No delay in going to Suriname in light of the pirate attack – Police Commissioner (ag), David Ramnarine

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DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Commissioner of Police (ag), David Ramnarine said a absence of information prevented an earlier visit to Suriname by officials of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and government in light of the piracy attack which happened off the coast of Suriname.

“It occurred and even in Suriname, the authorities had no information immediately. It took a matter of days before they had a better understanding as to the extent of what had transpired. Notwithstanding, the fact that the four victims had turned up at different times at the New Amsterdam Police station to report. From a policing perspective, having been in contact with our counterparts in Suriname I felt too that the weekend visit was the opportune moment for us to go,” Ramnarine said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan explained that his visit to the neighbouring country, along with senior security officials, yielded fruitful information regarding the incident.

“The very first morning of our arrival I met with about 25 relatives of the victims and we had a meeting at the Guyana Embassy in Paramaribo, myself along with Ambassador George. A number of issues were raised and the ways in which we could assist were also discussed.” Minister Ramjattan added, “we then had a meeting on Monday morning with the Minister of Justice, Minister of Defence, Minister of Agriculture, the Police Commissioner and the chief detective who was the person in charge of the investigations. From that meeting, we received a better understanding as to how far the investigations had gone.”

The piracy attack which took place off the Atlantic Coast of Suriname on April 27, left sixteen (16) fishermen missing and feared dead. According to survivors, they were assaulted with machetes and forced to jump into the sea by the assailants who are suspected to be of Guyanese heritage. Some of the survivors also recounted that several victims had batteries tied to their legs.

Three bodies of the sixteen (16) missing fishermen were salvaged Wednesday last by the Coast Guard and members of the maritime police. Thirty persons have been arrested, thus far, of which 12 are still in detention. Among them are two prime suspects.

 

By: Kidackie Amsterdam