标签： Suriname

A cross-party parliamentary delegation from Suriname, led by National Democratic Party (NDP) parliamentary group leader Rabin Parmessar, has embarked on a trip to Turkiye to participate in the 152nd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a major global forum for national parliamentary representatives. The delegation includes representatives from Suriname’s major political parties, with Progressive People’s Party (VHP) parliamentary group leader Asis Gajadien and Progressive Aboriginal People’s Party (ABOP) parliamentarian Ines Pané also joining the mission.

The five-day IPU General Assembly is scheduled to run from April 14 to 19, 2026, in Istanbul, bringing together hundreds of lawmakers from nearly every sovereign state around the globe to deliberate on pressing transnational challenges that require collective political action. As part of their participation, the Suriname delegation will first contribute to the gathering of the Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), a regional caucus that coordinates unified policy positions for member states ahead of broader IPU debates.

The GRULAC pre-assembly meeting has a packed policy agenda that covers multiple high-stakes topics. Delegates will discuss evolving international economic dynamics, deepen frameworks for cross-parliamentary cooperation, review and nominate candidates for the IPU Secretary-General position, and align on a joint regional geopolitical stance ahead of plenary discussions.

In an interview with local Surinamese outlet Starnieuws ahead of the departure, Parmessar noted that the delegation will work through an extensive, tightly scheduled program throughout the event. He emphasized that the trip carries significant meaning for Suriname as a small Caribbean nation, stressing that it is critical for the country’s voice to be heard on the global inter-parliamentary stage. The delegation is set to take part in a range of official activities beyond the GRULAC meeting, including specialized committee meetings and the IPU’s plenary sessions.

Key themes on the 2026 IPU General Assembly agenda span core global priorities: peace and international security, inclusive sustainable economic development, and the critical role national parliaments play in advancing justice and stability across all regions. This year’s assembly is framed around the central theme of “strengthening hope, securing peace, and building justice for future generations”, positioning the gathering as a leading global platform for advancing parliamentary diplomacy and building multilateral cooperation between nations.

Published: 12 April, 12:46

Following the passing of former Suriname President Chandrikapersad Santokhi, I have been reflecting on his legacy ahead of his state funeral, where I contributed personally to the proceedings. Looking through the commemorative book released in his honor, the first and final images in Santokhi’s photo collage strike me as deeply curious, yet perfectly fitting for the man known to many as Chan.

Even the foreword of the memorial book was crafted in a manner that feels distinctly aligned with who he was. It reads: “He served his country guided by a philosophical conviction that nature unites three worlds in harmony: the world of physical embodiment, the world of the thinking mind, and the world of the heart and intellect.” It is a tragedy that nature did not grant him the time to fully reach his potential across all three of these realms, but even so, we cannot deny the contributions he made to Suriname during his lifetime.

It is true that throughout his final term in office, I often spoke out critically against his self-centered policy and personal decisions – criticism that was never unfounded. Despite this political friction, Santokhi and I maintained a cordial working relationship during his lifetime, a dynamic I believe was rooted in pragmatic political calculation on his end, a fact that those close to him can confirm.

As fellow politician Gajadien once noted of Santokhi: he never arrived unprepared. I can personally attest to this observation. In 2019, I joined Santokhi for a meeting with then-incumbent President Dési Bouterse to discuss a potential pre-election alliance between Santokhi’s Progressive People’s Party (VHP) and Bouterse’s National Democratic Party (NDP). That encounter gave me the opportunity to see first-hand that Santokhi was a politician of both great courage and deep policy knowledge.

Even amid widespread controversy over Bouterse’s political standing, Santokhi chose to move forward with talks about a potential partnership – a decision I witnessed directly, along with the President of the Suriname Court of Justice. This move must be recognized as a demonstration of remarkable political strength.

So what drove this decision? Looking back at pre-election polling ahead of the May 2020 general election, projections put the NDP on track to win 18 parliamentary seats, with the VHP projected to take a maximum of 17. Even with those predictions stacked against his party, Santokhi took the initiative to open negotiations. What is more, despite having no way of knowing the final result, he remained fully convinced the VHP would outperform polls and win more than 17 seats.

Santokhi pushed for a written agreement to formalize the pre-election collaboration. Unfortunately, politics and opportunism have always walked hand in hand. Throughout the talks, I repeatedly warned him that if the VHP ended up winning more seats than the NDP, the agreement would never move forward. Now, in 2026, Santokhi’s passing has brought the work he started to an unexpected close. It is through this lens that I read the caption accompanying his memorial photo collage.

Today, many critics argue that Santokhi left many Suriname’s initiatives broken and uncompleted. That may hold some truth. But it is also undeniable that he personally pushed forward a great number of key projects that have benefited the nation. Those who can see beyond the political blackmail tactics employed by some current actors in Suriname’s political landscape recognize that the country is positioned for a strong future – a future Santokhi already saw on the horizon.

