Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has stated clearly that if the Surinamese authorities continue to harass Guyanese fishermen, the government will have to do the same to Surinamese businesses operating in Guyana.
It has been months since Guyanese fisherfolk were to receive fishing licences from the Surinamese government - a commitment made by President Chandrikapersaud Santookhi to President Irfaan Ali.
While engaging with fisherfolk on the East Coast of Demerara on Monday, Jagdeo admitted that one year of negotiating with the Surinamese authorities has not proven fruitful.
The government recently condemned the harassment of Guyanese fisherfolk and called on the authorities to honour their commitment. The licences were to be granted to fisherfolk by January 1, 2022, but none have been issued.
“We’ve been negotiating with these people, and it’s notoriously hard to negotiate with Suriname. They believe they must continue ripping off Guyanese fishermen. […] It’s a corruption; they get their licences themselves, and then they would sell their licences to people on our side to fish,” the Vice President explained.
According to Jagdeo, the government will be writing to CARICOM to make known its position that Surinamese businesses will be receiving the same treatment from Guyana.
He explained that many Surinamese-owned businesses operate in Guyana without any interference from the State.
“If you can’t treat our fishermen well, then you must expect the same treatment for businesses that operate here. If you are going touse bureaucracy and restrictions and regulations to not have them fish in your waters, you gotta face the same thing here when the Surinamese businessmen come here too.”
“We’re making it very clear to CARICOM that this is our position because negotiating with Suriname is impossible. You can’t trust a single word that they say, not a single word,” the Vice President added.
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