THE AUTHORITIES HAVE In fact, action was finally put into words and during the night from Monday to Tuesday, Mennonites who were staying in the Masonia area were evacuated and transferred under police guard to barracks in Kraka. They did not have the required permission to stay in Suriname and had also developed or prepared agricultural activities without permission on land that did not belong to them.
If the government has its way, the more than sixty Mennonites, including small children and babies, will be deported to Mexico and Bolivia, the countries where they come from. Provided the judge doesn’t stop that. While awaiting their fate, they remain under police guard in the police recreational resort/training center, shielded from everything and everyoneas if they were life-threatening terrorists who pose a threat to Suriname. The authorities have denied access to both the press and their lawyer. The Mennonites are apparently not allowed to have contact with third parties because their lawyer has filed summary proceedings against their deportation and the case is still pending in court.
By choosing this approach of arrest and deportation, there are now only losers
The last word has not yet been said about the Mennonites, but it seems that the government is choosing the path of least resistance by rounding up and deporting entire families. The question is whether that is useful, while the issue has been going on for almost four years. The government would have done much better to enter into discussions directly with the Mennonites – and not with so-called local counterparts who act as pioneers and promise mountains of gold – and to learn from them what their intentions are.
The actual intervention came abruptly, despite earlier warnings. In recent months, the many Mennonite families have often received enforcement orders and quickly ignored them. The group that has now been arrested comes from Mexico and Bolivia and can therefore be put on guard quite easily. Most other families still in Suriname come from Belize, where different admission and residence rules may apply due to Caricom membership. Their legal position may therefore be different from that of families from Mexico and Bolivia.
Moreover, what is happening here threatens to turn into a textbook example of capital destruction. The Mennonites were brought to Suriname by third parties as wealthy agricultural investors to boost the ailing agricultural sector. According to them, after selling their assets in Bolivia and Mexico, they have now invested millions in equipment and goods that they brought to Suriname in preparation for their intended agricultural activities. The fact that they did this without the required permissions is also their own responsibility.
By abruptly stopping the operation now with a show of force, the government is sending a bad signal to the international community. Foreign investors, who say they have invested millions, are suddenly confronted with drastic government measures. The fact that the government was not directly involved in their arrival does not absolve it of the responsibility to act carefully, lawfully and humanely. With this eviction, the Geerlings-Simons government has in fact put on an embarrassing display.
Minister of Justice and Security, Harish Monorath, clearly does not know what to do with the situation. Enforcement of the law is necessary, that is understandable. After all, the Mennonites did not have the required permissions for their residence and agricultural activities. But it could all have been done a bit more humanely, so that the government could save face and the Mennonites – according to the applicable Surinamese rules – could make a constructive contribution to the much-desired food production in areas to be designated by the government. That would be a real win-win situation.
By choosing this approach of eviction and deportation, there are now only losers. It can also attract international attention, leaving Suriname once again embarrassed.
