2004-09-nieuwsbronnen-engels

21 september 2004

Suriname links weapons find to Guyana

Surinamese authorities are looking across the border as the leads for a recent arms find point here.

Dino Bouterse, son of opposition party leader, Desi Bouterse, has been picked up by the police, who believe that the weapons were possibly smuggled from Guyana. Surinamese newspaper de Ware Tijd quotes a reliable police source as saying that two of the people held in connection with the find have close ties to Guyana and a Guyanese criminal organisation.

Police confiscated a large cache of heavy artillery and a quantity of cocaine in a body-repair shop at Dijkveld nearly two weeks ago. At other locations they also found more weapons and about 20 vehicles which they think may have been smuggled into the country. The proprietress of the shop, her husband and some workers were then arrested as well as a police officer. Bouterse was held last week on the bases of the contents of statements of those who were taken into custody.

Two more police officers were arrested at the start of this week taking the number of people held to 14. de Ware Tijd said that there are many theories about the arms find, but quotes a reliable police source as saying one of the leads they are pursuing points to a criminal organisation based here and two people in custody have close ties to it. This is not the first reference to a local criminal organisation. United States court documents also chronicle the activities of a locally-based criminal organisation which is said to be responsible for large-scale cocaine trafficking to the states.

Although investigations there have led to arrests of several people no one has been held here. But the US government recently sought the extradition of three men, all of whom are now missing.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard will be "increasingly" boarding vessels flying the flags of countries "that have not implemented basic antiterrorist security measures."

Those countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malta, the Netherlands, Panama, Russia, Singapore, and Thailand.

Targeting vessels from those countries for enhanced scrutiny "helps the Coast Guard focus its attention on vessels that present a higher risk, and is one element of a larger matrix that helps Coast Guard field commanders consistently target vessels for boardings," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins.

The agency will be looking for a number of indicators to determine if a ship should be targeted for increased scrutiny including the individual vessel's record of ownership and registry, the ship's agency or management company, and the security standards in place at its last five ports of call. Vessels will also be targeted for boardings based on intelligence information, or on a random basis. The ship list will be updated on a monthly basis until the first annual report is issued next April at which point countries will be targeted for an entire year, Collins said. "Approximately 200 vessels call on US ports every day," said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thomas Collins.

"We must focus our resources on those ships that present the greatest risk," he said. "The past compliance of vessels from these countries shows us that they haven't implemented basic security measures, increasing the security risk posed to our ports when they arrive here."

From July 1 - when the new international security standards came into force - through July 31, the Coast Guard detained, denied entry to or took other actions against 59 vessels, the Department of Homeland Security - the USCG's parent agency - said in a July compliance report. The International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code requires ships and ports to implement basic security procedures such as identification checks and restricted access to cargo terminals and other secure areas.

The Coast Guard also said it will be increasingly boarding vessels coming from ports in the 17 countries that have failed to report compliance with the ISPS to the International Maritime Organization or to it - Albania, Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kiribati, Lebanon, Liberia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nauru, Nigeria, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, and Suriname.

The USCG says that vessels calling on ports in those countries take several steps to protect themselves, "which the Coast Guard will take into consideration when making decisions about boardings and other port state control actions." Those steps, the agency said, include setting a higher security condition "in keeping with their vessel security plans;" executing a declaration of security that details specific security arrangements between the vessel and the port facility; and logging their actions and reporting those actions to the Coast Guard Captain of the Port (COTP) prior to arrival in the US.

The same bulletin also recommended that US-bound ships take security precautions before calling on ports in these countries to avoid extra Coast Guard scrutiny.

ROTTERDAM, the Netherlands

People here were puzzled last July when the government suddenly declared a security alert but offered no explanation. Answers are now forthcoming, albeit incomplete. In recent days, officials have disclosed that during the past two months that they have arrested at least five men suspected of planning terrorist attacks, and that some of them had maps and floor plans of potential targets.

