Carib Scope

标签： Suriname

苏里南

  • Politieke overgangsgesprekken Venezuela beginnen zonder Machado

    Politieke overgangsgesprekken Venezuela beginnen zonder Machado

    Seven months after U.S. military intervention ousted former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and installed an interim government led by Delcy Rodríguez under close Washington oversight, long-awaited political negotiations between the acting administration and a faction of the country’s opposition have finally launched in Caracas, following nearly a week of postponement, representatives from both sides confirmed this week.

    The talks, which are being hosted at the La Carlota military base with restricted media access allowing only photojournalists on site, are framed as a first step toward overhauling Venezuela’s political system and laying the groundwork for long-delayed democratic elections, ending a years-long period of crippling political and economic crisis that has left the South American nation deeply divided.

    A notable absence from the negotiation table is Maria Corina Machado, the popular opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who currently lives in exile and was not extended an invitation to participate. Machado claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump blocked her planned return to Venezuela to join the talks, an allegation Washington has repeatedly denied. Despite being sidelined, Machado has said she will not obstruct the dialogue process, and expressed hope the talks would deliver a full democratic transition for her home country.

    The opposition negotiating delegation is led by Dinorah Figuera, a former opposition lawmaker who returned to Venezuela from exile this week. Figuera heads the opposition bloc that won a majority in the 2015 National Assembly election, the last vote widely recognized as legitimate by the international community. Upon arriving at Caracas’s international airport, Figuera told local broadcaster Televen that her core priority is the official launch of an open dialogue process aimed at restoring fully functional democratic institutions to Venezuela.

    Her key demands include sweeping reforms to Venezuela’s Supreme Court and National Electoral Council, two bodies that drew widespread international criticism for validating Maduro’s contested 2024 re-election, a result the opposition rejected at the time, alleging widespread voter fraud and claiming victory for their own candidate.

    Representing the interim government is Jorge Rodríguez, current president of the National Assembly and brother of interim leader Delcy Rodríguez. The official negotiating agenda covers a range of pressing domestic issues, including ongoing recovery efforts following the devastating dual earthquakes that struck the country on June 24, which killed more than 6,000 Venezuelans. Other topics on the table include strengthening democratic safeguards and expanding protections for political rights across the country.

    The U.S. Department of State, which backs the negotiation process, has welcomed the launch of face-to-face talks between the two sides. “These direct discussions present a unique opportunity to move Venezuela forward,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement, calling on all stakeholders to support efforts to deliver tangible, positive outcomes for the Venezuelan people. The spokesperson emphasized Washington’s commitment to supporting national stabilization, economic recovery, political reconciliation and a peaceful democratic transition in the country.

    Trump has repeatedly publicly praised the interim government’s efforts to open Venezuela’s critical mining, electricity and oil sectors to foreign and private investment, a policy shift aligned with U.S. economic interests in the region. Writing on social platform X, Machado noted that a successful democratic transition would restore freedom and prosperity to Venezuelans, and turn the country into a “vital and reliable partner for U.S. national security and regional stability.” She added that “the Venezuelan people are enthusiastic and ready” for long-awaited political change, a sentiment widely shared across much of the country after years of ongoing crisis.

  • Column: Banken zetten met hogere ATM-tarieven digitale economie op achterstand

    Column: Banken zetten met hogere ATM-tarieven digitale economie op achterstand

    For years, Suriname has laid out a clear national goal: transitioning to a modern, fully digital economy. The country’s commercial banks have poured resources into developing new electronic payment platforms, the Central Bank has actively promoted non-cash transaction circulation, and public outreach campaigns have repeatedly encouraged Surinamese society to reduce its reliance on physical cash. This trajectory makes solid economic sense: cutting cash usage brings a long list of public and private benefits, from improved financial security and greater transaction transparency to lower logistics costs for cash transport and more efficient overall payment processing.

    It is for this very reason that local banks’ recent decision to once again raise user fees for automated teller machine (ATM) transactions stands as a puzzling, counterproductive step that runs directly against the nation’s digitalization ambition. The issue is not whether ATM operating costs justify price adjustments — maintaining, securing and managing a nationwide ATM network does require consistent capital investment. The core problem is that this policy misaligns with the broader goal of moving Suriname toward a less cash-reliant financial system.

