Jagdeo made the statement in response to a question posed by an officer of the Guyana Defence Force at the opening of the Annual Officers Conference on Tuesday at Army Headquarters in Georgetown.

The Kaieteur News newspaper reported that the question was sparked by recent revelations that Bouterse had links to convicted Guyanese drug lord Shaheed Roger Khan and had clandestinely visited Guyana on several occasions for rendezvous with Khan.

Bouterse, who has been sentenced by a court in the Netherlands for drug trafficking, was returned as president of Suriname last year following general elections in the neighbouring republic.

From all indications, the president’s comments were not meant for the ears of members of the media, who were strangely asked to leave the venue during the president’s response to the question of how Guyana’s relations with Suriname would be affected by the recent revelations.

Jagdeo stated that some time ago Guyana was asked by a representative of a foreign mission in Guyana if the president of Suriname will be arrested when he visits Guyana, on account of him being wanted internationally.

“I said to him no, I said maybe you can get some other countries to do this,” the Guyanese president stated emphatically.

He said if the people of Suriname overwhelmingly chose him (Bouterse) as their leader, Guyana should not judge him based on what transpired in the Netherlands.

“Who are we as Guyanese to say we should arrest him?” Jagdeo asked the Army officers.

Since his return to power, Bouterse has officially visited Guyana on three occasions.

(This article was obtained and use in from caribbeannewsnow)