Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
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GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AFP): Guyana has accused neighboring Suriname of trying to block key evidence from a UN tribunal trying to resolve a dispute over potentially oil-rich offshore territory claimed by both South American nations.
Guyana's foreign ministry charged that Suriname, a former Dutch colony, intervened to prevent Guyana from obtaining from the Netherlands historical documents on the two nations' maritime boundaries.
"Suriname's behavior is inconsistent with the obligation of both parties to facilitate the presentation to the tribunal of all relevant documents, facts and information, and it violates the obligation of fairness, openness and transparency," the foreign ministry said.
Guyana, a former British colony, said it had formally protested Suriname's attempt to "withhold relevant evidence" to the tribunal.
Guyana took the dispute to the UN tribunal in February, four years after Surinamese military gunboats chased from the area the oil exploration rig owned by Canada's CGX Energy. The Guyanese government had given the Canadian company a license to explore oil in the area.
A series of bilateral and Caribbean Community proposals for joint exploration and exploitation of the area have failed.
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