    Human behavior is inherently shaped by financial incentives, and higher ATM costs will inevitably drive predictable changes in how people access and use their money. When frequent cash withdrawals become more expensive, most consumers will adapt by withdrawing larger sums of money less often. Once that cash leaves the formal banking system, it stays in circulation as physical currency held in personal wallets, household savings and retail cash registers, rather than flowing back into digital transactions. Ironically, the push to raise ATM fees is likely to result in *more* physical cash in active circulation across the country — the exact opposite outcome that banks and policymakers have worked for years to achieve.

    A successful shift to a digital financial system requires not just affordable services, but reliable access to financial infrastructure that the public can trust. Long before the latest fee hike, most Surinamese already knew the widespread frustration of broken or overcrowded ATMs, especially around monthly salary payment periods. Consumers often wait in lengthy queues only to find that the machine is out of service or cannot process their transaction. Now that withdrawals cost more, consumers who do find a working ATM are even more motivated to take out large lump sums rather than make multiple smaller withdrawals. This only reinforces cultural reliance on physical cash, pushing the country further from its digitalization goal.

    The fragmented pricing structure for cross-bank ATM use amplifies this problem. Even though Suriname has a formal nationwide ATM network, many consumers do not experience it as a unified, accessible system. Customers who withdraw cash from an ATM operated by a bank other than their own are already charged a premium rate. This leads people to travel out of their way to use an ATM from their own bank, even if another machine is located just around the corner. The result is longer wait times at popular machines, unnecessary vehicle traffic that increases carbon emissions and congestion, and inefficient underutilization of the country’s existing ATM infrastructure.

    Beyond rolling back the recent fee increase, a broader reevaluation of the incentives Suriname is creating for its citizens is long overdue. If the official national goal is to accelerate the adoption of digital payments, the system must make digital transactions an attractive, simple and reliable option for ordinary people, not penalize cash access in ways that backfire.

    This requires strategic investment across the financial sector: fully functional, well-maintained ATMs that work consistently when people need them, stable digital payment infrastructure that can handle widespread use, and a regulatory framework that does not discourage consumers from participating in the formal, non-cash financial system. After all, a digital economy is not built by raising barriers to access for ordinary people — it is built by earning public trust and making digital options the clear, beneficial choice for daily use.

    The responsibility to correct this misalignment does not fall only on Suriname’s commercial banks. The national government and the National Assembly also have key roles to play in ensuring that policies to promote digital financial flows actually deliver on their intended goals. Real progress requires a payment ecosystem where convenience, reliability and affordability work in tandem, not against each other. Only when ordinary Surinamese consumers experience digital payments as the easiest and most cost-effective option for daily transactions will physical cash gradually recede into the background of the national economy.

  • Bouwkosten blijven stijgen: prijzen in een jaar tijd gemiddeld 7,3% hoger

    Bouwkosten blijven stijgen: prijzen in een jaar tijd gemiddeld 7,3% hoger

    New preliminary data released by the Algemeen Bureau voor de Statistiek (ABS) confirms that construction sector costs in Suriname have continued their upward trend through the second quarter of 2026, marking one of the steepest year-over-year increases in recent years.

    Compared to the same three-month period in 2025, average construction prices climbed 7.3% in the second quarter of 2026. When measured against the first quarter of 2026, prices also rose by a steady 1.4%, according to the bureau’s latest Construction Price Index report published August 7, 2026.

    The ABS’ Construction Price Index is designed to track average price fluctuations for a standardized basket of materials, goods, and services required across three core construction segments: residential home building, non-residential utility construction, and civil engineering projects. To generate the most accurate reading of current market conditions, the index draws on price data collected from roughly 50 construction firms operating across Paramaribo and Wanica, covering 107 distinct products and services grouped into 16 main categories.

    Detailed index breakdowns reflect the consistent upward trajectory of construction costs: the index climbed from 1236.9 points recorded in the first quarter of 2026 to 1253.7 points by the end of the second quarter, matching the 1.4% quarter-over-quarter and 7.3% year-over-year growth rates reported by the ABS.

