PARAMARIBO, Suriname, Oct 30, CMC -The Suriname government has dismissed allegations that Office of the President has sanctioned the wire tapping of persons in the country.
“The Office of the President will not be distracted by speculation. Our focus is on policy, recovery, and the future of Suriname,” said Previen Sewnath, Communications Coordinator for the Office of the President.
Sewanth said that the statement by former defence minister Krishna Mathoera in the National Assembly “are pure fantasy and lack any factual basis”.
Mathoera raised the issue during the consideration of the legislative amendments regarding special investigative powers. She told legislators that the Telecommunications Act of 2004 grants the President powers to have telecommunications intercepted in the interest of national security.
The opposition legislator said that Attorney General has separate powers for criminal procedural purposes.
“There is currently a wiretapping system in the Cabinet,” Mathoera said, adding that she had information that tapping systems are being used and asked the government whether that information is correct.
Mathoera said intercepting communications is a far-reaching power that must be subject to strict legal rules. In doing so, she distinguished between wiretapping in the interest of national security and intercepting communications in the context of criminal investigations. Regarding national security, she stated that this may involve the preventive gathering of intelligence to combat terrorism, espionage, and serious crime, among other things.
But Sewanth dismissed the allegations as “pure fantasy and lacking any factual basis.
“The Office of the President is currently formulating and guiding policy to get Suriname back on track. It is regrettable that unfounded suggestions are being made regarding matters for which no concrete evidence is presented,” Sewnath said.
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