TENSION CONTINUES ALONG GUYANA'S DISPUTED BORDERS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000700070006-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: October 1, 2012
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: August 29, 1969
• Content Type: MISC

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/02 : CIA-RDP08C01297R000700070006-4
SE
TENSION CONTINUES ?ALONG GUYANA'S DISPUTED BORDERS /
Negotiations to improve re-
lations between Guyana and neigh-
boring Surinam, in the wake of
Guyana's seizure on 19 August of
a Surinam police outpost, have
yet to produce concrete results.
The outpost, complete with air-
strip, generating plant, and a
fairly elaborate system of sunken
bunkers and camouflaged positions,
was inside the New River triangle
area, a remote border region
claimed by both countries. The
Guyanese Government had known of
the outpost for more than a year,
but Prime Minister Burnham did
not feel compelled to oust the
Surinamers until after their
presence became public knowledge
on 9 August. He then claimed that
public pressure for a defense of
"national sovereignty" forced
him to act.
The issue has become some-
thing of a cause celebre in Suri-
nam. There, national pride has
been severely wounded because the
Surinam police ran off when the
Guyanese attacked, and an angry
public is demanding some sort of
forceful, face-saving action. In-
terim Minister- resident Arthur
May cannot act on his own, how-
ever, and must await a decision
by the Dutch, who are charged
with handling Surinam's foreign
affairs. As a result, independ-
ence from the Netherlands has
again become an important issue.
The Dutch, embarrassed ear-
lier this year by rioting in their
other Caribbean dependencies, are
anxious to avoid involvement. They
SEC
are trying to develop a settlement
formula that will be defensible
before their Parliament which opens
next month and at the same time
will be acceptable to Surinam.
They will insist that the Guyanese
promise to evacuate the outpost
before border talks can begin.
Prime Minister Burnham so far
has refused to withdraw his troops,
especially in view of the fact
that the Dutch are not prepared
to guarantee that the Surinamers
will not return. For his part,
Burnham has indicated that he
would be willing to submit the
dispute to the World Court and
that he is ready for talks to
begin now, without preconditions.
The reopening of Guyana's dis-
pute with Surinam has given Vene-
zuela a chance to renew its claim
to Guyana's western territory--
more than three fifths of the
country. While insisting that
Venezuela will continue to make
"all efforts toward achieving a
friendly understanding with Guy-
ana," President Caldera has stated
his country will continue to press
its claim. Among other things he
has accused the Guyanese of "using
language inconsistent with the ob-
jective of friendly relations"
and of setting up a "racist re-
gime." This sort of talk has deep-
ened Burnham's fears that Vene-
zuela intends eventually to use
force in the border dispute and
will cause him to make increas-
ingly forceful requests for the
US to forestall such an attack.
25X1
Page 24 WEEKLY SUMMARY 29 Aug 69
Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2012/10/02 : CIA-RDPO8C01297R000700070006-4