LATIN AMERICA: COMPENDIUM OF BOUNDARIES AND TERRITORIAL DISPUTES

Created: 6/1/1995

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

Intelligence Report

Office of Resources, Trade, and Technology

Latin America: Compendium of Boundaries and Territorial Disputes I-

A Research Paper

The cunxni territorial and boundary dispute bef Guyana and Suriname is basedistoricalover which of two Uibuurics forms the rincipal source of (he Courantyne River. Although the British and Dutch colonial power* had long agreed lhat ihe Courantyne Kutari (Koeiari Rivier) constituted ihe southern third of the border between (hoir colonies, discoveryajor left-bank(he New River, prompted Dutch claims lute inh centuryhe "New Riverr0 sq km of temtory lying bciween the two tributaries. This ansa is still cUimed by Suriname but administered and controlled by Guy-

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Border Basks

The de facto Guyana-Suriname boundary follows ihe Courantyne River inlandm from the Allan tic Ocean to its Ixadwaters ai ihe tribordcr wiihThe boundary lies along Ihe high water mark on the river's left bank, although Guyana hatrights to theispuie exists over the southern ihiid of ihe border, based on which one of two principal tributaries represents ihe main source of the river Theq km inbetween ihe two tributaries and bordered by the watershed that marks ihe boundary with Brazil is known as the New River Triangle. This area ii claimed by Suriname but administered by Guyana.

of Amerindians form upstream. Aside from an occasional military post, the reminder of the border area is practically uninhabited.

The Courantyne Riverew logging trails arcmeans of iranspon in ihe border area. Thenavigable by coastal ships foruntil rapids, falls, and mar.es ofportages and use of small river boatsApocra. travel

by heavier ships is restricted primarily io Ihe rainy season

Historical Background

The Goyaria-Suriname border dispute originated inh centuryonflict between two DutchDutch Guiana, which became Suriname. and ihe Duich lerritory ofich became East Bertoice-Corentyne. the easternmost region inThe two colonies disputed control of fertile coastal lands west of Ihe Courantyne Riverlie melropolilan government in Amsterdam ruled lhat Berbice extended lo ihe west bank of ihe Courantyne and iis presumed headwaters stream, thend the governors of ihe two areas eon-lirmed ihis arrangement inround this time, however, Britain seized many of ihe Dutchand4 the Dutch ceded what is now Guyana to the British, who named it British Guiana. Although no treaty was signed,1 the two cokv nal powers agreed lhat the Courantyne formed the border

of the border area consists of lowlands covered by dense tropical rain forest and swamps. Exceptions occur along the coast andhort distance upstream, mostly on ihe Guyana side of the river, where itcc and sugarcane plantations are situated, ln portions of the higher uplands, scrub or savanna replaces the tropical forests. In the imetior.increase gradually toeters,ew isolated hillscitrt^

Wuh minor exceptions, the borderparsely populated. In additionhe few agricultural seUle-menu neat the coast, there are widely scatteredcamps, small farms, and rivertwnk settlements

Because most of the territory was unexplored and unmapped. London commissioned Rohcnrussian gcographcr-naturalisl, to survey and map the borders of British Guiana. Schomburgk undertook this task between mt andis imciprciation of the Courantyne and what was believed to be its headwaters, the Kutari (Koeiaris forming ihe boundary between Dutch and British Guiana became the basis of maps published by both colonial powers during it* remainder of the

owever, another explorer, lhe BritishBanningion Brown,ajor left-bank tiibutary. the New River, that carried more water and was of greater length than the Courantyne-Kutari (Koetarirown's discovery became the basis for Dutch claims to the land west of the Kutari (Koetari Rlvier) maderitish reaction to the Dutch claim was that the Couianiyne-Kutari (Koetari Rivier) had long been recognized as lhe border and that subsequent discoveries did not change earlier arrangements. Despite the Dutch claims, thecontroversy remained quiet for some decades, partlyutch geographer inlaimed that ihe New River basin was significantly smaller than that of the Courantyne-Kutari (Koetariraising the question of whether flow or basin size should be the main criterion used tothe Courantyne's source.!

Despite initial Guyanese-Dutch discussions on the boundary issue, in the years following Guyana'sseveral incidents occuired in ihe disputed territory that led to an increase in polemics.uyanaumber of Surinamese, reportedly workersater metering station on the New River.ore serious incident look place when Guyana Defense Force units forcedtroopsost, including an airstrip, thai had been established in the disputed territory.efforts to decrease tensions ledointissued in0 that called for demilitarization of the disputed ureaixed commission to develop economic and cultural cooperation. During, acontinued efforts to resolve the boundary prob-Icm, although little progress was madeJ

In the next decade, the two colonial powers attempted to settle their dispute. During the. the Netherlands offered to agree to the Couramync-Kutari (Koetari Rivier) alignment if Britain would agree thai the boundary would fallow ihe western bank of the river. London agreed, and negotiations ledraft boundary treatyhis was never signed, however, because of the outbreak of World Warreaty had been signed6 establishing the tripoim of the Guyana-Suriname-Brazil boundary in accordance with the Netherlands' suggestion that the boundary line should be drawn from the source of the Kutari (Koetari Rivier) until it intersected the Brazilian watershed. The definitive map of thewas signed by the Netherlands, Greatand Brazil.I

According to academic sources, theon the boundary changed after the war.the Dutch discarded theRivier) alignment in favor of Ihe Newproposed adoptionidline riverDutch also unilaterally renamed the New"Upperrirain rejected theBefore Guyana gained independenceinlte Dutchdvised London to place on recordboundary between Guyana and Suriname wasi spu te.

Although Suriname restated its claim to the New River Triangle upon gaining independencehe two countries downplayed their border dispute for many years thereafter. During the, as academic sourcesispute wiih Guyana over fishing rights offshore and on the Courantyne was resolved through bilateral discussions.4n the faceebellion by the Maroons or Bush Negroes in Suriname, Guyana and the Surinamese military regime agreed to cooperate on improving security along ihc Courantyne.

Recent Developments

Inccording to news media reports. Presidents Hoyte of Guyana and Sliankar ofagreed that resolution of the dispute should be raisedriority level. In addition to the dispute itself, as further press reports indicated, redemarca-lion of the boundary along the west hank of the Cou-ranlyne had become necessary because of heavy siliation. and inoint commission wasto address boundary issues. The twoalso held discussions on controlling the flow of contraband and narcotics across the Courantyne I-

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|fitv'tcil. in .'I'lti' ill i'lli'l'ilhh r'Mi.iil/on'Suri'iiiinr tn proceediiliiitl'iiiiin lite Kiilmlrlxi Kivier. airibu-uii i dinmfvfii* fVnrr. Netiotialiinis in Julyi.iltuuw/.'mlnfi fnaiulrrrtl over the tltfinilion of the area in

fiuyiimi termed il tin urea of overlap, andillnl ii mi urea of dispute. Nonetheless, thr umiinreetl in meet again io try io solve lhel fiiiiessions in lhe area!

Suriname's foreign policy under Presidentin Septemberprevented lite unresolved border disputes with Guyana fromimproved bilateral relations. Althoughtrafficking and smuggling still plague the border, both countries are cooperating to control theseAn3 agreement between theNational Army and the Guyana Defense Forte to Improve relations among border forces is another indication of good will on both

Finally, growing democratization in Suriname, and Suriname'sin regional integration programs in theand Amazon regions, have also contributedlimate for amicable resolution of the boundary issues J

Original document.

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