Suriname's natural resources

Suriname's natural resources

I am a Jakarta Post reader and I am Surinamese by birth. I welcome Stephen K. Grecik's call to support the NGOs in Surinam to use their democratic right to appeal to the National Assembly to intervene in the handing over of three million hectares of land to Indonesian and Malaysian timber barons.

It is sad enough that the Surinamese government should be desperate enough to even consider such drastic steps for financial reasons. It must boldly say "No" to these companies if it is really committed to the preservation of the earth's rare natural wonders. One of these wonders is the habitat of indigenous communities and magnificent flora and fauna.

What ads more gloom to this depressing picture is the fact that South-South cooperation is likely to slide into unprecedented dimensions of rhetoric, blackmail and theft, especially if it is occurring among societies wary of Dutch colonial practice and greed.

I call upon all sensible people and parties to make a concerted effort to stop the destruction of Suriname's rain forests. We must save these magnificent natural resources, not just for the sake of its inhabitants, but also for the sake of the world.

Therefore, as suggested by Stephen Grecik, send your letters to the Chairman of the National Assembly, Jagernath Lachman, Gravenstraat 1, Paramaribo, Suriname, or to the Surinamese newspapers, De West, Dr. J.C. de Mirandastraat, Paramaribo and De Ware Tijd, Malebatrumstraat, Paramaribo.

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