The targets, they said, included the country's only nuclear power plant, Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, the Parliament, the Defense Ministry and other public buildings at The Hague, the seat of the government. "We have no concrete proof of attack plans on those buildings," said one Justice Ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "But we're not taking a wait-and-see attitude. We have to take these signs seriously."

The arrests have followed repeated warnings from the country's internal security agency, saying that activities of militant Islamic groups have increased and the Netherlands may face a more serious threat from terrorists than previously thought. So far there have been no terrorist attacks on Dutch soil. But one intelligence official said that young militants from several nations have used the country as a convenient base, and have tried to recruit local activists. There was growing evidence, he said, that some Islamic fighters were planning to strike at the Netherlands.

The national security alert declared on July 9 followed the arrest of an 18-year-old Moroccan identified only as Samir, the police said. In his apartment in Rotterdam, the police said they found floor plans of a series of public buildings. They also said they found chemicals, including fertilizer ingredients sometimes used to make bombs. Samir had first been arrested last year, on suspicion that he and four others were preparing a bomb attack, but he was released soon after for lack of evidence.

Four other suspected Islamic militants were detained on July 30. The prosecutor's office that handles terrorist issues declined to provide names, but a spokesman said they were citizens of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Suriname and the Netherlands. After their arrest, the police raided three houses in Rotterdam and reportedly found small weapons, ammunition, a bulletproof vest and Islamic videotapes. One tape showed interviews with Muslim fighters prepared to carry out suicide attacks, the police said.

Later, four Saudi Arabian men were arrested in the Netherlands on suspicion that they were preparing an attack in Britain. "What we see in the Netherlands is not one single organization but different, separate groups," said a Justice Ministry official. He said more than 150 suspected militants were currently under surveillance. The belief that the country might be attacked or used as a base by terrorists has prompted the government to issue new rules and propose legislation to expand the powers of the police and prosecutors. Those measures would make it easier to order wiretaps, hold suspects longer, block roads or cancel train or air travel. The government has announced that it is setting up a new antiterrorism center to coordinate intelligence and security issues.

Last month it became a criminal offense to recruit jihads, or holy war fighters. However, preachers in Dutch mosques who have been known to call for holy war are not in violation of the law.

FBI offers police survival tips

Commissioner of Police, Winston Felix shakes hands Supervisory Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Donald Sheehan. US Ambassador to Guyana Roland Bullen looks on. (A Ken Moore photo) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has begun a four-day training course on street survival for ranks of the Guyana Police Force.

Two officers from Trinidad and Tobago and an equal number from Suriname are expected to participate in the course which is being funded by the Department of State's Bureau of Inter-national Narcotics and Law Enforcement. The course is another in a series of training programmes supported by the US government. There has already been a course in Basic Crime Scene Investigation which concluded recently, while another one in Intelligence Analysis is currently going on in Suriname.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the course, Commissioner of Police Winston Felix said the programme was implemented after the force recognised the need. Participants in the street survival course which got underway yesterday. The course is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. (A Ken Moore photo) Felix said the force was committed to professionalism, pointing out that only by this could it protect itself, citizens and still be able to solve crimes.

United States Ambassador to Guyana, Roland Bullen said police work was hard, noting that it is complicated, required great attention to detail and was very often dangerous. To this end he said the value of good training cannot be overestimated, nor can the value of communication and sharing with colleagues. He said there are many techniques that have been tested and proven and by sharing expertise in these methods they can help improve the quality of police work. He said by learning the techniques of investigation police are better able to solve crimes and are able to build stronger cases to obtain convictions in the courts once suspects have been apprehended.

According to Bullen, training in street survival is an essential element of good police training. "We all recognise that police work can be dangerous; criminals by their very nature do not respect the rule of law and often have little respect for life. Criminals today are increasingly better armed and do not hesitate to use violence to carry out their crimes or to prevent capture."

