Caribbean Net News: No 'non-surrender' agreement between Suriname and US

PARAMARIBO, Suriname: The Venetiaan administration in Suriname will not sign a so-called non-surrender agreement with the United States, an official here has disclosed.

Should the government in any case present a bill to parliament to sanction such an agreement, parliament will vote against it, said coalition Member of Parliament Ruth Wijdenbosch in an interview.

Since Suriname has indicated that it will accede to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Washington has been pushing for the so-called bilateral ‘Article 98 Agreement’ to prevent US nationals, including military personnel and contractors, being handed over to the ICC for prosecution.

The US is not a signatory to the ICC, which was established to prosecute suspects of crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide.

After a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates on October 6, President Ronald Venetiaan told reporters that it is up to parliament and the US whether his government will sign a non-surrender agreement with Washington. He reiterated that, in 2008, his administration will complete preparations to accede to the ICC.

Currently, both countries are negotiating a deal, but so far the discussions have failed to produce an agreement.

According to Wijdenbosch, there is consensus in parliament that Suriname will become party to the ICC.

“Both the coalition and opposition agree that we should accede to the International Criminal Court and signing a non-surrender agreement is undermining the establishment of this institution,” said Wijdenbosch, who is also a board member of Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA). This international organization is calling on governments to sign on to the ‘Statute of Rome,’ which established the ICC.

Although opposition MP Yvonne Raveles-Resida agrees, she argues that the government should scrutinise this issue very carefully in order to avoid possible negative outfall if the country accedes to the ICC.

Countries that sign on are risking termination of all military aid from the US. But, according to Venetiaan, a waiver from Washington is possible in certain circumstances. His government will therefore study this option.

US ambassador to Suriname Lisa Schreiber-Hughes, however, maintains that in general “if there is such a possibility, this is under very, very limited circumstances.” The requirements are strict and the possibilities for exceptions are narrow, the ambassador added.

She further argued that there is a “fundamental misunderstanding” of the non-surrender agreement, since this “has much more to do with jurisdiction than anything else.”

“Article 98 is not an amnesty issue, it’s an issue of jurisdiction and we are trying to work with the government of Suriname to find some way that we will be able to continue all forms military assistance even if Suriname is a signatory to the ICC,” the ambassador noted in response to the opposition.

The diplomat argued that, since the US is no member to the ICC, it is unacceptable that its nationals will be prosecuted by a court that has no jurisdiction over the US. Moreover, the US is capable of prosecuting suspects of all the crimes the ICC has jurisdiction over, said Schreiber-Hughes.