recorded in a video made by the State. The following were the main activities: (a) on Monday,
August 17, the delegation visited Paramaribo, where meetings were held with different
authorities and delegations, including the recently appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the
representative of the National Assembly. In addition, meetings were held with the participation,
among others, of representatives of the Kaliña and Lokono peoples, the Maroon communities,
the Commission, and the State; (b) on Tuesday, August 18, a meeting was held with the
representatives of Christiaankondre and Langamankondre and a brief visit was made to these
villages where their opinions were heard, following which the delegation was welcomed by the
members of these communities, and (c) on Wednesday, August 19, a visit was made to the
Galibi Nature Reserve; a meeting was held in Erowarte with representatives of six of the
indigenous communities, namely: Erowarte, Tapuku, Pierrekondre, Marijkedorp (or Wan Shi
Sha), Alfonsdorp and Bigiston, during which their opinions were heard. In addition, the
delegation drove through these indigenous villages, with the exception of Alfonsdorp and Bigiston
and, lastly, a visit was made to the Maroon village of Moengotapu, to the Wane Kreek Nature
Reserve, and to the area of the mining concession.
15.
Observations on the visit and reception of videos. On September 8, 2015, the Court
received the observations on the visit of the Commission and of the representatives. On the
same date, the Court received the videos of the on-site procedure sent by the State and
contained on six DVDs in the edited and the unedited versions. In its communication, the State
requested additional time to send its observations on the visit, and the Court agreed to this.
These observations and some annexes were received on September 17 and 18, 2015,
respectively.
16.
Helpful evidence requested following the visit. During the on-site procedure, the Court’s
delegation gave the State a list of helpful evidence. In addition, on August 25, 2015, the
Secretariat sent a letter reiterating and specifying this evidence to both the State and the
representatives.14 In this regard, on September 8, 2015, the Court received the annexes with
helpful evidence sent by the representatives.15 On September 17, 18, 22, 29 and 30, 2015, the
14
Letter of the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court of August 25, 2015 (merits file, folio 923). This letter
requested the following as helpful evidence: (a) from the State, a list of the Maroon communities with the number of
their inhabitants, in the territories claimed in this case; a list of the participants in the meeting held on September 27,
2013, during which three commissions were formed; lists of the participants in the meetings that took place on January
31 and February 28, 2003, with the Ministers of Regional Development and of Natural Resources, and copies of freehold
land titles, and leasehold titles and long-term leases granted to both indigenous and non-indigenous persons in Tuinstad
Albina; (b) from the representatives, information concerning the ancestral ties between the Barbakoea and Koriabo
culture and that of the Kaliña and Lokono peoples; a recent map of the territory claimed in this case; a list of
communities whose land is not being claimed, and the judgment of May 1998, in the case of Celientje Martina JoeroejaKoewie and Others v. Suriname, as well as the judgment of May 1998 in the case of Tjang A. Sjin v. Zaalman and
Others, and (c) from both parties, updated information concerning events following the submission of the draft bill on
traditional authorities; the record of the constitution of the Galibi Nature Reserve Dialogue Commission, and information
regarding activities that are underway; a communication of August 26, 1978, signed by Jr. F. C. Bubberman, Head of the
State Forest Management Service, and A. C. Cirino, Chair of KANO; a list of participants in the 1986 meeting in Wan Shi
Sha concerning the establishment of the Wane Kreek Nature Reserve, and documentation indicating when the mining
operations in the Wane Kreek Nature Reserve began and ended.
15
Letter of the Secretariat of the Inter-American Court of September 11, 2015 (merits file, folio 978). The
representatives sent 10 annexes, which contained the following: (a) an educational project to raise awareness of land
rights under Suriname law and international law, entitled “Wi Gon Na Wi”; (b) maps of the Maroon territories and other
occupied indigenous areas; (c) Gazon Matodja’s correspondence with regard to a dialogue process concerning land rights;
(d) a judicial decision on a complaint filed by indigenous residents of Pierrekondre against the State of Suriname and
Suriname Stone & Industries N.V; (e) receipts arising from representation expenses, and (f) a statement by the
Ajintoena family in which they state that they live peacefully in the territories of the Lokono People and are on good
terms with the traditional indigenous authorities (evidence file, folios 2867 to 2920). With regard to the documentation
they were asked to provide, the representatives did not send the following because they did not have the information:
(a) the list of participants in the 1986 meeting in Wan Shi Sha concerning the establishment of the Wane Kreek Nature
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