    When broken down by cost category, labor accounts for the single largest share of total construction expenditure by a wide margin, holding a 41.73% weighting in the overall index. Following labor, the next biggest cost drivers are steel and concrete works at 13.50%, paving works at 13.35%, and masonry and concrete pouring works at 12.38%. Because these four segments make up more than 80% of total construction costs combined, shifts in their pricing have an outsized impact on the overall index trend.

    Industry analysts warn that sustained rising construction prices will ripple through both private and public construction segments across the country. For private households, higher input costs will almost certainly translate to elevated prices for newly built residential properties, as well as higher quotes for home renovation projects. For public sector stakeholders, increasing construction costs will put additional budget pressure on infrastructure projects, including public road upgrades, new school construction, and the development of other core public amenities.

  • Ann Sadi pleit voor tariefaanpassing boothouders; ze komen niet uit

    Ann Sadi pleit voor tariefaanpassing boothouders; ze komen niet uit

    A sitting member of Suriname’s National Assembly has sounded the alarm over the deepening financial crisis facing small ferry operators that maintain critical daily connections between the Commewijne district and the capital city of Paramaribo. Ann Sadi, a legislator from the National Democratic Party (NDP), made an urgent appeal to the national government during a recent question period in the National Assembly, calling for immediate policy action to address the operators’ years-long unmet demands.

    According to Sadi, the business owners who run ferry services across key regional routes – including Commewijne-Mariënburg, Nieuw-Amsterdam-Leonsberg, and Meerzorg-Paramaribo – have waited six years for a much-needed adjustment to passenger and cargo fare rates. Beyond stagnant pricing that has failed to keep up with rising operational costs, the operators also continue to deal with delayed subsidy disbursements and unresolved permit applications that have left their businesses in regulatory limbo. To compound these challenges, operators are now also required to cover the cost of mandatory MAS insurance, adding an extra unbudgeted financial burden that many small operations cannot absorb.

    Sadi directed her questions and concerns directly to the Minister of Transport, Communication and Tourism as well as the entire cabinet during Thursday’s plenary session, noting that many operators are no longer able to keep their services running. She painted a particularly stark picture of the critical Meerzorg-Paramaribo route: where roughly 40 ferries once operated to serve commuter and passenger demand, only 16 remain in active service today.

    “How are these small business owners supposed to keep their operations afloat under these conditions?” Sadi asked during the debate. She closed her appeal by urging the national government to deliver urgent, targeted solutions to stop further decline of river-based passenger transit, which serves as a lifeline for thousands of residents commuting between Commewijne and Paramaribo for work, education, and daily needs.

  • Rechterlijke Macht verkort jaarlijkse zittingsvrije periode naar één maand

    Rechterlijke Macht verkort jaarlijkse zittingsvrije periode naar één maand

    In a landmark vote held at its recent annual general meeting, Suriname’s Judiciary has approved a major reform that will cut the annual court recess period to just one month starting from the 2027-2028 judicial term. Under the new policy, the annual recess will run uniformly from September 1 to 30, replacing the longer break that was previously scheduled.

    The core goal of this adjustment is to upgrade public judicial services and eliminate unnecessary long delays in active court proceedings that currently leave cases stalled for extended periods. Court leaders emphasized that the decision to shorten the recess is rooted in prioritizing the needs of people seeking legal resolution, and aligns with broader ongoing efforts to make the national justice system faster and more accessible for all citizens.

    Speaking at the conclusion of the annual meeting, Court President Iwan Rasoelbaks outlined the Judiciary’s core mission: to serve the Surinamese public through speedy, accessible, and transparent judicial proceedings. Rasoelbaks noted that more efficient judicial operations directly strengthen public trust in the rule of law, adding that the Judiciary also plans to further boost both internal and external communication with the broader society.

    Rasoelbaks also extended public recognition to the hard work of sitting judges and public prosecutors, acknowledging that the branch has operated under significant challenging conditions in recent years. He highlighted that chronic understaffing has forced current judicial personnel to take on double the expected workload, pointing to the global standard of one judge or prosecutor per 10,000 citizens that Suriname currently fails to meet. “I am exceptionally proud of all judges, prosecutors, and the understanding the legal profession has shown for the steps we have taken in recent years to strengthen the rule of law,” Rasoelbaks said.

