‘Everything will not be alright if we don’t struggle for it’
--President tells gathering at Babu John 

President Bharrat Jagdeo during the wreath laying ceremony

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo, alluding to the famous Bob Marley words ‘everything will be alright’, said everything will not be alright if Guyanese do not struggle for this to be so.

The Guyanese Head of State made this declaration to a large gathering yesterday at Babu John, Port Mourant during the annual wreath-laying ceremony in memory of the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, founder of the ruling People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and former President.

This year marked eleven years since the former President died on March 6, 1997.  

Dr. Jagan was noted for using the words of the late Bob Marley that ‘everything will be alright’ before he passed away.

“Last year when we met here, we had just come off the high of hosting the Rio group meeting. It was the largest gathering of Latin American Heads of State and CARICOM (Caribbean Community) countries, and we were teeming with the decision of hosting World Cup Cricket.”

PPPC General Secretary Mr. Donald Ramotar laying a wreath at Dr. Jagan’s gravesite.

&Today, meeting here, we do so with a dark cloud hanging over our country. We have to work aggressively and in a sustained way, and spare no effort to ensure that this dark cloud is dissipated from our nation,” the President told the gathering.

He pointed out that the late leader’s life was an embodiment of struggle and he committed himself to freeing Guyana.

“He walked a difficult and dangerous path but he never swerved. He stood, he walked that path and he achieved for the people of this land. He had good times and he had bad times. The path was wide sometimes and it was narrow sometimes but he never lost faith,” Mr. Jagdeo posited.

He also noted that Guyana is now facing a tough time, but like the late leader, people should not lose faith.

“We have much more to do until we hang our hats up, until the day we can rest because the day when we can rest is the day when all of the people of this country have a decent standard of living, when they live in harmony with each other, when no child goes to bed hungry and when every child has the best quality of education and health care, and when people can live securely in their homes. Only then will the struggle end,” President Jagdeo said.

A section of the audience

The Head of State reiterated that Guyanese need to prepare themselves for the struggle too, underscoring that it makes no sense every year that they speak about democracy and how Cheddi Jagan is loved and they are not prepared to face hard times in the country when they come.

“This struggle will go on for many, many years to come. It will not end with this generation but it’s a struggle that is essential. It is a struggle that has to be waged. It is a struggle that we all must commit ourselves to because only with that struggle will the people of this land achieve their real potential.”

Turning his attention to the international arena and reminding the gathering of struggles of other nations to gain independence and to fight against inhumane systems, President Jagdeo pointed to the difference between the generations in those days and the generation currently which does not seem to have any strong ideals.

“I see people, young people waiting for the next hundred dollars coming from the States, not wanting to work. The work ethic is gone -- drinking every single day, domestic violence, beating up their women in the family and then we say we are ready for this struggle? How can we say that we will respect others, if we can’t respect ourselves,” he queried.

President Jagdeo also urged that when Guyanese gather to reminisce on Cheddi Jagan, that they should remember his ideals and share his memories, reminiscing on his works and learn from his strength and resilience.

“What is our ideal today? Where is the ideal of this generation? Every time someone threatens us, we’re prepared to cower in our homes and not prepare to respond. We have to commit ourselves. This generation has to do so if this country is going to continue to achieve the progress that it deserves,” he declared.

The remembrance ceremony saw the Head of State, other Government officials and citizens laying wreaths at Dr. Jagan’s gravesite. The programme also included recital of quotes from some of Dr. Jagan’s works by school children from Region Six and a memorable song by calypso singer Sweet Kendingo.     

Man killed in gruesome road accident
- involving CBR motorcycle, truck
By Michel Outridge

Dead: Lloyd Syfox

A FATHER of two was killed yesterday afternoon when the CBR motorcycle on which he was the pillion rider, lost control on a turn at Colombia, East Coast Demerara.

Dead is Lloyd Syfox, 27, of Lot 61 Foulis Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara.

The rider of the CBR motorcycle, Doren Holder, 25, of Golden Grove, also on the East Coast Demerara, lost his right leg in the accident.

He was in an unconscious condition up to pres time last night at the Georgetown Public Hospital.

About 15:30 hrs yesterday, Syfox and Holder were part of a group who were on CBR motorcycles on their way to Berbice Mashramani celebrations when Holder lost control of the motorcycle he was riding while negotiating a turn at Colombia, some 28 miles from the city.

Mother of the deceased, Carol Cox, being consoled by a relative yesterday outside the Mahaica Police Station

Eyewitnesses claimed that the speeding CBR motorcycle slammed into a truck, GGG 6367, which was heading in the opposite direction at a moderate speed.
They added that the CBR careened into the side of the truck, in the process severing the head of Syfox - the pillion rider.
Syfox’s body parts including his teeth, tongue, brain matter and even bones were scattered on the roadway.

Holder was flung from the motorcycle and dragged several feet away. In the process, he lost his right leg which was left lying on the middle of the road.

A long trail of thick blood was evident yesterday after the horrific accident attracted a large group of residents who were too shocked to even explain what happened.

The ill-fated truck. The mangled CBR motorcycle

The mangled CBR motorcycle was later lifted by a group of men into the ill-fated truck and taken to the Mahaica Police Station where family members, including Syfox’s grief-stricken mother, Carol Cox, had showed up after receiving the tragic news of the accident.

