Suriname president should get personally involved in Guyana boundaries dispute
-ex border commission secretary
Stabroek News
March 17, 2004
A former secretary of the Border Commission is advising that Suriname President Ronald Venetiaan should get involved in the border dispute with Guyana and personally lead the process to solve the problem, the English bulletin of De Ware Tijd reported yesterday.
According to the Suriname daily, former Suriname Border Commission secretary Radjen Kisoensingh says further that in doing so, Venetiaan should try to convince Guyana to withdraw the complaint it has filed against Suriname at the Maritime Law Tribunal in Hamburg.
In Kisoensingh's view, Paramaribo should attempt to convince Georgetown to present the entire border dispute to the International Court of Justice in The Hague. He is also calling on the Suriname government to mobilise everyone with some expertise in the border dispute.
In addition, Kisoensingh says that the result of yesterday's closed session in the Suriname Parliament on the border dispute should be made known to the entire community as it is a matter of national importance, De Ware Tijd reported.
Meanwhile, the newspaper quoted chairman of the New Suriname (NS) party, Rajan Nannan Panday as saying: "While Guyana has already hired six or seven experts to plead its case in the border dispute with Suriname at the UN, Suriname has not hired any yet.
How can we win the case then?" The NS chairman raised this question during a branch meeting of his party last Saturday at Charlesburg. According to Panday, the issue is about Suriname's future as the disputed areas have abundant natural resources such as oil, natural gas, and gold.