Caribbean needs real crime solutions
- President advocates better equipped security forces, strong legislative support
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said Thursday that the Caribbean needs real crime solutions, including better equipped security forces and strong legislative support.

We need to . . . get our hands dirty in giving our law enforcement agencies the arsenals to fight the criminals, the Guyanese Head told the Miami Herald on the eve of a special heads of government summit of the Caribbean Community in Trinidad and Tobago.

The two-day Summit, which ended yesterday, was convened in the face of increased arms and drug-trafficking, a rash of kidnappings in Trinidad and Haiti, and an upsurge in homicides in Jamaica, the Bahamas as well as here in Guyana.

We need to toughen penalties; we need very, very practical things, the President said, adding that by this he meant, inter alia, carrying out a survey of the legislation landscape across the region to come up with real solutions that all the countries can use.

Noting that concerns over privacy issues and political backlash were the main reasons why several Caribbean governments have not introduced wire-tapping legislation, President Jagdeo said:

If we have region-wide support . . . it might be easier to get it through the political processes of some countries, that they don't see it as imposition or a privacy issue at the national level, but a regional tool to fight criminals.

Earlier this year, Guyana made international headlines after gunmen killed 23 people in two separate massacres that were weeks apart. Among those killed: five children in the Guyanese community of Lusignan and three policemen in the second incident.

We have to get this gang at all cost; whatever it takes, President Jagdeo said, adding that while life appears to be returning to normal, there are still people who remain fearful. 'There is still some element of fear because these acts were designed to create fear, he reportedly told the Miami Herald.

Last year, a joint World Bank and United Nations study found that the sun-splashed region had one of the world's highest murder rates, The Miami Herald noted. According to that study, the overall murder rate for 2002, the last year for which worldwide comparisons were available, was 30 per 100,000 persons, compared with 26 in Latin America and seven in the United States.

Recognising they have a problem threatening their laid-back, idyllic living, the Florida-based newspaper said, some Caribbean nations have sought to tackle the problem by recruiting retired Scotland Yard police officers and spending thousands of dollars on consultants from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Criminal threats to region's progress
By Rickey Singh
STRONG WARNINGS OF the dire threats criminals pose to the economies of the Caribbean Community came from two Prime Ministers as CARICOM leaders settled down yesterday (Sat) morning to assess the challenges they face in dealing with regional crime and security.

The warnings came from both host Prime Minister of the 'crime and security summit' at the Trinidad Hilton, Patrick Manning, and, earlier, CARICOM's current chairman and Prime Minister of The Bahamas, Hubert Ingraham.

Manning, who holds lead responsibility for crime and security issues in CARICOM, told a brief public session of this 13th special meeting of Heads of Government that the region's vital tourism industry--a major source of foreign exchange earnings and employment--was particularly vulnerable to cross- border criminal networks.

Ingraham, whose country's economy is one of those in CARICOM heavily reliant on the tourism sector, called for forging of 'special alliances" for the region to effectively address issues such as criminal deportees and trafficking in drugs, arms and humans.

Reports from both the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank have already pointed to the adverse effects violent criminality was having on regional economies and stressed the importance of focused and concerted actions by Caribbean administrations.

Originally announced as a two-day summit by the Community Secretariat, the CARICOM leaders were hoping to conclude their agenda business last (Sat) night with the release of a communique outlinging decisions taken for united action.

Their summit was preceded by an informal session at Prime Minister Manning's official residentc on Friday that followed the conclusion of meetings by CARICOM's Council of Ministers responsible for Security and Law Enforcement.

Prime Minister Manning said that the challenge they collectively face was to find a "happy medium" in efffectively utilising available resources to beat back the criminals and terrorists while advancing social and economic progress.

Army impressed with new helicopter
- second helicopter expected soon
THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) has already conducted a thorough inspection and rapid test flights of the new Bell 206 B3 Jet Ranger helicopter, which arrived here last Tuesday.

This helicopter and another, which is expected shortly from Texas, in the United States, were promised by President Bharrat Jagdeo to assist in the crime fight.

The new chopperx, according to a release from the Government Information Service (GINA), is a single-engine five-seater aircraft which lifts to an altitude of 20,000 feet, and is reputed to be the most reliable light reconnaissance aircraft of its kind in the world and more economical to operate.

Among its many other assets, GINA says, is its capacity to be airborne in less than five minutes and its ability to fly for hours, depending on wind direction and other circumstances.

The Agency quotes Army Staff Officer, Special Duties, Lieutenant Colonel Claude Fraser, who was among officials conducting inspections on the aircraft Friday at Camp Ayanganna, as saying that it is important to note that the helicopter will aid in inspection activities especially in the area of civil defence.

With this aircraft, we will be able to fly over the flooded areas and get information as quickly as possible to the relevant authorities who will be able to deal with these situations, Fraser said, adding that even though itxs main purpose is to aid in the conduct of reconnaissance missions, its five-seat capacity will also allow it to transport a few persons in emergency cases.

Itxs a good asset, and it will really help to enhance our role in this crime fight. We will be able to get intelligence to operators as quickly as possible and move into those difficult areas, the Army official said.

Others are quoted as saying that a qualified flight crew and an experienced engineer will oversee the operation of the new helicopter which is also suitable for night flight provided there is visual reference to the ground.

According to Commanding Officer, Carghill Kyte, training programmes for engineers will soon be undertaken so that they are suitably qualified to operate the aircraft. Maintenance will be at the highest level.

Kyte described the aircraft as a piece of equipment which fits directly into the crime fighting role since one of its capabilities is quick reaction to confined areas, an endeavour which was difficult with the previous helicopter.

After inspecting it and going through the flight phase we are quite pleased with the purchase and we will see what happens in the duration of the operation, the Commanding Officer said.

