The Guyana?Suriname Territorial Conflict: Is the Moment Opportune for Third Party Intervention?

• Author: Tyrone Ferguson
• Pages: 338-349

The Guyana–Suriname Territorial Conflict

338338

338338

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The Guyana–Suriname Territorial Conflict:

Is the Moment Opportune for Third Party

Intervention?1

T Y R O N E F E R G U S O N

University of the West Indies,

St. Augustine

22

Introduction

The neighbouring CARICOM2 countries of

Guyana and Suriname once again found

themselves in a severe conflict mode in June

2000. On that occasion, the Surinamese

military flexed its muscles and succeeded in

preventing the start of exploration activities in

offshore waters in the north of Guyana by the

oil rig of the Canadian company CGX Energy

Inc., which was operating under a license

granted by the Guyana government. This

event ushered in a period of tension-filled

bilateral relations between two countries and

brought into sharp focus the territorial conflict

that has bedeviled their relations for more than

four decades.

In the aftermath of the June 2000 event,

efforts at conflict management of the

contemporary crisis have been undertaken

along two paths: the one, strictly bilateral and

the other, the facilitative third-party CARICOM

process. With regard to the former, there was,

first, a brief spurt of failed bilateral

negotiations. This was followed by a short-

lived, unsuccessful CARICOM mediation

initiative led by Jamaica. Thereafter, bilateral

negotiations were once again pursued,

starting in early 2002, by these countries.

While these negotiations are ongoing, there

has been a clearly articulated sense of

frustration by the governmental leadership in

Guyana at the evident state of impasse that

they have reached.

This analysis explores the political-

diplomatic dimensions of the current conflict

management experience of the Guyana–

Suriname territorial controversy. It argues that

the prospects for successful bilateral conflict

resolution in this case are virtually non-existent.

In this regard, therefore, it interrogates, first,

whether the best option for finding a mutually

acceptable and sustainable solution to this

conflict is not the third-party option and,

second, whether the present moment is

propitious to activate this option.

The analysis begins by very briefly placing

the conflict in historical perspective and by

reviewing the postcolonial efforts at conflict

resolution. It then examines the contemporary

manifestation and assesses the two attempts

so far at conflict management: the CARICOM

mediation initiative and the bilateral

negotiations. The analysis will conclude by

tentatively exploring the prospects for a

conclusive third-party mode of settlement.

The Guyana–Suriname Territorial

Conflict in Perspective

The Guyana–Suriname territorial conflict

is an inheritance of their colonial past.3 In fact,

Guyana’s emergence into nationhood in 1966

was somewhat blighted by the virtually