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The Bridge
(Kaieteur News) – It is not that Suriname scrapped the joint Corentyne bridge project. It is how Suriname did it. Standing courtesy required any scrapping of the proposed bridge to be done quietly and thoughtfully. The Dutch leader reaching out to the Guyanese leader and sharing the unexpected news, that abrupt final decision in Paramaribo. Suriname’s President Jennifer Geerlings-Simon apparently did not think so. Because one of her ministers was in too much of a hurry to announce the bridge scrapping in their National Assembly. It was not merely sudden, it was shocking.
It is obvious that Guyana’s President Irfaan Ali was caught unaware. Blindsided from the Suriname side of the Corentyne Bridge now to be no more. No more partnering with, and participating by, Guyana. By itself, that development has all the criteria of a hammer out of nowhere, something that does not happen in these days of oil and Guyana. Few are the countries, and fewer the national leaders, who are not beating a path to tie up some business deal with Guyana. What could have prompted the thinkers and leaders in the Suriname Government to take a different route? Is it a sign of more difficulties between Guyana and its eastern neighbour? For the fact is that even Venezuela, notwithstanding its massive (baseless and arbitrary) claim on Guyana’s lands and riches, still wants to engage Guyana and arrange some sort of dealings with it.
“The government has decided to finance the bridge one hundred percent itself. The fact is that it must and will be a Surinamese bridge.” Those words came from Suriname’s Minister of Public Works and Spatial Planning, Stephen Tsang. A slap in the face they were, and they certainly stunned President Ali. Minister Tsang’s statement, on the face of it, seems to carry just a hint of dismissal, the shade of some contempt. It is not the first time that Suriname has been an unfriendly and unsteady neighbour of Guyana. One with a chip on its shoulder and a smirk on its face. What brought this seemingly rushed change of mind? What else could the bridge partner that is no longer a partner have in mind?
There is something strange, if not suspicious, about this swift change of heart. No reasons shared, no courtesies extended, no bridge business to be done. Suriname has shown what it can do in the shared waters, with Guyanese fisherfolk hounded, locked up, and fined. Then, put out of bread. Guyanese business operators have called for more of a two-way street on the Suriname side of the border, in keeping with the openness its own enjoys here. There have been those situations and others that have left Guyanese at a disadvantage. We see that as part of a pattern. It is only rational, therefore, to be cautious and expect anything from Guyana’s neighbours to the east. A reasonable concern for the Government of Guyana, and ordinary citizens, should be how a 100 percent owned and operated Suriname Bridge, if it actually comes to past, would work. We anticipate that Guyanese could be held hostage to crossing traffic, at some time or the other, when Suriname’s monopoly is considered.
We think that there is justification for our line of thinking. This country has given a high priority to increasing contacts with Suriname, and more business for citizens on both sides of the border. It has been largely one-way, and struck by uncertainty at surprising moments. From all the evidence, it appears that Guyana is the party interested in friendship and a closer working and neighbourly relationship. This shared Corentyne Bridge was an opportunity to really leverage the Guyana-Suriname connection to new ground. Now, it is off the table and, as usual, it is Suriname making the decision. Frankly, we think that there is more to this development that the Surinamese Government is letting on, and it is not on the positive side. It has happened before, can happen again. A solely owned bridge under the control of Suriname sounds good on paper. There is the nagging sense that something is missing, and it is not immaterial. The Guyana Government has some catching up to do. Its options seem to be limited at present.
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