Referring to Guyana, Bullen observed that only recently the country had witnessed an unchecked wave of violent crimes during which police officers were themselves frequently the target of lethal violence. Twenty-four police officers have died violently since April 2002. "In such hazardous environment it is easy to respond in a similarly violent way, especially if an officer feels threatened in the performance of his/her duty."

But, he asserted that thorough training in survival procedures can reduce the officer's vulnerability in carrying out his work. "A trained officer is better able to maintain control of the situation over any given situation, and an officer in control of the situation is an officer at less risk."

Donald Sheehan, Supervisory Special Agent of FBI and co-ordinator of the course remarked that the training is geared to equip ranks to respond to any street riot or criminal violence. Sheehan noted that the course would start off by helping the ranks to be more acquainted with their physical body after which they would get into the main course. Participants will undergo training in basic tactics, how to use weapons and using buildings for cover.

Asked how their training would be applicable to the Guyana situation, Sheehan said the FBI had conducted similar courses in other countries and at all time they would use a set standard. He said it was left to the particular force to apply those principles.

"Maritime attack could come in any form"

Special to American Forces Press Service

PETERSON Air Force Base, Colo. -- Though the United States is safer today than it was three years ago from air and land attacks by terrorists, the nation has "a long way to go" to shield itself from seaborne attacks, said Air Force Gen. Ed Eberhart, commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command.

"I believe that it is just a matter of time until the terrorists try to use a seaborne attack, a maritime attack against us," Eberhart recently told a group of journalists who visited -- for the first time -- some of the most secure areas in NORAD and NORTHCOM.

Following a tour of the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center, Combined Fusion Intelligence Center and Domestic Warning Center, the 18 journalists spent 30 minutes with Eberhart in a roundtable discussion. Eberhart said a maritime attack could come in any form -- from terrorists sailing into harbor with high explosives or a weapon of mass destruction to terrorists launching an unmanned aerial vehicle or cruise missile from a distance.

Such attacks are possible, he said, because the nation's situational awareness of the sea "is not as mature, not as sophisticated, or as elegant as (its) awareness of air space." Nonetheless, the United States has come a long way in terms of securing our seas and ports since Sept. 11, 2001. In fact, the average American is not even aware of all the things that have been done to secure maritime approaches, said Eberhart.

Security efforts he mentioned include deploying law-enforcement officers to check cargo ships before they depart their ports of origin, and an increased level of collaboration and cooperation between the Joint Harbor Operations Centers in San Diego, Calif., and Norfolk, Va., which Eberhart said now serve as a prototype for other port officials.

Despite security gains, the NORAD and NORTHCOM commander cautioned against complacency. "The minute we say, 'The status quo is good,' we become predictable. The enemy is going to out flank us and sock us in the eye again." As commander of NORAD, Eberhart is ultimately responsible for protecting the nation against threats coming from inside and outside of the nation. As commander of NORTHCOM, he is responsible for homeland defense and coordinating military assistance to civilian authorities during a presidential-declared emergency or disaster situation.

Eberhart said he believes NORTHCOM, as a combatant command, will continue to evolve and acquire more forces "relevant for homeland defense and homeland security."

"I think what will shape the command is the threat and what we think constitutes the threat." One of the command's goals, he said, is to stay ahead of threats and not "just be good at mitigating" effects from both man-made and natural disasters. The mission of NORTHCOM is to deter, prevent and defeat threats and, if something does happen, to mitigate the circumstances. But Americans expect and deserve "more than mitigation," said Eberhart. "They deserve us to be out there protecting them by deterring, preventing and defeating (enemy forces)."

While Eberhart said he believes terrorists are still planning an attack on the nation that they hope will make "a big splash," he said he also thinks the threat is even greater today against targets overseas.

"I don't wish terrorist attacks to anyone overseas -- not to our friends and neighbors or even to anyone who is not our friend or neighbor. But I do believe that because of what we have done since 9/11, you have not seen a follow-up attack here, but you have seen attacks elsewhere."

