Latest update August 1st, 2026 12:18 AM
Guyana will not arrest Bouterse
In response to request by foreign powers – Jagdeo
Guyana’s President Bharrat Jagdeo says that his country will not arrest Suriname’s Head of State Desi Bouterse whenever he visits the country.
Jagdeo made the statement in response to a question posed by an Officer of the Guyana Defence Force at the opening of the Annual Officers’ Conference yesterday at Army Headquarters, Camp Ayanganna.
The question was sparked by recent revelations that Bouterse had links to convicted Guyanese drug lord Shaheed Roger Khan and had clandestinely visited Guyana on several occasions for rendezvous with Khan.
Bouterse, who has been sentenced by a court in the Netherlands for drug trafficking, was returned as President of Suriname last year following General Elections in the neighbouring Republic.
From all indications, the President’s comments were not meant for the ears of members of the media, who were strangely asked to leave the venue during the President’s response to the question of how Guyana’s relations with Suriname would be affected by the recent revelations.
Jagdeo stated that some time ago Guyana was asked by a representative of a foreign mission here if the President of Suriname will be arrested when he visits Guyana, on account of him being wanted internationally.
“I said to him no. I said maybe you can get some other countries to do this,” the Guyanese president stated emphatically.
He pointed out that if the people of Suriname overwhelmingly choose him (Bouterse) as their leader, Guyana should not judge him based on what transpired in the Netherlands.
“Who are we as Guyanese to say we should arrest him,” Jagdeo told the Army Officers.
Since his return to power, Bouterse has officially visited Guyana on three occasions.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo pointed to recent revelations on Wikileaks which revealed sensitive information related to American diplomacy on Guyana, which he said could see a change.
Suriname President Desi Bouterse during a recent visit to Guyana
“Whatever comes out on Guyana, I’d be happy to see it, because it exposes how policies are made in the capitals of the developed world. Hopefully it will make diplomacy from the developed world more transparent,” Jagdeo asserted.
In his usual bold style, the Guyanese leader charged that in some cases ambassadors send back reports on their own impressions on persons in high positions within a government, and in other cases report on what was not said.
These things, he said, very often influence the policies of the country to which the reports were sent.
“It exposes to the general public how frivolous some of these things are and how fickle and how non-transparent they are,” Jagdeo stated.
According to Jagdeo, in light of the situation, there is every likelihood that there will be some rethink of how diplomacy works or alternatively, more secure communications, “so that Assange (Wikileaks founder) and the others won’t get their hands on it”.
He referred to a period in the country’s history during which the diplomatic traffic out of Guyana almost destroyed the nation.
“If you look back to the fifties and the sixties you will see a significant amount of traffic out of Guyana between the United States of America and the UK..,” the President said, adding that a plot to divide the people of Guyana along ethnic lines, was exposed.
According to Jagdeo, the plot also included a planned invasion by Venezuela if Guyana had gone the route of Cuba. This, he said, led to the reopening of the border issue between Guyana and Venezuela, a matter which was effectively settled since 1899.
“Our country suffered because of this secret traffic and machinations that took place here… it divided us along racial lines. But it never originated here, we were pawns in a bigger scheme,” Jagdeo told the conference.
He urged the army officers to ensure that Guyana never becomes the pawn in “anyone’s scheme” in the future, adding that the country must be driven by national interests.
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