VZCZCXYZ0025
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPO #0173/01 1202034
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 292034Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY PARAMARIBO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0136

UNCLAS PARAMARIBO 000173 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/PDA DOUG BARNES, CHAD WEST, AND CHARLOTTE PETERSON, 
WHA/CAR JROSHOLT, WHA/EX FOR BILL HALEY AND GREG MORRISON, R/FMO FOR 
BOB HIVELY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: OPRC ABUD AFIN AMGT NS
SUBJECT: SURINAME: REQUEST $13,350 IN ADDITIONAL PUBLIC DIPLOMACY 
FUNDING 
 
Ref:  Paramaribo 140, Buenos Aires 343, Paramaribo 117, Paramaribo 
 
121, Paramaribo 132, Paramaribo 136 
 
This cable contains an action request.  See paragraph 3. 
 
¶1.  (U)  SUMMARY  Embassy Paramaribo thanks WHA/PDA for continued 
financial support of Post's public diplomacy initiatives and 
appreciates WHA/PDA's consideration of this request for an 
additional $13,3500 in financial assistance.  "Mutual U.S./Suriname 
appreciation and respect contributing to a more effective 
partnership" is Post's number one Mission Strategic Plan goal, but 
Post needs additional resources to support it, especially in light 
of the multi-million dollar "Beyond the Horizons" effort which the 
Department of Defense is bringing to Suriname in the summer of 2008. 
 END SUMMARY 
 
------------- 
Justification 
------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU)  Anti-Americanism is common in Suriname and includes a 
European-style bias against U.S. security prerogatives and a 
developing-world style bias against U.S. international economic 
activity.  In order to overcome this bias it is critical to 
emphasize U.S. humanitarian, social, and cultural outreach - and it 
is working.  While the Mission Strategic Plan calls for an average 
of six positive Suriname-source print press articles per month, over 
the last year the Embassy averaged sixteen.  Cultural programming 
has been expanded; Black History Month programming (ref A) drew 1400 
guests in 2008, as opposed to 200 in 2007.  Other agencies at the 
Embassy routinely work in advance with the PD section on upcoming 
projects in order to maximize impact.  However, Post's tiny 
discretionary PD budget has difficulty bearing the costs created by 
being the standard bearer of Post's top-priority goal.  The PD 
budget cannot stretch sufficiently to cover impromptu needs created 
when the excellent work of other departments, primarily the MLO, 
creates opportunities for coverage. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Request: Total and Itemized Priority List 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U)  Total request:  $13,350 
 
Items, in prioritized order: 
$4,200:  Beyond the Horizons PD 
$3m150:  Educational Exchange: Music and Culture 
$1,000:  one-time activity emergency requests 
$5,000:  calendar 
 
Post notes that $13,150 is a fraction of the additional funding 
received or requested by other Posts, and that Post is already 
during "more with less" from a limited palate.  Programs being run 
by other posts in the region to which Post does not have access or 
has not been able to fund include Fulbright, youth exchange, English 
teacher training, and academic scholarships (ref B), for starters. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Request:  Individual Program Justifications 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  Beyond the Horizons PD  ($4,200) 
$4,200 = one overnight trip each to Nickerie and Albina at $1800 
apiece, including transportation and overnight for Embassy support 
personnel and for up to five journalists; two day trips each to 
Coronie and Moengo at $300 for bus rental. 
BACKGROUND:  The USNS Comfort visit in 2007 required significant 
overtime, transportation, and other expenses to transport staff and 
media to/from PD events, organize the opening ceremony, arrange 
publicity, and produce appropriate PD products.  Post is hosting a 
"Beyond the Horizons" (BTH) Medical and Engineering Readiness 
Training Exercises 2008.  Some of the same challenges will exist. 
BTH is more complicated as the treatment sites are far from 
Paramaribo. In order to obtain maximum effect and guarantee coverage 
by cash-strapped local media, we will again have to provide some 
transportation to journalists to take them to project sites. 
Without a proactive engagement of media, the public diplomacy 
opportunity of this multi-million dollar USG/U.S. Military exercise 
will be virtually lost. 
 
¶5.  (U)  Educational Exchange: Music and Culture ($3,150) 
Airfare = $1,200, U.S. musicians' fee and per diem = $450, 
Surinamese musicians = $1,500 
BACKGROUND:  In order to build on the success of our continuing 
cultural outreach and consistently reinforce our positive message of 
"the many faces of America," Post proposes to bring Kevin Jones to 
Suriname to participate in exchange workshops and a signature 
performance together with 23 Surinamese musicians whose name, "Ala 
 
Kondre Dron," or "All Nations' Drums," is synonymous with their 
message of multi-cultural unity.  Jones proved himself an excellent 
bearer of this message of multi-ethnic harmony when he visited 
Suriname with the "Rhythm Road" project in 2007, and will be warmly 
received by the many friends he made in the music world in Suriname, 
who have been clamoring for a  return visit ever since. 
 
¶6.  (U)  Window-of-opportunity activities and emergency requests 
($1,000) 
Two event expenses per month = 5 months x $100 each = $1,000, 
including three election-related evenings. 
BACKGROUND:  One-time costs and special demands on the Public 
Affairs section are common.  For example, in April PD was asked to 
provide coverage and positive press play for a delegation of 
returning Surinamese soldiers from a U.S. military exercise.  PD is 
also supporting the Front Office's request to make the most of this 
year's exciting election schedule, and developed a slate of ideas, 
but has no budget for implementation.  Similar requests come in 
month-by-month.  In addition, working closely with the Cultural 
Center of Suriname, which houses our American Corner, the Embassy 
has established a regular series of programs.  The cost to 
co-sponsor these events is minimal; however, the return on the 
investment is growing.  Events have included Black History Month 
programs, music and other cultural activities, American classic 
movies to invited audiences, window of opportunity U.S. speakers, 
and other programs planned around MSP themes (for "free" 
programming, see ref A, Two Months, Ten Events, Fifteen Hundred 
Guests: Black History Month Punches-Up in Suriname, ref C, "Best 
Kept Secret?" Cultural Programming with Almost no Money," ref D, 
"State Senator Promotes U.S. Democracy For Free," ref E, "U.S. 
"Maroon" Introduces Suriname to American Diversity - For Free," and 
ref F "One Drum:" Funky, Inexpensive Pick-Me-Up for Black History 
Month).  We began cutting back certain programming in December, and 
continue to do so, but would prefer to remain flexible. 
 
¶7. (U)  Calendar  ($5,000) 
$5,000 for 5,000 copies. 
BACKGROUND:  The Embassy has plans to develop an Embassy calendar to 
highlight the wide range of assistance to Suriname, along the lines 
of the one our DCM instituted when he was Public Affairs Officer in 
La Paz (La Paz continues to produce a high quality product that is 
widely distributed to government leaders, national assembly members, 
etc.). 
 
¶8.  (U)  POINT OF CONTACT: 
 
Andy Utschig, Political/Economic Officer 
Tel: 011-597-472-900 ext 2208 
Fax: 011-597-420-800 
Email: utschigas@state.gov 
 
SCHREIBER HUGHES