Suriname's President Ronald Venetiaan

In an unprecedentedly fierce speech, President Ronald Venetiaan, on Tuesday lashed out in parliament at the Dutch government, describing the actions of immigration officials at the Schiphol Airport as 'rudeness'.

“We did not give them (the Netherlands) permission to touch our people with their hands. We did not give permission to check our women in their vaginas. We did not give permission to check our woman and men in their anuses,” the president said in response to questions by members of parliament whether there was an agreement with the Netherlands to conduct such body searches.

The National Assembly convened a special session Tuesday to debate the so-called 100 percent drugs inspections, after Minister of Labour , Joyce Amarello-Williams, despite an understanding with the Netherlands, was body-searched two weeks ago.

In January and February Transport Minister, Alice Amafo, was subjected twice to these inspections, while in October two female members of parliament were searched. Formal complaints by the Suriname government have failed to bring about a change in the situation at Schiphol.

In his address to parliament, the Head of State disclosed a letter he wrote to Dutch Prime Minister, Jan-Peter Balkenende, in May this year. In the strongest possible words, Venetiaan in his letter condemned the body searches describing them as “criminal acts of humiliation, sexual assault, torture and ethnic profiling”.

The letter came after a Surinamese woman claimed to have had a miscarriage after enduring a very rough body search at Schiphol in November 2005. After receiving the letter, Balkenende called the Surinamese president, promising that the inspections in the future would be carried out in a more humane manner. However, the situation has not improved.

President Venetiaan and numerous members of parliament stressed that Suriname is not against the drugs inspections, but against the way in which they take place.

The president further disclosed that as long as the inhumane inspections continue, all visiting officials from the Netherlands will not receive VIP treatment from the government. Only security arrangements provided by the Central Intelligence and Security Service will be as usual.

Dutch minister of Development Cooperation, Agnes van Ardenne, on an official visit to Suriname earlier this week became the first not to receive the VIP treatment. Both President Venetiaan and Vice-president, Ramdien Sardjoe, cancelled courtesy calls Monday with the minister.

In his speech, Venetiaan also lashed out at Minister Van Ardenne, who at a press conference Monday said she couldn’t understand why this issue is so “emotional” in Suriname since other countries don’t complain.

The Head of State further noted that the government is also preparing complaints against the Netherlands with international human rights organisations, since the inspections are a violation of human rights.

Producing some figures, President Venetiaan noted that since the so-called 100 percent drugs inspections were introduced in 2005, up to October this year a total of 560 passengers carrying drugs were arrested at Schiphol.

Put against the roughly 2,300 passengers traveling every week to the Netherlands and the results of the drug searches, the measures by the Dutch authorities are way out of proportion, the president argued.

According to the president, technically the Netherlands is well equipped to do the drugs inspections with electronic devices, without violating the personal integrity of travellers.

Venetiaan called on parliament and the Surinamese people to support his government when it initiates actions against the Netherlands.

Several members of Parliament noted that the Dutch actions are not against the Surinamese people, but rather, against the country, since Surinamese nationals arriving at Schiphol from other countries are not being subjected to the inhumane treatment.