Slain fishermen remembered
- President proclaims National Day of Mourning, coincides with UN Day of Seafarers
- National Assembly observes a moment of silence
DPI, GUYANA, Monday, June 25, 2018
A moment of silence was observed at the eighty-ninth sitting of the National Assembly, in solidarity for the victims of the deadly piracy attacks which took place in late April in Surinamese waters.
Minister of Public Security, Khemraj Ramjattan today in the National Assembly said the National Day of Mourning for the slain fishermen, coincides with the United Nations Day of Seafarers.
He said the proclamation by President David Granger is a solemn memorial to the fishermen who lost their lives in a dreadful manner.
The names of those murdered and the 16 missing and feared dead were stated for the record.
President David Granger issued a proclamation that Monday, June 25 will be observed as a National Day of Mourning for the fishermen who lost their lives in the dreaded attacks.
The Golden Arrowhead is being flown at half-staff to show solidarity with the families of those killed in the gruesome acts and to pay due respect to the memory of the victims and their grieving families.
During the incident, five boats with approximately 20 crew members were attacked. Nine persons survived the brutal ordeal, four bodies were recovered, while twelve remain missing and are feared dead.
The Romeina captained by Deonarine Goberdan is believed to have been the 1st boat attacked sometime around 18:30 hours. Goberdan a father of 17 children, said he drifted for 22 hours some eight miles away from shore. He barely remained afloat until reaching land and notifying police.
The bodies of two crew members washed ashore and were identified as Tillacknauth Mohabir called and Mahesh Sarjoo. Those of Bharrat Heeralall and another identified only as “Palam” are still missing.
The Romeina is still missing and is believed to have been stolen by the pirates.
The Joshua owned by Rosey Jones was found submerged in water. It is believed that it was sunk by the pirates after their attack. The captain “Aki Bai” was the lone survivor and has since gone into hiding purportedly fearing for his life.
His crew members were Lalta Persaud, a father of four who had migrated to Suriname over 18 years ago. The others on board were nicknamed “Spanish Man”, “Bandara” and “Mukesh”.
The name of the third boat has not been confirmed. On board were Ramesh Sanchara, Ramnarine Singh, Looknarine Persaud, Rajendra Bissessar and the Captain – Dharmendrew Persaud, who was also one of the survivors.
The last boat believed to be attacked sometime after 1am on Saturday, May 5 was the Shifanie, owned by Hemnlall Ramsarran.
Danesh Persaud of Sheet Anchor, East Canje was the captain. His crew members were Ralph Anthony Couchman, Glendroy Jones, Gowkaran Outar, whose body was found washed up at the Number63 Beach, and survivor Sherwin Lovell.
The government, through aerial monitoring along with the GDF’s constant presence in Guyana’s waters, eliminated piracy which had reached epidemic proportions prior to 2015.
By: Stacy Carmichael.