    The Judiciary’s annual general meeting serves as a key planning session for the upcoming judicial term. Members routinely confirm core operational arrangements, including judge work allocation, sitting schedules for first-instance and appellate cases, cross-practice coordination across different legal areas, and appointments to judicial committees and disciplinary boards. For the upcoming 2026-2027 term, organizers have already incorporated newly trainee judge candidates (RAIO’s) into the official work planning.

  • Hoe Gambiaanse vrouwen de mangroves herstellen die Banjul beschermen

    Hoe Gambiaanse vrouwen de mangroves herstellen die Banjul beschermen

    Before the midday sun scorches Gambia’s Atlantic coast, 34-year-old Fatou Jarjue waits for the tide to pull back from the Tanbi Wetlands. Pulling on thick gloves and sturdy socks, she pushes her hand-carved wooden canoe through narrow channels tangled with the sprawling, exposed roots of mangrove trees. Today, the empty pans stowed in her vessel are not meant for oysters—they will hold crabs that burrow in the wet mud beneath the water’s surface, as oyster harvesting is closed for the annual rainy season.

    For Jarjue, a mother of one, life is inextricably tied to this vast coastal wetland. Salt-tolerant mangroves, which naturally anchor shorelines and buffer communities from erosion and storm surge, have provided for her family for generations: the trees host oysters, crabs, and fish that feed her household and generate her income, while their dense root systems act as a natural sea wall for her coastal community. On most days, her brother Musa follows in a smaller canoe to keep watch as she paddles deeper into the mangrove forest; on other days, she navigates the muddy waterways alone.

    For generations, women in communities surrounding Tanbi Wetland have drawn their livelihood from these waters, and Jarjue continues that tradition. But unlike her predecessors, she has dedicated a large portion of her time to restoring the ecosystem that sustains her people. Just over one year since she began her restoration work, Jarjue says she has planted and restored more than 5,000 mangrove trees, reviving critical habitat that protects both the coast and the local fishing economy.

    Raised in Ndangan, a small settlement of 300 people just two kilometers from Banjul, Gambia’s capital, Jarjue learned the rhythm of the wetlands from childhood. At 12 years old, she followed her mother into the mangroves, mastering the skills of oyster foraging, crab trapping, and fishing. For her, the forest was both a classroom and a lifeline. But over the years, she watched the ecosystem change: rising sea levels, accelerating coastal erosion, and shifting weather patterns have steadily eroded the mangrove cover that the entire community depends on. Rather than only harvest from the wetland, she chose to give back, launching her personal restoration effort.

    Today, every trip into the mangroves combines harvesting with conservation work: she inspects young saplings, replaces damaged seedlings, and maps areas that need additional restoration. “Mangroves are part of our lives,” she explains. For Jarjue, environmental conservation and community survival are one and the same: the healthier the mangroves grow, the more secure the future for her family and neighbors.

    As she paddles through the channels, Jarjue passes fully grown oysters clinging to mangrove roots, waiting for the next harvesting season to open. She leaves them undisturbed, proud to protect the stock that will support her community later in the year. While crabbing provides steady income during the rains, oysters remain the most profitable catch for local women: a standard milk can of oysters sells for roughly 100 Gambian dalasi (about $1.34), and demand at local markets consistently outpaces supply. “Oysters are hard work to harvest,” Jarjue says. “But that’s where the income is.”

    Many people mistakenly believe the annual rainy season closure of oyster harvesting is rooted in fears that oysters become toxic during this period. But marine scientist Dawda Saine explains the policy is a deliberate conservation measure tied to ecology and food safety. The closure is part of Gambia’s national Oyster and Cockle Co-management Plan, designed to give oyster populations time to reproduce, grow, and replenish their numbers while reducing pressure on the wetland ecosystem.

    “We don’t close the season because oysters are toxic,” Saine told Al Jazeera. “We close it to protect the resource. During the rains, increased runoff flushes more sediment and contaminants into the water, and oysters filter everything in the water they inhabit—this can impact their quality, taste, and safety.” By leaving oysters undisturbed during this period, both the ecosystem and consumers are protected, and the policy has become a widely accepted investment in future harvests for women like Jarjue.

