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GUYANA CHRONICLE Tuesday, April 11, 2017
French Guiana facing total shutdown DISCONTENT over living standards in French Guiana has led to a large-scale blockade on Monday. The territory has regained control of its space station, but anger there is not going away. Despite being in South America, French Guiana remains part of France, and has been paralysed by protests against a lack of investment from the mainland. Demonstrators, led by a masked group known as the 500 Brothers, have been fighting for $2.5B (£2B) in aid. France has made an offer of £1M, which has been rejected. French Guiana has been experiencing widespread protests for the past two weeks, following a general strike on March 27, and an occupation of the Guiana Space Station, which delayed a rocket launch. The 500 Brothers called for a total shutdown on Monday, including road blocks, after a police officer was injured in protests last week.
Protesters out on the streets last week in the French Guianese capital, Cayenne French Guiana sits in the north-east corner of South America, north of Brazil, and alongside Guyana and Suriname. While Guyana and Suriname gained independence from their colonisers (the UK and the Netherlands respectively), French Guiana never has. It is classed as an
overseas territory; its currency is the euro, and its official language is French, although many also speak Creole. It is bigger than Belgium, but has a population of about 250,000 people (compared with Belgium’s 11 million). Its tough environment, including scorching heat and sharks, was made famous
‘An act of terrorism’ PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, CMC – The Office of the President of Haiti has described as “a terrorist act” last weekend’s attack on a presidential motorcade returning from the Artibonite department as preparations continue for the launch of the caravan of change scheduled for May 1. Angry demonstrators are reported to have set up barricades protesting the decision taken by former president Michel Martelly to divide the commune of Arcahaie in two. President Jovenel Moïse, who was sworn into office in February replacing Martelly, was not hurt during the attack on Friday night with The Office of the Presidency congratulating “the specialized units of the National Police of Haiti
Haiti’s President Jovenel Moïse
in the 1969 book, Papillon, which later became a film, starring Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen. Protesters have a catalogue of issues they want France to urgently address, from education and health needs, to rising violent crime. “The State does not re-
spect its commitments; the State does not respect French Guiana,” Olivier Goudet, a spokesman for the 500 Brothers told France’s RFI network on Sunday. “We need to mobilise in order to raise awareness, and remind the State of its responsibilities.” The issue has even been
raised during the French presidential election campaign, although leading candidate Emmanuel Macron wrongly referred to the territory as an island when discussing the crisis. French Guiana is largely covered in Amazon rainforest, with its development centred on a handful of towns hugging the coastline. One of these towns, Kourou, is home to the Guiana Space Station, which is used by the European Space Agency and the French government to launch satellites into space. Protesters say money is poured into the station, while the people’s welfare is neglected. They are calling for action under the slogan, Pou Lagwiyann Dekole, which is Creole for “Let Guiana take off”. Last month, the hooded 500 Brothers group took over the space station and delayed a satellite launch. They relinquished their occupation last week, but continue to protest. (BBC)
- says Haitian President of attack on motorcade in charge of the security of the Head of State for their promptness and professionalism”. The statement also reminded “everyone that the establishment of a democratic society can only be achieved through the principles enacted by the law”