Text and image Jason Pinas
PARAMARIBO — The last six Bolivian Mennonites still in Suriname will be expelled from the country on Tuesday (today). Sharveen Koelfat, chief inspector and Central regional commander, stated this to Judge Robert Praag on Monday afternoon during the substantive hearing of the summary proceedings brought by lawyer Derrick Veira against the state. According to Koelfat, it concerns three women, each with a baby, who are now being deported.
Over the weekend, 57 men, women and children were deported from the country on two separate flights via Johan Adolf Pengel airport. Because the three babies were born in Suriname and did not yet have travel documents, they could not leave the country earlier and were forced to stay behind. “That has now been sorted out, so they can now travel,” Koelfat told the judge.
“Anyone concerned with the law clearly sees that these actions of the state are seriously contrary to the sense of justice”
Attorney Derrick Veira
Disavowing law
Veira, who acts on behalf of the company Suriname Green Energy Agriculture, with which the Mennonites have an agreement, complained about being denied access to the group in recent days. The dozens of Mennonites were evacuated from the Mazonia area more than a week ago and housed in Kraka under strict police guard. The lawyer also had no access. “The state has done everything to prevent me from talking to my clients. That is a denial of the law. This is not the way we should deal with the law,” Veira emphasized.
However, Koelfat claimed that the police were willing to provide access to the defense counsel, but that they had yet to agree on how this should be done. In addition, the police doubted whether Veira had indeed been attracted by the group to provide them with legal assistance. The lawyer: “That is not how things went. I seriously protest against what happened. The state acted in bad faith. Anyone concerned with the law clearly sees that these actions of the state seriously go against the sense of justice.”
According to Veira, the Mennonites did not need a work permit because they were not there to work, but only to share their experience with their local partners. He also believes that the deportation should not yet take place because he has submitted a request for review to the President of Suriname. “I think we have to have that legal maturity and wait for the president’s decision,” Veira said.
Untruths
Attorney Dwight Kraag, who represented the state, said Veira’s arguments were not based on truth. For example, the letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs inviting fifty families to come to Suriname is not intended for Suriname Green Energy Agriculture but for Terra Invest. In addition, according to Kraag, no document shows that the Mennonites were working on an Authorization for Short Stay (MKV).
He pointed out that this group of Mennonites traveled to Suriname in 2024 with a holiday visa, which is only valid for ninety days. “So they were in the country illegally,” Kraag noted.
The judge postponed the case until Tuesday to make a ruling. He did instruct the police to give Veira space to visit his clients on Kraka.-.
