This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS  PARAMARIBO 000828 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR: LLUFTIG 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR NS
SUBJECT: PROPOSED ARTICLE 98 SIGNING STIRS CRITICAL 
REACTIONS 
 
REF: PARAMARIBO 811 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. President Venetiaan's December 6 statement 
that Suriname plans to join the International Criminal 
Court (ICC) and sign a bilateral non-surrender (Article 98) 
agreement with the United States continues to reverberate 
in the press. It has been given new life by an Amnesty 
International (AI) statement of December 15 urging that 
Suriname's parliamentarians refuse to ratify an Article 98 
agreement.  The United States is widely condemned in the 
press. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) President Venetiaan's December 6 statement in 
parliament (see reftel) prompted an Amnesty International 
statement on December 15 praising his decision to become 
party to the Court, while expressing concern about his 
decision to enter into an Article 98. Stating incorrectly 
that the United States has been actively campaigning 
against the Court, AI labels Article 98 agreements 
"impunity agreements" which it describes as illegal and in 
violation of other international conventions. (A copy of 
the statement is available on AI website.)  The statement 
goes on to urge parliamentarians to "declare that they will 
not ratify any such unlawful agreement if it is signed." In 
this current round of discussions, the only 
parliamentarians to speak out against an Article 98 
agreement are two members of the governing New Front Plus 
coalition, Sharmila Mangal and Ruth Wijdenbosch.  Ms. 
Wijdenbosch is a member of the President's party and former 
deputy Speaker of Parliament. Wijdenbosch is quoted as 
saying the U.S. doesn't provide that much military 
assistance, so losing it for a matter of principle 
shouldn't be an issue. 
 
¶3. (U) The media has been busy with the story. A local 
radio station used excerpts from an earlier interview with 
the Ambassador to provide a rejoinder to the AI statement 
on Friday morning, leaving the impression that the Embassy 
was remarkably quick off the mark in responding. 
Displaying the penchant for wild association which 
characterizes much of its work, some in the press 
speculated that USSOUTHCOM General Craddock's quick visit 
on Friday, December 16 was linked to controversy over a 
possible Article 98 agreement.  A weekend piece in 
Keerpunt, a widely read political column, condemns the Bush 
Administration for the War in Iraq which it says was 
undertaken under false pretenses and tests, on a daily 
basis, international law. It chastises the U.S. for the 
abuses in Iraqi prisons and in Guantanamo and asks what 
happened to the American way of life and respect for other 
nations. The article concludes that someone accused of war 
crimes or crimes against humanity must be surrendered to 
the ICC.  Monday's Times of Suriname had a nasty cartoon 
showing the U.S. trampling Iraq for oil and ignoring 
prisoners in Guantanamo, while a tiny President Venetiaan 
eagerly approaches with an agreement and American flag.  An 
accompanying editorial accused the U.S. of creating too 
many victims as it pursued its goals and said it was in 
fact the cause of much of today's terrorism. It also stated 
that most of the civilized world had concluded that those 
guilty of crimes against humanity needed to be punished. 
While applauding the opposition of Ms. Wijdenbosch, the 
paper concluded that she couldn't be taken seriously as 
members of the coalition lacked the gumption to cross the 
leadership of the President. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In a meeting with General Craddock on Friday, 
President Venetiaan reaffirmed his intent to conclude an 
Article 98, but noted this would take time; it would need 
to be ratified by the Parliament, but the politics wouldn't 
be easy, even though the government has a majority. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Comment: The President's announcement and the AI 
reaction have unleashed a flood of criticism of the U.S., 
much of it visceral and uninformed.  This very reaction 
will, we believe, cause a government not known for moving 
with alacrity to let the ICC/Article 98 issues simmer on 
the back burner for some considerable time. President 
Venetiaan has indicated an appreciation for the challenges 
the U.S. faces as the sole superpower which distinguishes 
it from every other nation. This has not, we believe, been 
the sole calculus in his decision. The military has pressed 
the civilian leadership on this issue, having a more 
realistic assessment of the value of American military 
assistance than Ms. Wijdenbosch.  We will continue to urge 
the government to sign an agreement sooner, rather than 
later.  In spite of the good state of civil-military 
relations, many in the current government, from the 
 
 
President on down, remain wary of an institution that twice 
staged successful coups.  Our challenge will be to ensure 
that an Article 98 does not become a source of friction in 
civilmilitary relations. 
 
BARNES 
 
 
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