Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. has filed summary proceedings against the State of Suriname and is demanding an immediate ban on the deportation of approximately sixty Mennonites. The company is seeking a penalty payment of SRD 10 million per day or per violation, up to a maximum of SRD 100 million, should the State fail to comply with any court-ordered ban.
The summary proceedings were initiated on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, by Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V., represented by lawyer D.E.R. Veira. The State of Suriname, in particular the ministerie van Justitie en Veiligheid (Ministry of Justice and Security), is the defendant. However, the judge has not yet delivered a ruling and hopes to do so possibly today or tomorrow, Thursday, October 29.
Company seeks immediate ban on deportation
In its petition, Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. asks the court to immediately suspend the planned deportation of the foreign nationals concerned.
The company wants the State to refrain from any action that could lead to their removal from Suriname. This includes, among other things, transferring them to a departure location, booking or carrying out a deportation flight, and the actual departure of those concerned.
It further demands that implementation actions already initiated, insofar as necessary, be halted immediately.
The company wants a penalty payment of SRD 10 million attached to any violation of a possible court-ordered ban for each day or part thereof that the State fails to comply with the ruling, or for each separate violation. The claimed maximum is SRD 100 million.
These amounts concern only the demands of the agricultural company. The judge has not yet determined whether the requested bans and penalty payments will be granted.
Grondbeleid en Bosbeheer had previously announced eviction
One of the annexes to the summary proceedings petition concerns a separate bailiff’s writ dated July 21, 2026. This writ was issued at the request of the ministerie van Grondbeleid en Bosbeheer and was addressed to unknown occupants, users and residents of state land in the Mazonie area, designated as Bosbouwterrein 500.
It served a ministerial letter dated July 12, 2026, concerning the termination of unlawful use and eviction from state land.
The document shows that the government had already taken formal steps in July regarding the use of the area concerned. The court documents also include a letter from lawyer Veira to the police chief dated October 18, 2026. In it, the lawyer stated on behalf of a group of agricultural investors that his clients had temporarily used state land to coordinate work on an access road to their agricultural area.
According to the letter, activities were to begin being moved from Monday, October 19, to the site that, according to the clients, had been allocated to them. The police were asked for understanding and cooperation in this regard. The documents do not show whether that relocation had actually been completed before police intervened on October 26.
Cooperation agreement from 2024
In its summary proceedings petition, the agricultural company invokes a Public Private Partnership agreement (PPP) concluded with LVV on September 25, 2024.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the ministry by then minister Parmanand Sewdien and on behalf of Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. by director Roy Kong Yong Foek.
The agreement stipulated, among other things, that a previously made available agricultural area of 27,925 hectares in Nickerie would be exchanged for an area of approximately 50,350 hectares in the district of Sipaliwini.
The allocation of that site was agreed for a period of forty years, with an option for extension.
According to Article 2 of the agreement, the company was permitted to use the site for agricultural activities and the construction of, among other things, buildings, business facilities and warehouses.
The State also committed itself to cooperating in obtaining the necessary permits and approvals, provided that the legal requirements were met.
That provision does not mean that all required permits were automatically granted upon the signing of the agreement.
LVV terminated agreement, but later withdrew decision
The attached correspondence shows that LVV sent a letter to Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. on January 26, 2026, announcing the termination of the PPP agreement.
According to the ministry, the agricultural company had failed to meet its contractual obligation to cultivate at least ten percent of the allocated site annually.
LVV stated that the company had therefore failed to fulfil a material obligation under the agreement. The ministry subsequently decided to formally terminate the cooperation and withdraw the allocated land, with the exception of the portion demonstrably and sustainably brought under cultivation.
Eight months later, however, a different decision followed. In a letter dated September 16, 2026, LVV informed the company that the earlier termination letter was being withdrawn and should be considered as not having been sent.
The ministry referred in this regard to correspondence from the Nationale Milieuautoriteit (NMA, National Environmental Authority). According to LVV, this showed that the company was not permitted to commence or continue its activities as long as the required environmental impact assessment had not been formally approved.
LVV stated that the statutory environmental restrictions carried more weight than the contractually stipulated obligation to bring the site under cultivation.
The ministry also declared its willingness to continue the cooperation and to amend the agreement where necessary in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
Two separate legal issues
The documents show that several legal issues are involved in the dispute. On the one hand, Suriname Green Energy Agriculture N.V. invokes a cooperation agreement with LVV, whose earlier termination was withdrawn on September 16, 2026.
On the other hand, Grondbeleid en Bosbeheer formally announced the termination of the use of state land in the Mazonie area in July.
The documents do not make it possible to establish without further consideration that the land to which that announcement relates fully coincides with the site covered by the PPP agreement.
The dispute over the use of state land is also legally separate from the question of whether the Mennonites concerned are lawfully permitted to reside in Suriname.
The existence of an agricultural cooperation agreement does not in itself constitute a residence permit for foreign workers or their family members.
Judge must rule on deportation
According to the summary proceedings petition, approximately sixty people were transferred from the area to Kraka in the district of Para on Monday, October 26. According to the claimant, they include three babies and seven children aged between two and seven.
The agricultural company states that the planned deportation will have major consequences for its investments and agricultural activities. According to the claimant, heavy equipment and other costly goods were brought to Suriname for the implementation of the project.
The company considers the planned deportation a disproportionately severe measure and invokes, among other things, the existing agreements with the government.
The judge must now rule on the requested measures against the State.
According to lawyer Veira, given the urgent nature of the case, the ruling will be delivered on Wednesday, October 28, or no later than Thursday, October 29, 2026.
Until the judge decides, it remains unclear whether the agricultural company will receive the protection it seeks against the planned deportation.
