Suriname Government Goes On The Offensive As US Jewish Group Warns Of Terrorist Cells In The Region

By Marvin Hokstam
Suriname Correspondent

PARAMARIBO, Suriname CMC – Suriname has gone on the offensive to portray the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country as a major player against terrorism even as the New York based international Jewish human rights organization, the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, said the arrest and investigation of Dino Bouterse validates its claims of an Iranian and Hezbollah sleeper network across the region.

 

Foreign Affairs Minister, Winston Lackin, has embarked on a series of meetings with foreign diplomats, based here; assuring them that Suriname does not support any terrorist activity.

Dino Bouterse, 41, the son of President Desi Bouterse, was arrested in Panama on August 29 and handed over to US authorities.

Manhattan District Attorney, Preet Bharara, said that Bouterse, who is already facing cocaine and weapons trafficking charges, was planning to support the Hezbollah, the Shi’a Islamic militant group and political party based in Lebanon, in launching attacks on the United States.

If found guilty of the terrorism charge, the President’s son could face 15 years in prison, in addition to the  mandatory minimum term of 40 years in jail if he is convicted on the weapons and illegal drugs charges.

Lackin said that the indictment should not be seen as a mirror of the community of Suriname.

“The ambassadors are posted here to analyze the situation and I have the impression that they are very clearheaded on this matter. Everybody understands that this development has no bearing on our bilateral relationships with other countries,” he said.

Lackin spoke specifically about his meeting with US Ambassador Jay Anania, saying the diplomat does not have the impression that Dino’s case muddied the relationship between their two countries.

“We know where the borderline is,” said Lackin, adding “but we are nonetheless making sure to present who and what we are as Suriname and why our people have no need for these types of activities”.

But the Simon Wiesenthal Center said it regards Dino Bouterse’s  indictment as proof that terrorism cells were being established in Latin America and the Caribbean, pointing at Bouterse’s  plans to use Trinidad and Tobago as a “bridge between the Middle East, South America and the US”.

Shimon Samuels, the Center’s Director for International Relations, said the President’s son’s willingness to support Hezbollah “which has been designated a terrorist organization by the US”, served to strengthen the Center’s impression that the organization has a strong foothold in the region.

Samuels said this impression grew last May, when Argentinan prosecutor Alberto Nisman said that Iran had infiltrated several South American countries through the installation of intelligence cells.

“We had also learned in Trinidad and Tobago of young members of the Arab community who had left the islands for Hezbollah training in Lebanon,” said Samuels.

The Center wants the region to take action.

“Iran’s influence in the region is spreading beyond the original Venezuela-led Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) bloc and the Triple Frontier region between Argentina, Brazil and Paraguay.

“We expect the New York inquiry to reveal further evidence of this terror network in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Sergio Widder, the Center’s Director for Latin America.

“The findings should be a clarion call for action to extirpate this scourge from the Americas. The only appropriate course would be to follow Europe in designating Hezbollah a terrorist organization,” he added.

Suriname has already announced that an inquiry would be held into all criminal activities involving Dino Bouterse.