The legislators from the coalition keep demanding that these projects be put on hold so that officials can check that all of the rules and laws that are aimed at protecting the environment are obeyed. They also made it clear that the rights of the local communities must be protected at all times. During the discussion of the national budget the legislators from the National Democratic Party (NDP) expressed their concern regarding the manner in which large parcels of land are made available for agriculture. They poi ted out that there is a lack of supervision which is why there is a big chance that the locations in the forest and the residents of the hinterland will no longer be safe. The leader of the NDP faction in parliament, Rabin Parmessar, warned that Suriname must learn from the things that happened in other South American countries where the Mennonites carried out large scale agrarian projects which led to a wave of criticism due to deforestation and damage to the environment. He fears that Suriname could lose its valuable primary and secondary forests if the government does not take firm action. MP Parmessar urged the Ministry of Land Policy and Forest Management to share all information regarding the allocated land. He also wants the land that was allocated under questionable circumstances to be reclaimed by the government. “Nobody should tell me the fairy tales which protray Mennonites as ordinary people. They are not ordinary people because they have other characteristics when it comes to the environment,” said MP Parmessar.