In addition to improving maritime security, Eberhart told reporters, the United States must continue to protect its borders. The United States and Canada maintain a "strong relationship," he said, but ties with Mexico are not as strong even though there is a lot of cooperation between the nations in battling drug trafficking along the border. According to Eberhart, the 2001 terrorist attacks showed just how important it is for the United States, Canada and Mexico to cooperate. "My intuition tells me that someday that's going to make sense, someday that is going to be right for all three nations."

However, Eberhart said, the issue is not something the United States "could or wants to force on our neighbors." But, to not consider such an agreement "and not address it would be a mistake," he said. (Merrie Schilter-Lowe - is a member of the combined public affairs office for NORAD and NORTHCOM.)

U.S. cracks down on maritime security offenders

WASHINGTON, Anti-terrorism measures are so weak in the ports of 17 countries, including key oil exporter Nigeria, that the United States will beef up screening at its ports of ships that recently docked there, the Coast Guard said on Friday. It will also increase boardings of ships bearing the flags of 13 other countries -- including the world's largest ship register Panama -- because of two months of below average compliance with new international security standards.

About 200 ships call on the United States' 361 ports every day. Washington -- fearing a seaborne attack by militant groups such as al Qaeda -- has vowed to police strictly according to the international rules that came into force on July 1 by turning away ships that are not security-certified or delaying ones that have called at "contaminated ports." The Coast Guard said the 17 states on the first watch list had failed to report compliance with the new port security requirements, which "leads us to believe there are inadequate anti-terrorism measures in place at port facilities in these countries." Ships arriving in U.S. ports which have visited one of these countries during their last five port calls will face increased boardings and security screening, and possibly costly delays. While most of the countries on the list are fairly small on the global shipping map, OPEC member Nigeria is an important hub in the world oil trade. Nigeria is the world's seventh largest oil producer. It is the fifth largest supplier of crude oil to the United States and a major oil supplier to Western Europe.

The other countries on the list are Albania, Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati, Madagascar, the Solomon Islands, Benin, Guinea, Lebanon, Mozambique, Serbia and Montenegro, Suriname, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Nauru and Sierra Leone. The Coast Guard said ships docking in any of the 17 countries could mitigate the security screening and help avoid delays by taking steps such as tightening security precautions, logging all these actions and reporting them to U.S. officials before their arrival. The Coast Guard gave these countries until Nov. 9 to comply with the global security codes or ships docking there would continue to face increased scrutiny. It said the second watch list of 13 countries would be updated every month. Apart
from Panamanian-flagged ships, the worst offenders include vessels registered in Antigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Honduras, Hong Kong, Malta, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore and Thailand. (Sept 10 Reuters)

United States will not support $250 million in Venezuelan loan requests

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Friday ordered a partial cut in U.S. assistance to Venezuela because of its alleged role in the international trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation.

The action means the United States will not support $250 million in Venezuelan loan requests expected to come before international lending institutions during the next fiscal year, a State Department official said. If Venezuela secures sufficient support from other governments, its loan requests could be approved without U.S. backing.

Bush took the action under legislation that calls for sanctions against countries that fail to crack down on international trafficking in persons. The legislation is designed to encourage countries to take decisive action against the practice. Bush's decision was announced in a White House memorandum to Secretary of State Colin Powell. Left intact were programs designed to monitor Venezuelan elections and to support political party development, part of U.S. efforts to promote democracy worldwide.

It is official U.S. policy to carry out these activities on a nonpartisan basis, but Venezuela complained this year that the U.S. program in that country favored groups that supported the recall of President Hugo Chavez. Chavez won the Aug. 15 recall referendum by a wide margin. A State Department report issued in June on trafficking in persons worldwide was sharply critical of Venezuela. ``Venezuela is a source, transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation,'' the report said. ``Brazilian and Colombian women and girls are trafficked through Venezuela,'' it said. The report added that Venezuelans are trafficked internally for the domestic sex trade and to Western Europe, particularly Spain. ``Venezuelan sex tourism that encourages underage prostitution is a concern,'' it said.

