Pirates step up activities as….Guyana, Suriname shelve joint patrols on Corentyne River

Jul 27, 2014 News

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The plan for the military of Guyana and Suriname to jointly patrol the Corentyne River appears to have been shelved. The result is that and pirates are having a field day with the lives of Guyanese fishermen.
Recent reports are pointing to another pirate attack on Guyanese crew and there are indications that again there might be fatalities.
“The joint patrols, unfortunately that arrangement has not kicked in. So indeed all that is happening is Surinamese military navy doing the patrols,” Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Secretary to the Defence Board Dr. Roger Luncheon told members of the media last week.
From all indications, the pirates appear to be operating out of Guyana, attacking their countrymen on the river and then fleeing back to this side of the border where they feel they would escape the law, given the limitations of the local law enforcement agencies.
Just last week Suriname criticized Guyana for its fight against piracy, saying that more needs to be done by this country.
According to De Ware Tijd online news, enough has not been done by Guyana over the past year, yet there are criticisms about piracy in Suriname waters.
According to Head of the National Guard, Lt. Col. Jerry Slijngard, speaking on one of the latest cases, where four fishermen from Guyana disappeared, it is likely that they were fishing illegally in Suriname.
“Pirates come from Guyana and are deliberately targeting their countrymen who illegally fish in Suriname, knowing that they cannot turn for help to the Surinamese authorities.”
In response Dr Luncheon said that it is difficult for the law enforcement agencies on both sides to identify who is who in terms of nationality.
“In the Surinamese penal institutions, there are Surinamese who have been charged and convicted for piracy. And you know where they are pirating? Right in the Corentyne River! I’m not absolving Guyanese criminal, miscreants of being involved in piracy, but the reason why the presidential engagement captured the interest of both Suriname and Guyana is because, we always say when you point your finger, a whole heap of fingers pointing back,” Dr. Luncheon said.
But the Surinamese military officer believes that Guyana should follow his country in introducing GPS tracking systems to help protect fishermen while they are working at sea.
Lt. Colonel Slijngard stressed that the current cooperation between the police forces of the two countries is insufficient to successfully combat the problem and bring changes.
“There must be cooperation, including exchange of information in order to intervene in time. But at all levels, also politically and between the Coast Guard (there) should be more collaboration…”
Dr Roger Luncheon admitted that at present, the only protection fishermen have is an augmented Surinamese presence in the Corentyne River, which separates Guyana and Suriname.
“But the intention of what we spoke of, this is the presidential engagement between (former) President Jagdeo and President Bouterse was indeed to see the Coast Guard and the Surinamese navy, together and jointly, patrol it,” Dr. Luncheon stated.
Last September, former Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force Rear Admiral Gary Best, upon returning from meetings with his Surinamese counterpart in Suriname, had announced that the two countries have agreed to jointly patrol the border Corentyne River to clamp down on illegal activities.
According to Best, the joint patrols by the GDF Coast Guard and the Suriname Navy were to have begun in April this year.
Rear Admiral Best had said that he specifically engaged the Suriname nationals on discussions of trans-border crime and how the military could work with law enforcement agencies.
“We discussed specifically joint operations in support of the police forces of the nations and joint operations in the Corentyne River.”
Best acknowledged at the time, the need for technical teams, and the Attorneys General of the neighbouring South American countries to discuss who would have the right of arrest because the Corentyne River is Suriname’s territory.
“The issue of jurisdiction obviously has to be dealt with and that will be dealt with at the highest level,” he said.
Best, himself a trained lawyer and a long serving Coast Guard officer, pointed out that Guyanese and Surinamese caught on the river could be taken to their respective countries for prosecution.
“What we are attempting to do is to work within the river and avoid the issue of any conflict over the rights of the river. It’s really to do with law enforcement,” Best added.
The former GDF Chief of Staff said that fishermen would have to be educated about maritime jurisdiction. Rights of innocent passage, fishing, commerce and economics would not be affected.

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