…Min Ramjattan says matter under consideration, criteria must be met

FISHERMEN, operating out of Georgetown, have renewed calls for government to issue them with firearm licences, after a reported recent pirate attack off the Waini Coast in Region One (Barima-Waini).

Public Security Minister, Khemraj Ramjattan, when contacted on the issue, said though a suggestion was made for fishermen to be licensed firearm holders, there has been no new development. “I never developed it to any conclusion because they wanted helicopters to go flying when they are fishing, and we couldn’t afford that. But I am not closing off the option for them,” Minister Ramjattan told this newspaper. He explained, however, that having a good character would be an asset.

The issue of licensing fishermen to carry firearms had been discussed with the previous Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud; however, with a new Commissioner of Police in place, another round of discussion is needed, according to Minister Ramjattan.

“The previous commissioner had supported that when I had raised that at that point in time, but I don’t know if I will get the support of this commissioner in relation to that because we are doing a number of other things to ensure piracy decline rapidly,” the Public Security Minister said. The Public Security Ministry has strengthened the Marine Branch of the Guyana Police Force.

According to him, piracy has declined significantly in recent times. He dubbed Singh’s contention that many fishermen do not report cases of piracy because little is done as “outrageous.” “Every piracy incident we thoroughly investigate and we have gotten very far with them,” he posited. Nonetheless, he called on all fishermen to report any incident of piracy. “Once in the maritime waters of Guyana, they have an obligation, that is their civic duty, so that we can get the correct statistics,” he said.

Nonetheless, he assured that the Public Security Ministry will review the request for fishermen to be issued with firearm licences.

Meanwhile, at the Meadow Bank Wharf on Wednesday, 60-year-old Chrishnadat Singh, a fisherman for 45 years, said he has come into contact with pirates five times while fishing in Guyana’s waters, the most recent being on Tuesday, April 23, 2019, at around 10:30hrs. “We were just below the Waini River, in our territory, doing our routine work, when all of a sudden we see a small vessel. They (the pirates) came and pelt shots at us. We could have died but because of the boat up and down, the gunmen didn’t have a balance level,” Singh told Guyana Chronicle.

According to Singh, the six pirates– four of whom had guns and spoke Spanish– ordered him and the six other fishermen to the front of the fishing vessel. “We went in front and they came over with small pieces of rope and tied us up. And when they finish tying us up, the gunmen came on board and they took every single thing – the glue, the catch, the utensils on board the vessel, the equipment, everything,” the 60-year-old recalled. The pirates, after taking all of the fishermen valuables, reportedly made good their escape. The matter was reported to the Maritime Administration.

At the time of the attack, the fishermen had been out at sea for approximately 10 days, and had already caught more than a million dollars in fish products, according to Singh. He said the equipment and other materials stolen amounted to another million dollars.
“We had to stop and beg for food while coming down south, because the pirates took every single thing we had, so the other fishermen had to give us food,” Singh said.

He said while this recent incident was reported to the Maritime Administration, fishermen are often reluctant to report pirate attacks.

“It is simple, that our Government gives us one gun each on some of the vessels, not all of the vessels, and we could protect ourselves. Not a single-shooter gun, but a pump action (gun). You see, we could keep them off, we don’t want to kill anybody but while they pelt a shot not to kill anyone of us, we could pelt a shot to keep them off also,” Singh proposed. He said once the fishermen have guns, once a team is under attack by pirates, others in close proximity would be able to come to their rescue. He said a system could be put in place to monitor the use of the weapons. Singh told this newspaper that he never applied for a gun licence but was told by other fishermen that their applications were refused.