The study cited reports that in border areas, Venezuelans are trafficked to mining camps in Guyana for sexual exploitation and abducted by leftist rebels in Colombia to be used as soldiers. In an interview Friday with the Associated Press, Secretary of State Colin Powell said it remains to be seen whether the U.S.-Venezuelan relationship can recover from deep strains during the past several years.

``We have concerns about some of the actions that President Chavez has taken over the years in pursuit of his vision of Bolivarian democracy,'' Powell said. ``We want the Venezuelan people to do well. We are friends of the Venezuelan people. And now that the election, or the referendum, is over, we will just have to see how things develop.''

GDF to train with French soldiers

Guyana Defence Force soldiers are going to Cayenne or French Guiana to train with French soldiers stationed in that country. The GDF contingent leaves this morning. They will spend two weeks participating in jungle training exercises alongside their French counterparts.

They'll be trained in patrolling, tactical river crossing, navigation, close country warfare and swimming. But the exercise will also allow the Cayenne-based French troops to be trained by GDF instructors, an army statement yesterday said. The exercise is an annual event and follows on the heels of French soldiers training with their Guyanese counterparts in Guyana. It is part of the GDF's "continuing efforts to prepare its soldiers for their role of national defence and security," the statement said. The GDF contingent is due home on September 27.

PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- Police in Suriname have arrested six people and seized a large stash of weapons, uncovering what they said was an arms-for-cocaine smuggling operation, an official said Thursday.

A large supply of machine guns, 2.2 pounds of cocaine and satellite phones were discovered Wednesday in an auto repair shop in the capital of Paramaribo, police spokesman John Jones said. The owner and manager of the shop were among those arrested. Suriname's rain forest-covered border is often used by Colombian rebels to trade cocaine for arms.

An estimated 20 short tons of cocaine is shipped through this former Dutch colony to Europe each year, according to the U.N. Drug Control Agency. (THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Chloe was just 15 when she died of an ecstasy overdose. After lying to her parents that she was spending the night with a girlfriend near her hometown of Belfeld, Chloe was instead partying in August on the synthetic drug ecstasy at a disco in the southern city of Heerlen.

Her girlfriend smuggled 10 ecstasy tabs into the Peppermill disco and they later divided them up between each other. Friends later said Chloe had used between five and 15 pills on the night she died. The Dutch Forensics Institute (NFI) later confirmed she had used between seven and 15 pills and had died of a fatal overdose. But the public prosecution in Maastricht ruled out this week any criminal proceedings, declaring it impossible to determine who gave her the drugs. The matter thus appears closed…a closed-book tragedy and another statistic.

But it should not be left there.

Chloe's death raises serious concerns about the availability of ecstasy in the Netherlands, with stepfather Raymond Barth claiming that such pills sell for EUR 0.35 to EUR 1.90 in the city of Heerlen. He was "shocked" at how easy the youth could obtain the party drug. And if you compare prices in the Netherlands with those around the world, it is immediately apparent that something is not quite right.

In Britain ecstasy pills can go for GBP 10 (EUR 14), while in the US they sell for between USD 20 and 40 (EUR 17 and 34). In Australia, tabs sold in the 1990s for AUD 50 to 70, but now sell for AUD 40 (EUR 24). Consider also that a record 30kg ecstasy bust at Schiphol Airport last week netted authorities an estimated Dutch street value of EUR 322,500 in pills. But the 107,500 pills would have fetched about EUR 3 million in Malaysia where they were allegedly headed.

It is thus immediately evident that teenagers outside of the Netherlands could not afford to buy 15 pills. But here in the ecstasy capital of the world, the situation is very different. It is an established fact that the Netherlands is one of the world's leading producers of ecstasy and a February-released report from the UN International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) was highly critical of the Dutch role in the ecstasy trade.

