7 Guyanese arrested in Suriname -wounded survivor surfaces; had walked five days in swamp

May 04, 2018 News

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As both Guyana and Suriname continue to come to grips with two of the worst cases of pirate attacks on fishermen in the span of six days, the hopes of families have lifted with one survivor who has surfaced yesterday.
According to reports in neighbouring Suriname yesterday, the fisherman, whose only name was given as “Sherwyn” walked through swamp for five days. The man was picked up sometime Wednesday evening by a boat, badly shaken and wounded. He was transported to a Suriname hospital in a critical condition.

This is now the fifth survivor of the gruesome attacks on several Surinamese fishing boats that occurred Friday night. He reportedly said that the pirates came with one intention – to kill.
He walked through the swamp for five days, looking for help. He would have arrived at Braamspunt around 10:00 yesterday morning.
‘Sherwyn’ is said to be one of 19 Guyanese and one Surinamese who were chopped, beaten and thrown overboard about 40 miles from Paramaribo last Friday night. A number of the men had batteries tied to their legs during the murderous rampage on four fishing boats.
Men were shot at, and beaten with pieces of wood while in the water.

The announcement of the one survivor would also come amidst news that at least seven fishermen, said to be Guyanese, were arrested in Suriname.
In Guyana there was one arrest in Berbice (See separate story –‘Brother of recently gunned down man arrested in Guyana’).
With regards to the search, Suriname news reported that several bodies have been spotted, but high tides have made recovery efforts difficult.
Three bodies have been brought to shore and while it is initially suspected that one is the remains of 27-year-old Dinesh ‘Vicky’ Persaud, one of the missing fishermen, family members confirmed from Suriname yesterday that they have not identified

the body as yet. This should be done today. The three bodies showed clear signs of serious injuries.
Earlier on Wednesday evening, fishermen and a few family members gathered at the mooring dock at the Anton Dragtenweg where one of unmanned boats had been towed to. In the boat the fishermen lit incense in honour of their colleagues.
The three bodies have been seized by the judiciary, it is being reported.
The investigation is being continued by the Capital Crimes department. A second Coast Guard boat sailed out on Wednesday evening to search for the other thirteen missing persons.
Suriname is expected to hold a walk to mourn the situation.

Suriname news reported that attacks are as a result of an old feud between fishermen. It is known, but fishermen refuse to speak about this in public. To the newspaper, it has to do with ‘rights’ that fishermen would have to fish in certain areas.

On 28 February, captain Mark Skeete became the first fatal victim of the dispute, according to insiders. Near the mouth of the Marowijne River, he was shot by robbers.
A price was placed on the heads of the people who would have been behind Skeete’s murder. At the beginning of April, the police reported that there was a drive-by shooting on 30 March, the forty-year-old entrepreneur Somnath Manohar died. He was sitting with employees and family at his home at Munder. An employee

was also hit.

Manohar appears to be a fisherman and according to insiders, Suriname news reported yesterday, he would be the brain behind the murder of Skeete, along with another man who was murdered in Guyana.
Suriname authorities are convinced that the attacks are more than piracy.

The way in which the attackers have gone to work is a strong indication that they were committed to murder rather than robbery. The director stated that the perpetrators could only be caught on the basis of international cooperation, particularly with Guyana.
Several Guyanese families have journeyed to Suriname in hopes of having

news of their loved ones.
Yesterday, Guyana’s ambassador to Suriname, Keith George said that he was in contact with at least six families. He would have also visited families camping out at a Paramaribo wharf awaiting word.
The ambassador said he is keeping authorities in Guyana posted on the situation.

What is compounding the situation is the identification of the missing. Many of the

fishermen have no records and or even passports. They have call names. So authorities have the double trouble of determining whether the missing men are Guyanese or from Suriname. This would also lead to problems of alerting family members, George said.
Among those missing are Bharrat Heralall, Gavin Outar, Ralph ‘Burnham’ Couchman, Dinesh ‘Vicky’ Persaud, Joshua Glenroy Jones, Tilaknauth Mohabir, Rajkumar Bissessar, Ramesh Sancharra and Ganesh Beharry.

 

 

 

 

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