    Jarjue is one of dozens of women in Ndangan who have turned from traditional foragers to ecosystem stewards, all working to restore the mangrove habitat their lives depend on. For 48-year-old Sussan Colley, who has foraged oysters and fished the wetlands since her teens, the change brought by restoration is impossible to miss. She remembers when mangrove cover shrank, catches declined, and households that relied on the wetland faced growing food insecurity. As restoration projects took root, Colley saw a steady reversal: oysters returned, grew larger and faster, and the wetland became productive again.

    “Mangroves have changed our lives for the better,” Colley said. For her, restoration is also about passing on a new legacy to the next generation. She teaches her children the traditional harvesting skills she inherited from her parents, but adds a new lesson: people must protect the natural systems that sustain them. “I want them to be able to make a living from this land,” she says, “but I also want them to understand how important mangroves are, and what role they play in all our lives.”

    Jarjue and other local women received formal mangrove restoration training through a local conservation initiative that supports Gambian coastal communities building climate resilience. The program equipped them with skills to restore degraded mangrove habitats, protect fishing ecosystems, and strengthen their communities’ ability to withstand the impacts of climate change. For the women of Ndangan, the training transformed their relationship with the wetland: it is no longer only a place to harvest resources, but a shared responsibility to nurture and protect.

    The work being done in Ndangan carries stakes that extend far beyond the small settlement, to the heart of Gambia’s capital. Banjul is a low-lying island city, increasingly threatened by rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and catastrophic flooding. Experts warn that a one-meter rise in global sea levels would submerge large parts of the capital, making the protection of remaining natural coastal barriers a matter of urgent national importance. This threat is not hypothetical: in 2022, severe flooding displaced thousands of Gambians, laying bare the extreme vulnerability of the country’s coastal communities.

    For the communities surrounding Tanbi Wetland, mangroves are far more than an environmental resource—they are a natural coastal defense system that shields inland settlements from storm damage and sea level rise. Rohey Malick Lowe, mayor of Banjul, says the capital’s future is inextricably linked to the survival of the Tanbi mangroves. “Banjul is an island,” she told Al Jazeera. “If the mangroves disappear, the city disappears with it.” The mayor added that city officials are working to protect the capital from growing climate threats, but acknowledged significant remaining challenges, including ongoing degradation of parts of the wetland from unregulated human activity.

  • Politie grijpt in na verkeerschaos door afsluiting Domineestraat

    Politie grijpt in na verkeerschaos door afsluiting Domineestraat

    Severe gridlock triggered by the ongoing closure of Domineestraat for rehabilitation works has forced the Suriname Police Corps to implement a series of emergency traffic adjustments to ease travel disruptions across central Paramaribo.

    When construction kicked off on Domineestraat this Monday, downtown Paramaribo and its primary access arteries immediately became choked with long, persistent queues. Originally, the Ministry of Public Works and Spatial Planning had announced the rehabilitation project would take four weeks to complete, but officials now project the work will wrap up in roughly half that time, just two weeks from the start date.

    To address the crippling congestion, additional police officers have been deployed to the city’s busiest intersections, and a pre-existing traffic plateau on Keizerstraat, located near its crossing with Zwartenhovenbrugstraat, has been temporarily removed in a bid to improve flow through the city center. Daily patrols are being carried out by three specialized police units — the Motor Surveillance Service (MSD), the Paramaribo Motor Brigade, and the Bikers Unit — which are stationed at key strategic points across the capital. Officers are actively directing traffic at the most congested intersections and intervening quickly to resolve unexpected disruptions as they arise.

    According to Inspector Iwan Joekoe, head of the Bikers Unit, the measures have already yielded modest improvements to traffic conditions, as confirmed by the Suriname Communication Service. “Rush hours remain extremely crowded, but outside peak travel windows, traffic is moving far more smoothly than it did immediately after the road closure,” Joekoe explained. He and other officials have issued guidance to road users, urging them to prioritize alternative routes whenever possible and consider parking their vehicles outside of the downtown area to cut down on unnecessary through traffic in the congested zone.

    MSD head Inspector Reguillio Tirtojoso noted that police had collaborated to develop a comprehensive traffic management plan ahead of the start of construction work. During the planning phase, teams mapped all potential high-risk congestion points and made the decision to reallocate extra personnel to those trouble spots ahead of time. The Keizerstraat traffic plateau was flagged early as a major barrier to efficient traffic movement, leading to the decision to remove it temporarily for the duration of the Domineestraat works.