The Netherlands is a major exporter of the drug to Britain, Ireland and Spain and the INCB also said ecstasy was being used extensively in the US and parts of Asia and that the former Dutch colonies, the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and Suriname, were the most important transit countries. The US has also recently criticised the Dutch fight against ecstasy, calling on the Netherlands to get tougher in its campaign to crackdown on the party drug. Dutch MPs and the Public Prosecution Office rejected the criticism. But with manufacturers able to produce an ecstasy pill for under 10 euro cents, it is highly unlikely that a short-term end will be made to the lucrative illegal trade.

The fight against ecstasy continues, but combined with the cheap availability of the drug, inexperience appears to have played a large role in Chloe's death. A prevention worker with the CAD addiction healthcare unit in Limburg, Sjaak van Hoof, said health workers do not often come across cases in which such a large number of pills have been used. Other health experts have claimed that Chloe's large usage was "unusual and irresponsible", suggesting that she took so many pills due to inexperience, naivety and impatience (due in part to the fact that pills usually take 30 to 45 minutes to start working). Youthful competitiveness might also have played a role. The euphoric effects of ecstasy usually climax after an hour and the drug is usually processed through the system after three to six hours.

But a drugs prevention worker and a member of the drug testing service of health authority GGD, John Deckers, said swallowing so many pills would have taken away the good feeling of the drug and left an intensified "speed" effect, newspaper Dagblad de Limburger has reported.

Despite the mass production of the drug and Chloe's headline-grabbing death, the statistics of ecstasy use do not give cause for alarm. The number of reported medical problems at dance parties — especially incidents involving the use of ecstasy and speed — strongly declined in the past five years.

The Trimbos Institute — which is active in the area of mental health and addiction — attributed the reduced number of incidents to the increased professionalism of dance party organisers, a greater conscious use of drugs and the use of specialised health workers. Drug users also appear to be seeking more information. The Drugs Info Line website run by the Trimbos Institute recorded about a one-third increase in the number of visits in 2001 compared with the year before and the telephone line was also used more frequently. The majority of questions focused on cannabis, followed by ecstasy and cocaine.

The Netherlands Drug Monitor also says that while drug use among the general population increased between 1997 and 2002, drug use among the youth remained stable. Ecstasy remains popular among the nation's youth. Figures also showed that the amount of people above the age of 12 who have used ecstasy has increased from 1.9 to 2.9 percent for men between 1997 and 2002, while women showed a 2.7 to 3.7 percent increase over the same period.

And compared with most other EU member states, Dutch ecstasy use is relatively high, but the number of ecstasy or amphetamine users seeking help from outpatient drug services has declined and the number of deaths is low. But importantly, the Schiedam EHBD (Drugs and Alcohol Use First Aid) health worker, Jolande — who treated Chloe on the night she died — said ignorance remains a large problem. "They often know so little. I regularly get all sorts of useful questions," she said.

Jolande also claims that people are often very surprised when they are told about what effects ecstasy can have on the body. She is in favour of scare tactics. "The information must be rock-hard," she said. She is right, but while Chloe died of an ecstasy overdose at a Heerlen rave, the Heerlen Council's decision to ban such parties is simply a knee-jerk reaction which will only drive the culture deeper underground and further hinder the dissemination of drugs information to society's youth.

The Democrat D66 party and the Trimbos Institute have called for the testing of ecstasy pills to be extended to rave parties, rather than the 25 drugs healthcare and GGD units around the country. Recent research from the Amsterdam University indicated that partygoers who test the potency and safety of their pills use less of the drug and better understand drugs information.

And in light of the fact that research points out that ecstasy tablets have become more potent in recent years, it is vital that information reaches society's youth that taking up to 15 pills is deadly. National information campaigns are supported by the government and research shows that youth have a natural need to experiment and it is a better option to guide these experiments by credible information and education. Alcohol and drug use have thus been stripped of taboo.

