PARAMARIBO, Suriname– The Suriname Seafood Association (SSA) Tuesday said it disagrees with a suggestion by the government to discuss the proposed fishing agreement with Guyana behind closed doors.
In a statement, the SSA says that the Rules of Order of the National Assembly allow for closed-door deliberations as an exception and that the Rules of Procedure are a State Decree.
It said that under Articles 103 and 104 of the Suriname Constitution, the President is obliged to share all international agreements with the National Assembly immediately and that within 30 days, the Constitution requires an approval decision.
Earlier, Foreign Affairs, International Business, and International Cooperation, Albert Ramdin said that the government wants to provide information about the fisheries issue with Guyana behind closed doors.
However, opposition legislators, including those from the National Democratic Party (NDP) headed by former president Desi Bouterse, the Nationale Partij Suriname (NPS), and the Brotherhood and Unity in Politics (BEP) have objected, saying that the information can be given in the public domain.
NPS faction leader, Gregory Russia, told the National Assembly on Monday that all matters must be discussed in public unless they are strategic to safeguard the country’s interests.
NDP faction leader Rabin Parmessar, and BEP faction leader, Ronny Asabina, are also against the matter being sent to a parliamentary committee.
The SSA said international relations and agreements with foreign powers are constitutionally intended to be dealt with promptly and publicly.
It argued that it could not be otherwise because international agreements can contain provisions that function above national law.
“The decision to now secretly treat contact with a foreign power, contrary to the Surinamese legislation on sea fishing, behind closed doors, goes against the constitutional principles of deliberation.”
Last month, Suriname reiterated that it had not guaranteed any licenses to Guyana to allow fishermen from the neighboring Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country to play their trade in its waters.
“We have clearly said that we have not made any promises to Guyana in terms of guarantees and numbers of fishing licenses,” Ramdin told the online publication, Starnieuws.
Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo, has accused Suriname of failing to keep its promise. In September, Georgetown said the issue had been discussed at the presidential level in 2020. Following a meeting in November of that year, it had asked Suriname to issue licenses to Guyanese fishermen to fish offshore Suriname.
The statement added that Suriname agreed to this and indicated that it would establish 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 Government of Suriname 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 noted.
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