HISTORIC OVERVIEW |
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HISTORIC OVERVIEW OF THE SURINAME –GUYANA DISPUTE This article will try to present a short historic overview of the conflict between Suriname and Guyana. Spatially we can distinguish 3
areas of dispute: 1. The Corantijn river : At the end of the 18th century the Dutch had control over the north coast of South-America and they possessed Suriname, Berbice, Demerara and Essequibo. The boundaries of Suriname in those days were from the Sinnamary in the east till the Devilscreek (near Port Mourant in Berbice) in the west. In 1796 the King of Holland went into exile to London and asked his host ,King George iii to protect his colonies in the west against possible attacks from the french. The two dutch governors, Fridrici in Suriname and van Batenburg in Berbice were not removed from their posts. In 1799 these two governors agreed that because the governor of Berbice was in great need of land and the piece of land between the Devilscreek and the Corantijn was virtually unused, this piece of land should be handed over to the governor of Berbice but that the islands in the river and a small post on the west bank of the river would belong to Suriname. So the land was handed over by agreement to Berbice and the left bank of the river from its mouth till its source was considered to be the boundary. Guyanese nationals who want to undertake any activity on the Corantijn river have to file their request for permits with the district-commissioner of Nickerie, the most western district of Suriname.This has been practice for over 150 years. Even in 1995 the government of Guyana by diplomatic note asked the government of Suriname permission to start a riverboat service on the Corantijn between Orrealla and Springlands along the Corantijn river. At the second meeting of the two national boundary commissions in February 1996 the Guyana chairman expressed the opinion that Guyana considered the right bank of the river to form the boundary. In 1997 at the completion of the
ferry-service project (financed by the European Union out
of the regional funds) the problem came floating again
when the operations were discussed between the two
beneficiaries of this project. Which of the two states
would have jurisdiction on the river? Where should the
boat Finally the boat was registered in Suriname,the flag of Suriname would fly and the Guyana flag would also be on board as a token of appreciation.
2.The triangle in the south . In 1835- 1839 the Royal British Geographical Society asked Robert Schomburgk to make a survey into the interior of British-Guyana and he made a trip by travelling along the Essequibo-river upstream . In his report he stated that the Corentin or the Courantin and the Essequibo both had their source on the same mountains at a distance of 25 miles apart. Between 1840 and 1844 he made a second trip and he reached a river at a distance of 100 miles from the source of the Essequibo and he assumed this to be the same river he had found on his first trip. He travelled along this river, the Coeroeni-kutari, downstreams and reached the Corantijn. He never discovered a branch on the left side . In 1871 Barrington Brown ,a geologist travelled to the hinterland of Guyana by travelling on the Corantijn upstream,discovered a river which was not drawn on Schomburgks map , but was greater in size and had a greater water output than the one on the map. He called it the New River and put it on his maps. He published his findings in London in 1875 , but only in 1899 Suriname heard about this publication. In that very year a commission fixed the boundary between Guyana and Venezuela and also determined the boundary with Suriname at the source of the Coeroeni-Kutari out of their assignments, by using SCHOMBURGKS maps. The Dutch protested against this unilateral determination and referred to the B.Brown findings as regards the so- called New River. The British agreed with the Dutch protest with regard to the determination process but did not agree with the references to the B.Brown findings. This difference in opinion between the Dutch and the British is the origin of the dispute as regards the triangle in the South. The question whether the so called New River or the Coeroeni-Kutari is the source of the Corantijn!! In 1926 a scientific expedition under the leadership of prof.Stahel made hydrographic measurements on both rivers and concluded that the New River exceeded the Coeroeni-Kutari in size and output. In 1967 Guyanese officials chased some Surinamese officials away from a spot in the triangle . The government of Suriname established a new unit called " defence police " and they were sent to the area. In1969 two armed Guyanese aircraft attacked a post called "Tigri" in the triangle which was occupied by technicians from Duriname and one of the technicians was taken to Georgetown . The prime –minister from
Trinidad and Tobago ,Dr.Eric Williams, The Guyanese government never kept this promise stating afterwards that the people in the area were not soldiers but "armed settlers". As a matter of fact the Guyana government had their military-personnel permanently in the area since the sixties. 3. The triangle in the North On the 5th July,1936 the heads of the Netherlands and British Boundary Commission met at No 63 Village(Benab) Corantijn for the purpose of drawing a report on the inauguration of the Northern Terminal Point Mark of the Suriname -British/Guyana Boundary. With regard to the boundary in the territorial waters the following was stated: "the Netherlands Commissioner considered it was essential that the continuation of the boundary in the territorial waters should leave the navigation channel in the same territory throughout its length. A LINE DRAWN ON A TRUE BEARING OF 28* E, FROM THE SITE SELECTED FOR THE BOUNDARY MARK WOULD NOT LEAVE FREE THE WHOLE CHANNEL. THE BRITISH COMMISSIONER BELIEVED THAT THE BEARING OF 28* WAS ONLY CHOOSEN BECAUSE IT WAS THOUGHT THAT THIS WOULD POSSIBLY ALLOW A DIRECTION MARK TO BE PLACED ON A SANDBANK SITUATED NEARBY. THE MIXED COMMISSION THEREFORE DECIDED TO INDICATE THE DIRECTION OF THE BOUNDARY LINE IN THE TERRITORIAL WATERS ON A TRUE BEARING OF 10*E, THIS DIRECTION BEING PARALLEL TO THE MID-CHANNEL LINE . The British government at a later stage wanted to keep the Dutch to their initial suggestion of 28*E,done in 1931. In the early seventies the oil company Esso approached both countries for granting it a exploration contract in the area between the lines of 10* e and 28*e. Both countries came to an agreement with the Esso. In late 1974 the Guyana government signed a contract with the Shell company to drill for oil in the same area,without notifying Suriname. In 1989 the Guyana government was negotiating a contract with another oil company consortium LASMO/BHP but this company demanded some guarantees from Guyana, some kind of a "no objection statement" from Suriname. This issue was discussed with the president of Suriname during his state-visit to Guyana in 1989. The two presidents agreed a.o.: "that the representatives of the agencies responsible for petroleum development within the two countries should agree on modalities which would ensure that the opportunities within the said area can be jointly utilised by the two countries." On the 25th of February 1991 the ambassador of Suriname in Guyana signed a memorandum of understanding (m.o.u) which stated a.o."the rights granted to the LASMO/BHP consortium shall be fully respected and not be disturbed and further neither government shall do anything which would impair the rights of the said LASMO/BHP consortium in the said area of overlap" . In april 2000 Suriname learned about Guyana’s intentions to have a foreign company drill for oil in an area within the triangle in the north. The Guyana government had referred to this area as "the area of overlap" in all relevant documents. The guyana government denied any activity being planned beyond their territory. Question? What has changed between 1991 and 2000 to give Guyana the freedom to have activities in the same area for which they needed a m.o.u. in 1991????????? An area they have always described as an area of overlap has become Guyanese territory!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The marine forces from Suriname demanded the drilling platform belonging to the contractor to leave the position and this is considered to be agression????????????????????????????? |