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The Netherlands has accused Suriname of not complying with the Vienna Convention following the deportation of a Dutch national last week.
Regita ‘Asawini’ Edenburg was arrested and then taken to the neighbouring French Guiana before the Surinamese authorities were forced to return her to the Dutch-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country because the travel documents that Suriname had given her were not accepted by the French authorities.
Dutch Ambassador, Henk van der Zwan, told reporters Friday that the Surinamese authorities did not comply with the rules of the Vienna Convention in the efforts to deport the Suriname-born Dutch citizen, who subsequently left the country voluntarily after the government blundered an attempt to deport here over the past few days.
Edenburg, had been arrested by the police last week on suspicion of theft and sedition. But shortly after her arrest, documents surfaced on social media that her residence permit had been withdrawn by the government since March this year. The documents also showed that she would have been deported since she poses a threat to national security.
The Dutch diplomat told reporters that based on the treaty, the Surinamese authorities should have informed the embassy her about the matter.
“This has by no means taken place. I learned from the media that Mrs Edenburg was in French Guiana,” said Ambassador Van der Zwan, adding that he immediately made contact with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Business and International Cooperation (BIBIS).
“We have asked by diplomatic note what exactly is going on with our national. Up to now we have not received a concrete answer. The only response we have had from BIBIS is a short message stating that Suriname… will respond to the embassy’s letter,” said the Ambassador, describing the situation as incomprehensible.
The diplomat said he is also surprised by the statement made by the Minister of Justice and Police, Kenneth Amoksi , who in an extensive press statement said that Edenburg had posed a threat to Suriname’s national security.
“These are the findings of the Surinamese authorities. I am keeping myself out of it, but this is strange and I am still waiting for a response from Suriname through diplomatic channels as usual,” Van der Zwan said.
Amoksi had said that a Surinamese emergency passport had been issued to Edenburg because the Dutch embassy did not respond quickly to a request to issue her with a Dutch passport.
But the Dutch Ambassador dismissed such a statement saying that the Surinamese authorities had only made contact with the embassy after the airline had refused to take Mrs Edenburg on board at the airport in Cayenne because her Surinamese travel documents were not accepted.
The Dutch embassy then took the position that it wanted to speak to Edenburg in person in order to determine her nationality and that the interview occurred after she returned to Suriname last Saturday.
On Sunday she left Suriname of her own free will because she no longer felt safe in the country.
“Mrs Edenburg’s life has not been threatened in any way. She has not been kidnapped by police,” the Minister of Justice and Police said, adding that no statement had been made before in order to ensure the safety of the policeman who had accompanied her to the border.
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