Santokhi understood well that politics is no child’s game. He often noted that with 34 members of parliament holding seats in a governing coalition, it should be unthinkable to fail to reach a quorum to conduct legislative business. On the topic of judicial reform legislation more broadly, Santokhi frequently argued that the failure to reach a orderly, functional solution to the branch’s structural challenges is nothing short of scandalous.

In particular, the current Law on the Legal Position of the Judiciary is unworkable. It is a complete failure of governance; even for legislators acting in good faith, closer examination makes clear why the legislation cannot function as written. This is just one more example of elected assembly members wasting public tax dollars, a travesty for the Surinamese people.

As it stands today, 21 sitting assembly members are present for regular votes, enough to form a new functional coalition led by the VHP. This is the kind of decisive action politics demands. It is long past time to revise the current ineffective, gridlocked coalition. These observations have been brought into sharp relief by the petulant, uncooperative behavior of supposed adult political leaders in recent months.

Every elected official claims to possess reason and good judgment. That is without question. So why do they so often refuse to use it? What more can we ask for than to let reason guide the work of governing? By settling for mediocre, unprincipled politics, we remain stuck in stagnation, unable to move forward as a nation.

By Eugène van der San

After 14 hours of landmark direct negotiations hosted by Pakistan in Islamabad, the first round of high-level peace talks between the United States and Iran has wrapped up, with both sides agreeing to resume discussions at a later date to resolve outstanding sticking points. The talks, the first direct high-level encounter between the two nations in more than a decade and the highest-level meeting since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, aimed to end a six-week open conflict that has killed thousands and roiled global energy markets.

As the region remains under a fragile two-week-old ceasefire, the outcome of these negotiations carries profound implications for the stability of global energy supplies, particularly through the Strait of Hormuz — the strategic chokepoint that carries roughly 20% of the world’s daily oil shipments, which Iran has effectively blocked since the start of the conflict. The six-week war has already sent global crude prices spiking and left thousands dead on both sides.

In an early Sunday statement posted to the social platform X, Iran’s government confirmed the conclusion of the first round of talks, noting that technical teams from both delegations will now exchange drafted documentation. “Negotiations will continue despite a number of remaining differences,” the statement read, without providing a specific timeline for the resumption of talks. This account contradicts an earlier report from Iranian state television, which claimed talks would continue on Sunday.

According to a source from Pakistan, which served as the neutral mediator for the talks, the US delegation was led by Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner — President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. They held a two-hour opening session with Iran’s top negotiators, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, before entering a recess. The Trump administration has not yet issued any official public comment on the outcome of the talks or the details of outstanding disagreements.

In a symbolic demonstration of mourning, the Iranian delegation arrived in Islamabad on Friday dressed entirely in black. The gesture honored the recent passing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as all Iranians killed during the conflict. Delegates also brought the shoes and bags of student victims killed in a US airstrike that hit a school adjacent to an Iranian military compound. The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the strike, which Reuters reports was almost certainly carried out by American forces. The Pakistani source added that the first day of talks saw shifting moods, with negotiations marked by fluctuating emotions amid deep-rooted mutual distrust.

To secure the unprecedented diplomatic gathering, Pakistani authorities locked down large swathes of Islamabad, deploying thousands of paramilitary forces and regular troops across the capital. The hosting role marks a notable shift for Pakistan, which was widely sidelined in international diplomacy just one year ago.

The status of the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as the central sticking point in negotiations. The US military announced it has been laying the groundwork to clear the strait of blockades, saying two US warships have already transited the waterway and mine clearance operations are underway. Iran has outright denied that any American military vessels have passed through the strait.

Ahead of the talks, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Washington had agreed to unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets held in Qatar and other foreign banks, a claim that a senior US official immediately denied. Per Iranian state media and senior officials, Tehran’s core demands also include full Iranian sovereign control over the Strait of Hormuz, war reparations from the US, a region-wide ceasefire that includes clashes in Lebanon, and the right to collect transit tolls from commercial ships passing through the waterway.

For the Trump administration, core negotiating goals have shifted over the course of the conflict, but the non-negotiable priorities remain guaranteed unimpeded transit for global commercial shipping through the strait, and the permanent disabling of Iran’s uranium enrichment program to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon. Israel, the US’s closest regional ally which has participated in strikes on Iran and continues to bombard Hezbollah positions in Lebanon, has stated that its military campaign is not covered by the current US-Iran ceasefire.

Despite the opening of diplomatic dialogue, decades of deep mutual suspicion between Washington and Tehran remain largely unaddressed, casting uncertainty over whether the current ceasefire will hold and whether a lasting peace deal can be reached.