with the expectation that they would result in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
The statement further informed that the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname also requested the names of the middlemen from whom the Guyanese fishermen were renting their licences as well as outlined a number of criteria for the formation of the company. Guyana complied with all the other requirements of Suriname for the setting up of the company and after some reluctance on the part of the Guyanese fishermen, the names of the middlemen were eventually handed over to the Surinamese Government.
The Foreign Ministers of both countries remained in communication with Todd writing to his Surinamese counterpart Albert Ramdin on 13 August 2021, reminding him of the commitment to issue the licences. Additionally, the Presidents of Guyana and Suriname met between 17-20 August 2021 in Georgetown and discussed the issuance of SK fishing licences to Guyanese fisherfolk.
The Joint Communique issued by the Presidents from those discussions committed “that both Ministers responsible would work towards the issuance of fishing licences in that category by January 1, 2022, keeping in mind the established quota on the Surinamese side.”
“For several months, nothing further was heard from Suriname, and Minister Todd again wrote a letter dated 20 December 2021, to his Surinamese counterpart, Minister Ramdin, reminding him of the commitment and urging his intervention in bringing about a resolution of that outstanding matter. Minister Todd received a response dated January 6, 2022, from his Surinamese counterpart in which Minister Ramdin suggested that the Ministers of Agriculture of both countries convene a meeting on January 13, 2022, in order to reach an agreement. The proposed meeting was never convened.
“At the Guyana/ Suriname/ Brazil Tripartite Summit which was held in Suriname, on 20 January 2022, the Presi-dents of Guyana and Suriname met, and the licenses were again discussed. President Santokhi then indicated that he remains committed to the issuance of SK licences to Guyanese fishermen. Guyana did not receive any further formal or substantive communication from Suriname on the issue,” the Foreign Affairs Ministry said in its statement.
The Ministry also noted that while diplomatic and political initiatives were being undertaken, Guyanese fishermen continued to be harassed in Surinamese waters as they attempted to continue to ply their trade for their subsistence and that of their families.
“Matters escalated this year when Suriname confiscated three Guyanese fishing vessels along with their nets and engines and sold the catch. Following the conclusion of the matter, Guyana reached out to Suriname to release the vessels on humanitarian grounds, but there was no accommodation to this effect. It is evident that the diplomatic engagement has so far not reaped the desired outcome,” the statement added.
The Ministry said that Guyana remains committed to good neighbourly relations with Suriname.