But despite the fact that education broadens knowledge and changes attitudes, it has little effect on behaviour and the Trimbos Institute is rightfully demanding the development of broader-based prevention programmes. In addition to knowledge and prevention programmes, authorities must also promote better behavioural skills such as peer pressure resilience and work towards improving youth decisiveness.

It is too late to save Chloe — who evidently slipped through the safety net — but what is done today could save a life tomorrow.

Washington Times reports on Guyana’s human trafficking concerns

THE Washington Times newspaper yesterday reported on Guyana’s concern at the unfavorable trafficking in persons (TIP) ranking the United States State Department has given this country. The news item was based on an article on the issue by Guyana’s former Ambassador to the U.S. and current Ambassador to Venezuela, Dr Odeen Ishmael. (Dr Ishmael’s article was published in last Sunday’s Chronicle).

The Washington Times notes that a State Department report in June accused Guyana for the first time of failing to curb human trafficking, which includes forced prostitution and child labour, and placed it in a category that could result in U.S. economic sanctions. However, Ambassador Ishmael said his country has since taken forceful measures to combat human trafficking and hopes to be recognized for its efforts when the State Department re-evaluates Guyana in mid-September.

"The initial reaction was one of shock," Ishmael said. The Washington Times adds: "At the same time, the Guyana government promised to fast-track plans to avoid a cut in funding from the United States and international lending agencies," he said in a review of his government's actions since June. The State Department report said: "Guyana is a country of origin, transit and destination for young women and children trafficked primarily for sexual exploitation."

The ambassador noted that Guyana's Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Bibi Shadick, complained that Washington failed to recognize the government's efforts to draw international attention to human trafficking in forums such as the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission of Women. "Minister Shadick has personally plunged herself into a countrywide campaign to investigate the issue and to educate various communities in the remote interior of the country of problems associated with human trafficking," Dr Ishmael said.

"This is very commendable since it is very unusual for a Cabinet minister in the Latin America and Caribbean region, or anywhere else, to be involved so directly in trying to stamp out a social scourge." Mrs. Shadick and Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo met with a State Department delegation in July to discuss the government's response to the report. "After the visit...the [U.S.] officials expressed a desire to work with the Guyana government to get the country removed from that status," Dr Ishmael said.

The government ordered police raids on several mining camps in the interior of the nation to remove women and girls who were recruited as prostitutes or subjected to forced labour, the ambassador said. The government introduced legislation in Parliament that will impose severe penalties, including life sentences, against those convicted of trafficking. The bill also proposes government help for the victims that would include housing, jobs and education. Dr Ishmael said those remedies will cost more than Guyana can afford and hopes the United States will provide more than the recent $100,000 grant for education programs.”

For the first half of 2004, some 298 persons were charged for cannabis offences, while 268 investigations were made and 26,520 kilogrammes, 826 grammes seized. And 146 kilogrammes, 471 grammes of cocaïne were seized while 70 cases were investigated during cocaïne bustes and 81 persons were charged. According to a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA), the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) and the police have been making strides in curbing the smuggling and distribution of illegal drugs. The release said further that during 10 'sting' operations 21 fields were destroyed with an estimated 26,433 kilogrammes, 14 grammes of ganja plants.

Some of the successful operations over the past 18 months came through collaboration with overseas law enforcement agencies and Commissioner of Police Winston Felix stressed the need for such partnerships to get on top of the drug situation. He pointed out that even countries with "high tech" equipment collaborate because of the worldwide narco-trafficking problem. The Commissioner told GINA that the law enforcement agencies have the capacity to do a little better but resources require funding which is coming slowly. "We have made known the resources we need and I have every confidence that these will be made available at the appropriate time, and as our capabilities are enhanced greater results will be attained," GINA quoted Felix as saying.