Cox told the Guyana Chronicle that she saw her son a short time before he left home and asked him where he was going. The grief-stricken woman said Syfox told her he would return home shortly.

Friends of Syfox after receiving the news of his demise yesterday

“He said that he going to Berbice for the Mash with friends and they borrowed the CBR from a friend and went with other friends also on CBRs and I warned him not to go because he did not have a motorcycle licence,” she cried.

A group of relatives and friends who said that Syfox left a few hours and promised to return to a cook-out, wept openly when ranks told them that he was dead.

His cellular phone was then handed over to his mother who broke down into loud wails as she displayed her son’s photograph.

His best friend of school days, Horace Brown, was inconsolable and had to be assisted to sit as he cried uncontrollably.

“I saw him before he left and I asked him to stay with us for the cook-out and look how he died,” said the weeping friend.

Eyewitnesses said when the smashup occurred, the group of friends on CBRs rode away from the scene and left Syfox and Holder behind.

U.S. State Department Report says -
Govt, law enforcement agencies have improved efforts in drug fight
“There are no reliable estimates regarding the amount of cocaine and cannabis that transits Guyana…”
THE United States (U.S.) Department of State, International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, released last Friday, has clearly stated that the Government of Guyana and the law enforcement agencies made some improvement in 2007 to tackle the illicit drug trade.

The report outlined government’s interventions in the fight which included the launching of the Machine Readable Passports, the Government of Guyana/United Kingdom security plan and the tabling of the Anti-Money Laundering legislation.

The report stated, “In 2007, the Government of Guyana signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Great Britain to implement a $5 million, multi-year programme for reform of the security sector, which includes enhancing the investigative capacity of law enforcement agencies.

The GOG requested and received $500,000 in U.S. Department of Defence funds to refurbish its only seaworthy Coast Guard vessel…Guyana commenced issuance of machine-readable passports, in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s (ICAO) standards, which will help thwart the use of identity fraud and cross-border criminal activities.”

In July last year, government launched the Machine Readable Passport system to protect against multiple issuance of the travel document. This system has further strengthened strategic alliances against illegal immigration and smuggling, improve management of the nation’s borders and ports of entry and also assist in the fight against terrorism, immigrant smuggling and trafficking in persons.

The report noted that while Guyana is seen as a transit point for cocaine, the quantities are not sufficient to impact the US market.

The report noted that improved counter narcotics measures at the working level led to more domestic seizures in 2007.

&2007 saw modest improvements in enforcement at the working level. In 2007, Guyanese law enforcement agencies seized 167 kilogrammes (kgs) of cocaine, a nearly three-fold increase over the amount seized in 2006.”

The report pointed out that in May, the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) seized 106 kgs of cocaine hidden in dried fish glue at a home near Georgetown, and arrested four men in connection with the operation. One of the individuals was sentenced in November to 10 years in prison and fined $1.2 million.

It noted, too, that in July, police arrested Terrence Sugrim, an accused drug trafficker who had been indicted in a New York federal court.

With respect to the amount of narcotics leaving Guyana, the report stated, “There are no reliable estimates regarding the amount of cocaine and cannabis that transits Guyana.”

It pointed to the work of the law enforcement agencies when it stated that several drug mules were arrested.

The report went on to say that, “there was a surge in law enforcement seizures at the airport of suitcases carrying drugs that had been added to the baggage queue after check-in, and tagged in the names of unsuspecting passengers. Police officials also witnessed a notable upward trend in the use of the Guyana Post Office as an avenue for the trafficking of cocaine in small quantities, further demonstrating the malleable tactics of trafficking organisations.”

Government has been working to implement several aspects of its National Drug Strategy Master Plan (NDSMP) which is scheduled for review this month. 

The administration launched the plan to foster institutional, participatory and democratic approaches towards the achievement of a crime-free and healthy society, founded on the principles of social justice, rule of law and respect for authority. 

The report stated, “The government has tabled legislation that would augment the tools currently available to it in fighting money laundering, including regulations to allow for the seizure of assets.”

This administration has demonstrated zero-tolerance towards drug trafficking and money laundering and against this backdrop several interventions have been made over the years.

In June 2007, government’s Anti-Money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Bill 2007 was sent to a Special Select Parliamentary Committee for recommendations for the necessary adjustments.

The new legislation proposes to help with tracking money transfers, activities of commercial banks and other financial institutions, illicit trafficking of firearms, extortion, corruption, bribery, fraud, counterfeiting, and forgery.

Under the proposed legislation, the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) will have the power to freeze, seize and eventually forfeit all proceeds of all serious offences identified and traced. The unit will also provide for comprehensive powers for the prosecution of money laundering and terrorist financing and other financial crimes.

Only recently, the Government of Guyana and the local law enforcement agencies were praised by United States Ambassador to Guyana, Mr. David Robinson, for the efforts being made to tackle drug trafficking. 

As part of its commitment to arrest drug trafficking, government has signed on to several international conventions including the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1988 UN Drug Convention. 

In relation to corruption, the report like previous ones stated, “there is no evidence that the GOG or senior GOG officials encourage or facilitate the illicit production, processing, shipment or distribution of narcotic or psychotropic drugs or other controlled substances, or the laundering of proceeds from illegal drug transactions.”