FOREST PEOPLES PROGRAMME
SURINAME INFORMATION UPDATE 12 MAY 1998
Surinamese Government Still Refuses to Recognize Indigenous and Maroon Land Rights
Indigenous and Maroon rights to own their ancestral
territories are not
recognised in any form in the laws of Suriname, making it the
only state in
the western hemisphere in which Indigenous peoples live that does
not in
some way legally recognise these rights. It also appears that,
despite
pressure from Indigenous peoples and Maroons, the government has
no
intention of constructively addressing this important human
rights issue.
Not only are they not willing to recognise Indigenous and Maroon
territorial
rights, the government is actively violating these rights by
granting vast
areas of the rainforest interior of the country as concessions to
multinational logging and mining companies and by licensing
Brazillian
small-scale miners to legally work in Suriname. These concessions
are all
granted without even notifying the affected communities, let
alone seeking
their consent, even if the villages fall in the middle of the
concession.
The notorious Indonesian logging company, MUSA, for instance,
has recently
acquired 800,000 hectares of concessions through a variety of
front
companies, most of which impact on Indigenous and Maroon
communities. These
concessions were granted despite widespread official knowledge
that MUSA has
systematically abused Surinamese forestry laws and the
environment for over
five years, even to the point of cutting down experimental
forests
established to research sustainable forestry practices.
Indonesian giant,
PT Barito Pacific, is also in the process of acquiring a 600,000
hectare
concession in central-east Suriname, that encompasses a number of
Maroon
villages. Barito officials were accompanied by National Army
troops and
helicopters when they visited the concession area. Malaysian
company,
Berjaya Berhad, is also active in Suriname, operating both under
its own
name and under the names of front companies. NV Tacoba (a.k.a. NV
Topco),
whose parent company is incorporated in Hong Kong, arrived
recently,
angering Maroon communities affected by their operations.
Mining companies are mostly Canadian. They include Golden Star
Resources
and Cambior (partners in the infamous OMAI mine in Guyana),
Placer Dome,
BHP, Canarc, Savannah Resources, Attwood Gold and Blue Ribbon
Resources. Although
depresssed gold prices have affected mining operations, these
companies
remain active in Suriname. Mining concessions affect around half
of the
Indigenous and Maroon communities in the country. Golden Star and
Cambior
plan to evict the Maroon community of Nieuw Koffiekamp (for the
second time
in 34 years) to make way for the Gross Rosebel gold mine and
ndigenous and
Maroon communities in the Benzdorp/Lawa region face the prospect
of a number
of large open pit gold mines operated by Golden Star, BHP and
Placer Dome in
the coming five years. These companies have been responsible for
some of
the worst mining disasters in recent history (OMAI. Porgera,
Marcopper and
Ok Tedi). Suriname has no environmental laws and monitoring
capacity is
non-existent.
Members of the military and government are also active in
mining and
logging, either directly or as concession holders that are
optioned to
others for exploitation. The interior is being militarised by the
construction of military bases and police posts at strategic
points, usually
in connection with mining or logging operations. This is widely
viewed as
an attempt by the government to ensure that Indigenous peoples
and Maroons
stay in line and protection for the operations of military
leaders,
government officials and multinationals.
Small-scale miners, some of which are Maroons and Indigenous
people, are
causing serious environmental, social and health problems
throughout the
interior. Matawai Maroons, for instance, are forced to import
water from
the city because their rivers and creeks have been polluted by
miners. They
also report catching fish with soapy, white eyes and tumors.
Wayana Indians
report that they are unable to use the main river in their
territory due to
pollution. They say that the river water causes vommiting, skin
rashes and
diahrea. The government has contributed to this problem by
licensing
Brazilian small-scale miners to legally operate in the country. A
license
costs US$200 for 6 months to a year. After paying the fee, the
miners are
turned lose in the interior without any supervison. They
frequently employ
heavily armed body guards, some of whom have been involved in
shoot-outs
with local communities that have objected to their presence.
Malaria is
also reported in Indigenous and Maroon communities where it has
not existed
previously, areas in which the Brazilians have begun working. The
situation
has become so bad that parts of the interior are routinely
referred to as
the "wild west" by government authorities and the
media.
"The Tapir Doesn't Stay in the Village"
The Surinamese government recently held a meeting with the
traditional
authorities of Indigenous peoples and Maroons, during which it
installed a
Council for the Development of the Interior (CDI). The CDI was
originally
proposed in the 1992 Peace Accord that concluded a six-year long
civil war
between the military dictatorship and Indigenous and Maroon
insurgents. It
was intended to be an advisory body to the government on
development and
other issues in the interior. It was first installed by the
previous
government in 1995, but was boycotted by the Indigenous peoples
who objected
to its classification as an advisory body to the Ministry of
Regional
Development and its lack of any real powers or authority. The
present
government dissolved the CDI earlier this year and then proceeded
to appoint
new members. The Chair and officers of the new CDI are loyal
members of the
ruling NDP party and only one is from the interior.
