Suriname’s Justice and Police Minister Harish Monorath has confirmed an active criminal investigation into potentially coordinated attacks on national infrastructure, including a series of arson incidents and deliberate sabotage of the Safe City surveillance network. The revelation came during Tuesday’s session of the National Assembly, where lawmakers expressed mounting concerns over national security following rapidly unfolding events.
The investigation was triggered by multiple suspicious fires occurring within days of each other. Notably, arson struck the Public Works facility in a restroom area exactly where the president was scheduled to appear the following day for the 170th-anniversary celebration. Subsequently, the Paramaribo Milk Center experienced a similar fire incident, followed by Tuesday morning’s complete destruction of four HAVO-1 classrooms along Passiebloemstraat through deliberate ignition.
Simultaneously, critical infrastructure suffered targeted attacks as two essential cables connecting the Command Center were severed, disabling seven strategically positioned Safe City cameras. The compromised units—numbered 215, 218, 451, 219, 217, 208, and 201—monitored key intersections including Possentrie-Kankantriestraat and Calcutta-Rozenhoutstraat. Telecommunications provider Telesur immediately deployed technicians to restore connections, with operations expected to resume within hours.
Minister Monorath characterized the situation as deeply concerning, stating: ‘The close succession of these incidents raises alarming questions. Police are conducting intensive investigations to determine whether these arson cases and surveillance sabotage are interconnected or separate criminal acts.’ Official reports have been filed as investigations continue.
e-Government Directorate separately confirmed severe and potentially coordinated vandalism against the Safe City network. Director Llydion Dalfour disclosed that a crucial distribution cable near Passiebloemstraat was severed Monday evening, shortly before the school fire erupted. ‘This is particularly grave as it potentially eliminated camera footage that could have documented events,’ Dalfour emphasized.
The sabotage extended beyond single locations, with multiple strategic sites experiencing cable damage. During repair operations, new reports emerged of additional cable cutting incidents. Dalfour indicated evidence suggesting coordinated action to deliberately disable surveillance capabilities, potentially facilitating criminal activities and evidence destruction.
Authorities warned that unauthorized interference with network cables—including those belonging to Telesur, Digicel, EBS, and Safe City towers—constitutes both serious criminal offenses and life-threatening activities. The public is urgently encouraged to report suspicious activities around this infrastructure immediately to police.
National Assembly members, including NDP faction leader Rabin Parmessar, pressed for thorough investigation into potential connections between the fires and camera network sabotage. Legislators universally emphasized that the incident sequence cannot be coincidental and requires enhanced security measures. Minister Monorath endorsed these concerns, committing to provide public clarity once investigations yield conclusive results.
