In the wake of the Suriname Government’s summoning Guyana’s Ambassador to protest over planned development works at ‘Camp Jaguar’ also referred to as the New River Triangle, President Dr. Irfaan Ali has spoken with his Surinamese counterpart, Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
This was according to the Guyanese Head of State on Sunday who made it clear that there was nothing wrong with Guyana seeking to develop the Camp Jaguar airstrip, on its own territory. This is particular since the government intends to help support Indigenous populations in the area.
“I’ve spoken to President Santokhi. And I see no issue. This is not a military occupation. We have indigenous people in that community, who require to be serviced. Right now, the infrastructure to service them, to have food and humanitarian aid go in there, is posing tremendous challenges for the people living there.”
“It puts their lives at risk. It takes more than two weeks to service there from New Amsterdam, which is the closest central area. So, we always look at ensuring that the infrastructure can support our humanitarian effort in the community life there.”
During the recent Opening and Dedication ceremony of the Brigadier Gary Beaton Aerodrome at Eteringbang in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni), President Ali had announced that works would be done on the Camp Jaguar and Orinduik airstrips.
“There are two airstrips that we’re going to add to the portfolio of the engineering corps. That is Camp Jaguar, which is important for their own operation, and Orinduik airstrip. So those two airstrips, immediately, will be added and work must commence before the end of the year. The materials must be procured and work must commence on these airstrips,” he had said.
However, news from out of Suriname soon emerged that Guyana’s Ambassador to Suriname, Virjanand Depoo, was summoned by Suriname Minister of Foreign Affairs Albert Ramdin, for an audience to express concern over the announced plans for the airstrip, as well as a school.
Ramdin’s expressed concerns regarding the plans to develop the ‘Camp Jaguar’ airstrip come even though the airstrip is well within Guyana’s territory in Region Six, East Berbice-Corentyne.
Despite this, it is reported that Ramdin claimed the territory is in Suriname territory and the plans would need approval from Suriname. It was further reported that a protest note was sent to the Government of Guyana.
In the case of the NRT, Suriname, following on the heels of Venezuela’s seizure of Ankoko Island back in 1966, actually attempted to seize the NRT area in 1969 by sneaking troops into the area and proceeding to construct an air strip at what is now Camp Jaguar.
However, a Guyana Defense Force (GDF) mission into the area had routed the Surinamese troops from the location, sending them back over the border into Suriname. As a consequence, Guyana had converted the base into ‘Camp Jaguar’, manned by Guyanese troops ever since.
Today, Guyana and Suriname share cordial relations and only recently recommitted to strengthening bilateral cooperation in a number of areas ranging from food security, energy security and border security with the aim of fostering economic development in the two countries and prosperity for their peoples.
The Corentyne River Bridge was one of the first projects agreed on between Presidents Ali and Santokhi. These Heads of State had previously underscored the critical role the bridge would play in advancing cooperation and creating more opportunities for development for both countries.
The Corentyne River Bridge, which would connect Moleson Creek in Guyana with South Drain in Suriname, would be approximately 3.1 kilometres in length, and would have a landing on Long Island in the Corentyne River, where a commercial hub and tourist destination would be established. That duty-free zone would see major infrastructural development: such as hotels, recreational parks, entertainment spots, tourist attractions, malls, and farmers’ markets.
Additionally, President Ali has for some time touted a regional energy corridor as Guyana moves to monetize its gas resources, which will be an independent project from the model Gas-to-Energy (GtE) initiative that is currently under construction at Wales, West Bank Demerara.