The CDI was authorised by the Peace Accord to initiate a study
on Indigenous
and Maroon land rights. Specifically, to examine the means by
which
Article 10 of the Peace Accord, which deals with land rights,
could be
implemented. This function was taken over by two sucessive
commissions
installed by the present and previous governments - the
Commission on State
Land and Indigenous Peoples and Maroon and the Redan Commission.
Neither
commission has produced any results or recommendations and both
are
effectively defunct.
The full text of article 10 provides that:
(1) The Government shall endeavour that legal mechanisms be
created, under
which citizens who live and reside in a tribal setting will be
able to
secure a real title to land in their respective living areas;
(2) The demarcation and size of the respective living areas,
referred to in
the first paragraph, shall be determined on the basis of a study
carried out
with respect thereto by the Council for the Development of the
Interior;
(3) The traditional authorities of the citizens living in tribes
or a body
appointed thereto, will indicate a procedure on the basis of
which
individual members of a community can be considered for real
title to a plot
of land referred to in paragraph 2;
(4) Around the area mentioned in paragraph 2, the Government will
establish
an economic zone where the communities and citizens living in
tribes can
perform economic activities, including forestry, small scale
mining, hunting
and fishing.
This article has never been implemented and the government
maintains that it
has no legal obligations derived from the Peace Accord. Even if
it were to
be implemented, Indigenous peoples and Maroons have registered
serious
objections to the language concerning individual titles and the
fact that
this article denies rights to Indigenous and Maroon individuals
not residing
in their communities of origin. They also point out that economic
zones
around individual villages will create artificial islands of
Indigenous and
Maroon lands rather than recognizing their rights to their full
territories.
During the recent meeting between the government and the
traditional
authorities, the government mentioned land rights only once and
this came
after two days of repetitive speeches concerning the necessity of
mining and
logging for the development of the country. These speeches
invariably
implied that objections to these activities by Indigenous peoples
and
Maroons would result in a termination a government health and
education
services, whereas acquiescence would bring an increase in
government
services. The statement concerning land rights came from the
Minister of
Natural Resources. He said that "the land rights problem
that has been
discussed for many years and which has received international
attention,
must be solved in cooperation with the traditional authorities of
the
interior." He went on to say that "the manner in which
concessions are
given out will proceed in the interests of the total development
of the
country."
The President concluded the meeting by stating that the
government would
neither work with nor recognize Indigenous and Maroon NGOs and
would only
work with the traditional authorities of the interior. The
reasons for this
are simple: the government is able to manipulate and coerce
individual
community leaders, something that it is not able to do with most
Indigenous
NGOs, who have been outspoken about land rights.
The present government gained most of the votes in the
interior in the last
election by promising that land rights would be recognized and
concessions
would not be granted in Indigenous and Maroon territories.
However, exactly
what the government will do about land rights has yet to be
officially
stated. Various communities have reported, as recently as a month
ago, that
they have been threatened by government officials not to speak
about land
rights anymore or their basic services will be cut off. When
pressed on the
subject, government officials have stated that the government's
solution to
the problem is to issue each individual a land title to the land
on which
their house stands. Referring to subsistence and other rights, a
member of
a Trio community was prompted to reply that "Tapirs don't
stay in the
village."
An analysis of Surinamese law relating to land ownership and
Indigenous
rights done by the Association of Indigenous Village Leaders in
Suriname
(VIDS) indicates that new legislation and a reform of existing
legislation
is required if Indigenous and Maroon rights are to be effectively
guaranteed. Almost all land in the interior, is presently
classified as
state land. The Government also claims all sub-surface and
surface
resources (Const. 1987, art. 41). Indigenous peoples and Maroons
are
regarded by the Government as permissive occupiers of state land,
without
effective rights and title thereto.
The primary legislation in Suriname concerning state land,
provides that
Indigenous and Maroon customary law rights to their villages and
agricultural plots shall be respected, "unless there is a
conflict with the
general interest." (Decree L-1, 1982, Basic Principles on
Land Policy, art.
4.1) "General interest is also to be understood as the
execution of any
project within the framework of an approved development
plan." (Decree L-1,
1982, art. 4.2) Consequently, mining, logging and other
activities
classified as being in the general interest (which they are) are
exempted
from the requirement that Indigenous and Maroon customary law
rights be
respected.
