While the public is acutely aware that law enforcement is severely hobbled in many ways, the problems in the maritime zone of the country are quite different from terra firma and even more serious. The severity of the problem was underlined last week by the decision of Guyanese fishermen to hand over pirates that they had subdued by themselves to the Surinamese coastguard for prosecution. The local fishermen told this newspaper that they embarked upon this course as they got no response from law enforcers here to their urgent pleas for assistance.
It is not the first time that Guyanese fishermen have complained bitterly about the lack of action by the local authorities. However, in this case they were driven to their wit’s end and made the decision to seek help from the Surinamese who responded and took the suspects into custody.
Further investigations are being done by Paramaribo and the local fishermen may be asked to provide testimony if charges are preferred.
All law enforcement matters in Guyana’s waters should naturally be referred to and handled by the authorities here. The Office of the President, Takuba Lodge and Eve Leary would be well aware of all the reasons why this should be the case.
Secondly, while they should be commended for bravery, the fishermen put themselves at severe risk by taking matters into their own hands and pursuing the pirates. There could have been deadly consequences and it is likely that the pirates who continue to operate will grow more brutal and savage in their forays as a result of this latest incident.
That piracy continues to lacerate fishing communities on the Corentyne Coast and all other points up to the North West is a reflection of the abject failure of the PPP/C over the last 20 years that it has been in office. Long-lived governments are always unable to escape from the stigma of why a problem that was known long ago persists so deep into their run. It is no different for the PPP/C. Piracy has been a longstanding affliction and if one were today to ask the ministers, other responsible officials and the coast guard for possible solutions their reflexive responses would not be dissimilar to those issued long ago. This is unacceptable and exposes the bankruptcy in the commitment and will of those who have been entrusted with governance.
The problems are well known. Pirates have moved into the security vacuum that exists in the maritime zone. They play hide and seek with the occasional coast guard patrols but in the main they have free rein on the seas and there are deadly consequences. Just a few weeks ago, the bodies of two fishermen who were said to have been tossed overboard by pirates washed up on these shores. There have been countless incidents over the years where fishermen have been killed and maimed. The loss of catch, equipment and valuables has been incalculable over the years. Many fishermen have quit the occupation while the others who continue know they are taking a significant risk and that if anything went wrong there is little likelihood of being rescued by the authorities and securing justice.
That’s the dilemma of the fishermen and also that of the government. Under various ministers and officials a series of options have been tried but without any sustained success. Last month, when the police were criticized for inaction on piracy they issued a statement in which they contended that they had “been dealing aggressively with acts of piracy. Over the past five years the police have conducted investigations into thirty reports of piracy in Berbice, that occurred within the territory of Guyana, and which resulted in twenty-three cases being placed before the courts. In many instances fishermen living in and operating from Berbice have been implicated and charged”.
Be that as it may the fishermen are still under siege and the task is clearly beyond the means of the police as there is no maritime unit to undertake interceptions. Prosecutions on land represent just a fraction of the attacks occurring and often fail because fishermen are fearful of testifying and are often unavailable because of the nature of their work.
To protect fishermen along the entire coast of Guyana, adequate resources have to be put into the coast guard and a maritime unit for the police force. Simply put, there aren’t enough boats and men on the waters providing a blanket of protection and serving as a deterrent. None of the recent budgets presented by this government have recognized the gravity of the problem and committed more resources to it. Instead money is being sunk and wasted on projects meant to benefit a handful of those with influence. The only way in which this problem can be diminished is by vastly increasing the resources invested in protecting fishermen.
This has to be accompanied by an effective communication system for fishers on the seas that would allow them to be in touch with the authorities at a moment’s notice. Global Positioning Systems are in place on some boats but if there are no law enforcers available to sail to the rescue of besieged fishermen they would be a waste of time.
On top of this, prosecution of piracy suspects has to be rigorous and this is where the police force has a greater role to play. Stiff penalties are already in place for piracy but transferring the facts at sea into evidence in court and securing witnesses to testify is a difficult challenge. It will be made easier if the fishermen feel that their protection both at sea and on land has been improved. The legend of notorious pirate Kevin `Long Hair’ Narine who escaped from jail in New Amsterdam several years ago and was later apprehended in Suriname and the brutality meted out to hapless fishermen at sea have made the fishers uneasy about lodging complaints and testifying in court.
Given last week’s incident, the government, the coast guard and the police have an uphill task ahead to assure fishermen along the entire coast that they have a viable solution to the problem.