    Tirtojoso identified three intersections as the current hardest-hit locations: Zwartenhovenbrugstraat/Keizerstraat, Keizerstraat/Fred Derbystraat, and Fred Derbystraat/Sophie Redmondstraat. For drivers heading southbound through the city, officials strongly recommend taking alternate routes via Fred Derbystraat and Waterkant to avoid the worst delays.

    As of now, the police have not found sufficient reason to convert any existing roads to temporary one-way traffic to ease flow. However, officials confirmed that the traffic situation will be re-evaluated on a daily basis for the entire duration of the Domineestraat rehabilitation project, with additional adjustments implemented if needed to keep traffic moving.

    The accelerated construction timeline means drivers and commuters will only have to navigate the adjusted traffic arrangements for a short period, with full access to Domineestraat expected to be restored much earlier than initially projected.

  • Vrouwelijke DNA-leden hervatten werk en eisen strengere gedragsregels na uitlating Van Samson

    Vrouwelijke DNA-leden hervatten werk en eisen strengere gedragsregels na uitlating Van Samson

    On August 6, female members of coalition caucuses in Suriname’s National Assembly announced they would return to their official parliamentary duties, but maintained their public protest against controversial, misogynistic remarks made by ruling VHP parliamentarian Cedric van Samson. Leading the group of protesting lawmakers, Rossellie Cotino of the opposition NDP delivered a formal letter to National Assembly Speaker Ashwin Adhin, calling for tightened parliamentary ethics rules and enforceable measures to combat gender-based discrimination within the legislature.

    The protest first erupted on July 30, when all female lawmakers walked out of the assembly chamber in response to comments van Samson made during a radio interview regarding women in leadership roles. At the time, the lawmakers left the chamber to pressure van Samson to retract his statements and issue a formal public apology. Cotino emphasized that the group is demanding accountability for discriminatory, anti-women rhetoric that has damaged public perception of and trust in women’s political leadership. “We will not back down from this demand, because these comments harm not just sitting female lawmakers, but all women seeking to lead in our country,” Cotino stated in her address to the assembly.

    Cotino expressed clear disappointment that van Samson has refused to issue an apology to date, even after widespread calls for accountability from national women’s rights organizations and other public groups. She also noted that while the VHP, van Samson’s own party, has publicly stated his comments are out of step with modern values, the party has not pushed its member to issue a formal apology.

    The formal letter delivered to Speaker Adhin outlines four core demands from the protesting female lawmakers. First, the letter labels van Samson’s comments discriminatory, offensive, and fundamentally anti-women. It calls on the National Assembly to implement formal policy to prevent gender discrimination, adopt stricter ethical and professional conduct standards for all elected representatives, update the body’s standing orders of procedure to codify these protections, and enforce the equal treatment guarantees enshrined in Article 8 of Suriname’s constitution. In addition to these domestic steps, Cotino announced the group will soon contact the Inter-Parliamentary Union, the global intergovernmental body that promotes parliamentary integrity, gender equality, and standardized ethical codes for legislatures worldwide. “We are returning to the work we were elected to do, but we will never allow anyone to undermine women’s ambitions or their right to hold leadership positions,” Cotino added.

    Responding to the protest, VHP caucus leader Asis Gajadien reiterated that his party publicly supports equal gender representation and women’s political rights, but argued that the body must avoid setting a constitutional precedent for penalizing statements made by lawmakers outside of official parliamentary proceedings. Gajadien called on the assembly leadership to handle the matter with extreme caution to avoid unintended institutional consequences.

    Speaker Adhin responded that all sitting assembly members retain the constitutional right to raise social and political issues in the chamber, citing Article 54 of Suriname’s constitution, which protects freedom of discussion and criticism within state institutions.