Indigenous and Maroon rights are not considered to be property
rights as
understood in the Civil Code, but merely as narrowly defined
customary law
rights. Customary law rights in Surinamese law are the lowest
level of
legal authority and will be superseded by Statute, Constitutional
law,
Presidential and Ministerial Council Decrees (staatsbesluiten)
and
Resolutions (resoluties), and Ministerial Regulations
(beschikking). These
higher sources of law, contradict and conflict with customary law
as
relevant to Indigenous peoples, thereby rendering these minimal
protections
null and void. Furthermore, customary law rights only apply to
Indigenous
and Maroon villages and agricultural plots and do not account for
other
lands occupied and used for hunting, fishing and other
subsistence
activities. As noted above, these rights do not apply when they
conflict
with development or other projects and plans classified as in the
general or
public interest. As Indigenous occupation and use are not
classified as
property in Surinamese law, Constitutional guarantees related to
the right
to property also do not apply.
Under Surinamese legislation (L-Decrees of 1982), every
Surinamese citizen
and other legal persons are entitled to request a piece of
unencumbered
state land from the government, specifically the Ministry of
Natural
Resources. The same also applies to Indigenous and Maroon
individuals. In
theory the procedure is simple: a request accompanied by a map of
the
requested area issued by a registered surveyor is submitted to
the State
Lands Office. The request must state the use or uses to which the
land will
be put. This office then verifies that the parcel requested is
not held by
others and reviews the proposed uses of the land to ensure
consistency with
government policy. If no valid reason for rejecting the
application is
found, a land lease title (grondhuur) is issued and registered in
the name
of the applicant. Land Lease is presently the only form of land
title that
may be obtained in Suriname. These are the same titles that would
be
granted under the Peace Accord, should the government decide to
implement it.
The government of Suriname has stated on more than one
occasion that
Indigenous and Maroon individuals in Suriname can apply for land
titles in
the same way as any other Surinamese citizen, and, therefore,
additional
action to address Indigenous and Maroon land tenure issues is not
required.
However, titles issued under this procedure: are individual
titles only; are
leases of state land for renewable 20 year periods, that can be
withdrawn at
the discretion of the government and remain subject to logging,
mining and
other activities deemed in the public interest; are subject to
requirements
and restrictions concerning use, particularly government
definitions of
appropriate use of land such as permanent agriculture, that is
unsuited to
the poor soils of the rainforest and contrary to Indigenous
agricultural
methods and cultural practices, and; would not incorporate areas
occupied
and used by Indigenous communities for hunting, fishing or other
subsistence
activities.
This land titling procedure, therefore, does not permit:
collective
ownership of land and resources; provides no protection against
logging,
mining or other activities that may detract from the peaceful use
and
enjoyment thereof; most likely will have restrictions concerning
its use
that are incompatible with Indigenous subsistence rights and
cultural
practices, and; may be withdrawn at the discretion of the
government for
failure to comply with conditions of issuance.
As concluded by the VIDS, if Indigenous rights, particularly
as related to
lands, territory and resources, are to be recognized in Suriname,
new
legislation will have to be adopted that is consistent with
Suriname's
obligations under international human rights instruments. This
new
legislation would also need to detail rights and procedures by
which
Indigenous peoples can participate fully in, if not consent to,
decisions
concerning land use and management. Rights to cultural integrity,
including
an explicit disavowal of forcible assimilation, would also need
to be
included. Rights to maintain, use and strengthen Indigenous
institutions of
governance, in particular rights to self-determination, autonomy
and
self-government, must also be accounted for. As an additional
measure of
protection, the rights of Indigenous peoples and Maroons to,
inter alia, own
their ancestral territories, to autonomy and self-government and
to cultural
integrity must also be entrenched in the Constitution.
As Surinamese law does not provide adequate remedies to
protect Indigenous
and Maroon rights to their ancestral territories, and as the
government is
unwilling to appropriately address the subject politically,
Indigenous
peoples and Maroons are forced to seek redress and support on the
international level. The environmental integrity of their
territories is
also threatened by uncontrolled and irresponsible resource
extraction and
other development schemes, the benefits of which are enjoyed by
only a few
well connected individuals. The situation of Indigenous peoples
and Maroons
in Suriname requires urgent international attention if they are
to survive
and prosper as distinct peoples. The same can also be said for
Suriname's
rainforests, which cover about 80 percent of the country.
For more information, please contact:
Forest Peoples Programme
1c, Fosseway Business Centre
Stratford Road
Moreton-in-Marsh, GL56 9NQ
United Kingdom
Tel. 44. 1608. 652. 893.
Fax. 44. 1608. 652. 878
Email : wrm@gn.apc.org
Forest Peoples Programme / World Rainforest Movement UK Office
1C Fosseway Business Centre, Stratford Road, Moreton-in-Marsh,
GL56 9NQ, England
Tel: 44 1608 652745 Fax: 44 1608 652878, email:wrm@gn.apc.org
World Rainforest Movement International Secretariat:
Casilla de Correo 1539, Montevideo, Uruguay
Tel: 598 2 496192 Fax: 598 2 419222
email:rcarrere@chasque.apc.org