MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee, on Wednesday, made public the 2010 report on the national drug fight.
The booklet, released at the Police Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary, Georgetown, said it is Guyana’s first effort at reporting, publicly, on the efforts of the State and its law enforcement agencies on fighting the trade, cooperating with its bilateral partners and collaborating with the multilateral institutions to address this global problem. Rohee said the information contained in the publication is authoritative and can be authenticated by the very agencies which worked hard to put it together.
“It is a manifestation of the collaboration and coordination sustained over the years since the establishment, in 2007, of the Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons,” he disclosed.
Rohee said Guyana must show its readiness to cooperate and collaborate, as to do otherwise could be damaging to its national security interests.
“We have made the point, time and again, that we cannot fight this fight alone. We could be more successful were we to receive the kind of support we are looking for. We have made it clear, both at the appropriate bilateral and multilateral fora, what is the nature of the support we are looking for. And what do we receive in return? Talk and more talk, lectures and more lectures, instructions and more instructions, as if talk and lectures will help us,” he declared.
He continued: “And who do we receive these lectures from? Those who are the biggest drug consumers in the world. More than half of the drugs produced go to the capitals of these countries. If they want us to stop the flow of drugs to their countries, then they must provide us with the means to stop the inflow into our country. It’s the only logical thing to do. We know it’s costly, that’s why we cannot afford many things, but a larger economy with more resources at its disposal can afford to provide the assistance we need.”
Said Rohee: “We warned those countries, years ago, that if they continue to put up barriers to agriculture trade thus preventing agricultural products from entering their respective markets, it will result in the pauperisation of farmers and this, in turn, would force some farmers to resort to other forms of agriculture to survive.”
He said it is known that monitoring movements in the air, on land and at sea poses challenges to a developing economy such as ours and, in this regard, international cooperation is a ‘sine qua non’ to effectively fight the drug trade.
“We have cooperation agreements with Brazil, Suriname and Venezuela and we meet, regularly, with our partners in those countries to discuss the effectiveness of our cross border efforts as well as the efficacy of the various means used to fight the drug trade.
Secondly, we have to work, as we are doing in the multilateral organisations, to be part of the global fight against this scourge,” Rohee pointed out.
NOT PROPORTIONATE
He said Guyana is not a drug producing country, nor is it a drug consuming country, given that the amount of drugs consumed in it is not proportionate to that which enters. It is, therefore, a transit country fighting a global problem and must think globally and act locally.
“This is precisely where our challenges lie; first to stop or restrict the inflow of drugs into our country and to stop or restrict the outflow of drugs from our country,” the Minister insisted.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same forum, Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU), Mr. James Singh said Guyana must stay one step ahead in which the used of technology will complement the work of the organisation in tracking, tracing and analysing every method employed by traffickers to import and export drugs from this country.
“It is our duty to provide that level of protection to Guyanese,” he acknowledged.
Crime Chief Seelall Persaud, in his presentation, said the Police have also been engaged in efforts to reduce the thriving drug trade.
The Assistant Commissioner said, by way of eradication exercises and monitoring of all ports and airports, the Police have recovered drugs for which he gave statistics.
Also making remarks on the occasion was Coordinator the Inter-Agency Task Force on Narcotics and Illicit Weapons, Major General (ret’d) Michael Atherly. (Michel Outridge)
PULL QUOTE:
“We have made the point, time and again, that we cannot fight this fight alone. We could be more successful were we to receive the kind of support we are looking for. We have made it clear, both at the appropriate bilateral and multilateral fora, what is the nature of the support we are looking for. And what do we receive in return? Talk and more talk, lectures and more lectures, instructions and more instructions, as if talk and lectures will help us.” – Minister Rohee