The new helicopter is similar to the twin engine five-seater BO105 helicopter which was temporarily donated recently to Guyana by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to support the crime fight.

Very soon, the Bell 412 twin engine 15-seater all-weather helicopter which has been with the GDF for several years will be up and running after its renovation is complete.

Culture has the power to help Guyana ‘bounce back’
- Dave Martins
“Our culture - the traditions, the behaviours, and the way of life -- that’s what keeps you going. I don’t know the answer to the dark times, but I know we have the ingredients in our culture to sustain us in those times when we may be despairing and feel afraid.” -- Dave Martins

CULTURAL icon Dave Martins is absolutely positive that it is our own Guyanese culture that will help us “bounce back” from the “dark times” brought on by the two recent atrocities which left 23 dead and sent shockwaves across the nation.

He made this buoyant observation Friday as guest speaker of the annual awards ceremony of the Tourism and Hospitality Association of Guyana (THAG), held at Le Meridien Pegasus hotel here in the city.

“Our culture -- the traditions, the behaviours, and the way of life -- that’s what keeps you going. I don’t know the answer to the dark times, but I know we have the ingredients in our culture to sustain us in those times when we may be despairing and feel afraid.

“It’s not new. We have done it over and over…We survived the Great Fire (of 1945 which destroyed the commercial heart of Georgetown and a host of architectural gems) caused widespread damage in Georgetown)…We survived the ‘Blackwatch’ (the patrolling British soldiers’ who were sent to Guyana in the post-Independence period)…We survived the riots…We survived the rigging, Oh God, rigging...We survived food shortages, no kerosene, no toilet paper…We survived the devaluation…And recently we survived the flood,” Martins quipped.

He said in each case, Guyanese gained the strength to cope through “culture.”

“Guyanese have learnt to adapt -- except from African bees; you jump in the trench from duh -- we learn to bounce back.”

It was Kit Nascimento, a member of the chairing committee of THAG, who started off what was billed to be a light evening of entertainment with a well-timed swing at the government.

“Guyana does not appear to be a safe place at this time to visit, but we are dedicated to making it so. That’s the message we need to get to the world,” Nascimento said, looking pointedly at Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Mr. Manniram Prashad, who was sitting at the head table in the company of Acting President and Prime Minister, Mr. Samuel Hinds; British High Commissioner Mr. Fraser Wheeler and his wife; tourism pioneer, Captain Gerry Gouveia; and THAG Chairwoman, Ms Renata Chuck-A-Sang.

“The wrong message is to get up and say everything is fine, nothing is wrong… If you consult with any one of us you will be told the number of tourists has significantly reduced since the violence that has beset our nation. It is a serious mistake to believe that it is going to suddenly disappear,” Nascimento said, still addressing the Minister, who had no opportunity to respond.

Noting that there have been cancellations all across the board …at resorts … at hotels … and even in business visits, which have nothing to do with tourism, Nascimento said the tourism industry is in crisis, and the sooner the government acknowledges this and takes action, the better it will be for everyone.

One way of turning things around for the industry, he suggested, is by seriously rethinking the 14% Value Added Tax (VAT) imposed upon the sector, or making special concessions as countries like Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago have done with their own industry.

“The government can help the industry by recognizing the fact that our pricing - our rates - which are rock bottom in hotels and resorts are still not competitive with South American, Central American and Caribbean rivals,” Nascimento said, adding that the product Guyana has to offer may be unique and often better, but not vastly superior and therefore the local industry is “in serious competition with surrounding destinations that can under-price us.”

And, in calling on the government to place more emphasis on marketing Guyana, he noted that while Guyana does not have the comparative resources of other Caribbean countries to spend, THAG has not seen the Guyana Tourism Authority (GTA) take up the suggestion of President Bharrat Jagdeo to use the internet as a marketing tool.

When Dave Martins took to the podium for his address, no one expected anything but a fun-filled episode. But even so, he conveyed the sober, but compelling message that Guyanese culture has the power to transcend any difficulty the country might face.

He took his audience back to 1967, when the Tradewinds became popular for ‘Honeymooning Couple’. It was his first trip back home in 11 years. His eyes welled up with tears. The times were rough. He was preparing his mind to meet people who were downcast, but despite the problems… “the political wars,” as he called them, he found Guyanese upbeat. 𠇌omplaining… rowing a li’l bit, but persevering, finding things to laugh at.”

He remembered once when there were lines “a mile long” for ‘kero’; “you couldn’t get ‘kero’ to buy.” He was playing at the Georgetown Club, and the then Forbes Burnham administration put on a fireworks spectacle on the eve of Mashramani. The song was: “You could look till yo eye ball drop out, you can’t get, yo can’t get, yo can’t get.”

As the band paused for the fireworks noise to go away, a man got up and started singing: “You can get fireworks in the sky, but you can’t get ‘kero’ to buy, you can’t get you can’t get, you can’t get.”

Dave Martins said he continues to come to Guyana every year, sometimes more than once, and every time he would come expecting gloom, he would see “these vibrant Guyanese all over the place and for years I was puzzled by that. How are these people coping?”

“I was going down to Hague (where he spent half his time here, and the other half at Vreed-en-Hoop, before migrating) in a taxi, pack up like sardine. The people were carrying on about every subject under the sun -- gossip, laughter, opinions. It was almost like a mini Bourda Market on wheels, and it suddenly hit me: The Guyanese culture was the glue that was getting Guyanese through the hard times…the power and the sweep of the culture was helping these people to cope.”

That revelation, for Martins, was like turning on a torchlight in the dark Pomeroon River.

Martins said whatever he has achieved in life and in his career, “comes from here.”

“I refined it outside, and polished it outside, and made it better outside, but it came from here. The things I do, I learnt here.”