    The protesting female lawmakers have received cross-partisan support from multiple caucuses in the assembly. Ronny Asabina, the sole representative of the BEP party, expressed full solidarity with the group, describing van Samson’s comments as “unfit” and “unbecoming of an elected parliamentarian.” NDP caucus leader Rabin Parmessar commended the female lawmakers for choosing to resume their parliamentary duties after making their protest clear, reaffirming that Suriname’s constitutional principle prohibits all forms of discrimination, including gender discrimination. Steven Reyme of the A20 party also backed the female lawmakers’ position, noting he was raised by a single mother and highlighting that women have held critical leadership roles throughout religious history, from a Biblical perspective.

  • Ex-premier Sheikh Hasina kondigt terugkeer naar Bangladesh aan ondanks doodstraf

    Ex-premier Sheikh Hasina kondigt terugkeer naar Bangladesh aan ondanks doodstraf

    In a dramatic announcement that sends ripples across South Asian geopolitics, 78-year-old ousted Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina has confirmed she intends to return to her home country in December 2026, after two years of exile in India — even as a death sentence hangs over her head for charges of crimes against humanity.

    Hasina shared her decision in a pre-recorded video address to an event hosted by the South Asia Foreign Correspondents’ Club, where she appeared alongside her son Sajeeb Wazed Joy and other senior leaders of her party, the Awami League. In defiant remarks, the long-serving former leader framed her planned return as a matter of democratic duty to the Bangladeshi people. “I can be detained, I can be sent to prison. But fear must not dictate my obligation to the people,” she stated, adding that the exact date of her arrival has not yet been finalized. Hasina also used the platform to call for an immediate end to the current government’s ban on the Awami League, which has been in place since she was ousted from power.

    The path to Hasina’s planned return traces back to the 2024 mass political upheaval that removed her from office. After weeks of student-led pro-democracy protests that were met with brutal violent crackdowns, a popular revolution unseated Hasina’s government, forcing her to flee the country by helicopter for neighboring India, where she has remained in exile ever since. In her absence, Bangladeshi courts have convicted her on multiple grave charges, including inciting mass violence, ordering extrajudicial killings, and failing to prevent crimes against humanity, resulting in a mandatory death sentence.

    Hasina’s announcement comes at a delicate moment for bilateral relations between Bangladesh and India. The current Bangladeshi government, led by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, has repeatedly formally requested India extradite Hasina to face her sentence, but New Delhi has maintained that the case is proceeding through its domestic legal channels, and has declined to comment publicly on Hasina’s return plans. Recent diplomatic shifts have seen relations between Dhaka and New Delhi improve, with Rahman receiving an official invitation to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in September, marking a key step in the new government’s international outreach. Notably, India’s Ministry of External Affairs moved quickly to distance itself from Hasina’s announcement just ahead of her address, with a spokesperson clarifying that the Indian government has no involvement in Hasina’s return plans and does not endorse any views expressed at the event.

    Bangladesh has remained in a state of political and social flux since the 2024 revolution. Rahman’s new administration has prioritized stabilizing domestic governance and rebuilding strained international partnerships, but underlying political tensions between rival factions and ongoing debates over human rights standards continue to challenge efforts to unify the country. Beyond the political turmoil, Bangladesh also grapples with the persistent, escalating impacts of climate change, including more frequent and severe flooding and cyclone events that have deepened the nation’s structural vulnerability. To address these growing climate risks, the current government has expanded investments in disaster risk management systems and strengthened international collaboration to reduce the human and economic toll of extreme weather events.

  • Essay I: Van Zee naar Land – Wat Suriname zelf moet weten over de Nieuwe Raffinaderij en Gas-to-Shore

    Essay I: Van Zee naar Land – Wat Suriname zelf moet weten over de Nieuwe Raffinaderij en Gas-to-Shore

    Over the past five years, Suriname’s offshore waters have delivered an energy windfall unmatched in the nation’s entire modern history: more proven oil and natural gas reserves have been discovered off its coast than were accumulated in all preceding decades combined. This geological bounty positions the small South American nation at a crossroads, where intentional policy choices will determine whether these resources translate into long-term, inclusive sustainable development, or remain a raw commodity export that delivers limited benefit to ordinary Surinamese people. In the first installment of a six-part series, veteran petroleum and energy advisor Marcel P.T. Chin-A-Lien breaks down why a new onshore refinery and a Gas-to-Shore (GtS) pipeline project are critical to unlocking the full potential of Suriname’s energy reserves for all citizens.