This morning, the DNA chairman Marinus Bee received a petition from Suradj Sahadewlall’s Association of Transporters and Logistics in Suriname (VTLS). Through this petition, the truck owners who were affected by the disturbances in Pikin Saron on May 2, 2023, call the government’s attention to the predicament they have found themselves in. They demand reimbursement for the harm incurred as a result of the fires started by their burning log trucks. They also want the criminals to be prosecuted. “Two weeks ago, the indigenous people also sent me a petition regarding the Pikin Saron issue. Various interests are at stake. When we throw things on a scale, the result should be calm, peace and dialogue. Not dialogue for the sake of dialogue, but dialogue to arrive at a sustainable solution in this matter. We don’t want what happened there anymore. There should be no repetition. I appeal and appeal to the government to seriously look into this. I also take the matter very seriously,” said Bee.
According to VTLS chairman Sahadewlall, safety on the roads to the interior must be increased, so that transport on the road is possible 1×24 hours. “In this way you can strengthen the production on the gold and timber fields. It should not be just dialogue, but we should develop the manufacturing sector together,” said the chairman. He will approach the Ministry of Finance and Planning to see how the truck owners’ business operations can be compensated and the damage can be repaired a little. The VLTS CEO argues for a crisis fund for such cases. “Should something like this happen again, which we do not want, business operations must not be stagnant.”