Closing the noose around criminals

Mar 11, 2010 Editorial

Suriname’s Justice Minister, Chandrikapersad Santokhi, is in Guyana for a meeting that is examining the security arrangements shared by the two countries—Guyana and Suriname. It is common knowledge that Guyanese who commit crimes here flee to neighbouring Suriname and more often than not, evade capture.
This decision by criminals to flee to Suriname has been age old. In the first instance they enter another country where they are not known. They manage to hide because they encounter many of their countrymen who have moved there, some of them also fugitives from justice and they are protected.
About three decades ago nearly one dozen men fled from the Camp Street jail, some of them by jumping over the fence. One was shot dead outside the prison walls, and others over a period of days were shot at different locations, one of them outside the Georgetown Public Hospital. The most dangerous fled to Suriname and were never hear from again.
Some claim that they continued to French Guiana, others claimed that they ended up in Suriname jail and still others claimed that they met violent ends on the streets of Suriname.
From time to time, appeals are made to the Suriname authorities and people are detained and handed over to the Guyanese. On many occasions these people broke the law in Suriname and came to national attention.
But criminals apart, Guyanese travel to and from Suriname with amazing regularity. The river that serves as a boundary is merely an inconvenience. In the 1970s and 1980s when some commodities were scarce smuggling was the order of the day between the two countries. The goods flowed from Suriname. Today most of the goods flow the other way.
Guyanese routinely travel to Suriname to do their shopping, especially those who reside in the eastern part of the country.
Suriname’s Justice Minister Chandrikapersad Santokhi says that there is nothing that his government would do to prevent the illegal crossings—illegal because the visitors do not present themselves to a port of entry or to an immigration official. He sees the fact that Guyana and Suriname, being Caricom member states that have abolished the visa requirement, and being members of the Caricom Single Market and Economy that allows for unhindered cross border travel, would militate against any restriction to cross border travel between the two countries.
However, there are problems. Illegal substances tend to cross the borders. Guns and ammunition have been smuggled from Suriname in the same way that drugs have crossed from Guyana to Suriname and heroin have crossed from Suriname into Guyana.
This is the concern of the security forces and their talks must centre on stemming the flow of illegal weapons and drugs. Indeed the borders are porous at the Guyana end. People can easily slip across. Since the Surinamese control the river they can put patrol boats and attempt to stem the illegal crossing of people in small boats.
However this is a costly exercise and the two countries are more prepared to undertake intelligence operations in their respective countries. It is this cooperation that led to the arrest of many drug suspects and many fugitives from justice.
There is no extradition treaty between the two countries but they accede to requests for the deportation of criminals to each other’s country. In cases where criminals are sentenced in either country the information is exchanged and at the expiration of the sentence the convict is handed over to the relevant authorities.
Roger Khan was an exception but his men were sent to Guyana under the same pact that operates today.
Mr Santokhi said that all his country needs to do is apply the immigration laws; and this makes sense because the fleeing criminal does not present himself to the immigration authorities. The other fact is that Suriname does not treat too kindly, criminals who are there illegally.

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