Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Letters... Where your views make the news... Letters...Where your views make the news
Police brutality is a reflection of our larger ethno-racial problem DEAR EDITOR, There is major concern over police brutality against African Guyanese since the current Executive Government came to power. African Guyanese activists have pointed to over 400 African Guyanese, mostly young men, who have died at the hands of the police since 1992. There are strong claims that there was direct state involvement in some of these killings during the period 2002-2006. The recent Colwyn Harding incident has raised these concerns anew. Many have joined the debate. There have been some very useful contributions. The police force has correctly come under severe criticisms. But, sadly, what is missing from the debate is how police brutality is a reflection of our larger ethno-racial problem. Of all the public commentators, only Henry Jeffrey and Freddie Kissoon have dared to go there. And yes, we have had and will continue to have an ethno-racial problem. I use the term ethno-racial to mean ethnic groups which relate to each other through the lens of race. To get a proper sense of what we are talking about, a brief history and explanation of race is needed. We often talk about race in Guyana as if it is figment of people’s imagination—false consciousness. But it is not; it is real. Race as biology has been proven to be unreal. But race as social, political, economic and cultural practice is real. The concept of race was first developed in the USA in the late 1600s as a justification for the rise of plantation slavery. It gave social
meaning to skin color. Blackness came to mean less than human while whiteness came to mean fully human. The German philosopher, Hegel, said to be human is to be white. Thomas Jefferson would later remark that Blacks were inferior in body and mind and do not feel life’s pains as other groups. Other white thinkers concluded that Black people could not exist in a state of freedom. Hence it would be dangerous to free them from slavery. Blackness became synonymous with, among other things, backwardness, indolence, shallowness, unreason and laziness. This characterization of Blackness as inferior—the White Racial Frame— found its way into laws and socioeconomic and political policies. Over time such laws and polices inevitably begun to shape people’s consciousness about blackness and, by extension, whiteness. This White Frame of blackness or Racism became the core of a dominant global ideology that would inform European and American expansion in the form of the Atlantic Slave trade, Plantation Slavery and Colonialism and internal colonization such as American Segregation and South African Apartheid. The key in all of this is power. Whites were able to use their political and economic power to turn their anti-black prejudices into law and policy. This is the essence of race—Give meaning to skin color and then use your power to instutionalize that meaning. It is called Intuitional or Structural Racism. One Guyanese social scientist, Freddie Kissoon,
has called it Ideological Racism. Other ethnic groups inevitably adopted this ideology of anti-Blackness. Everyone wanted to be white; they avoided blackness. In the USA, for example, where after 1865 one could only be legally Black or White, all, but one or two, non-white applicants for citizenship wanted to be white. Even free fair-skinned Blacks tried hard to “Pass for White.” At the core of the construction of Blackness is violence. Blackness is constructed as the embodiment of mindless violence. Because, as Jefferson observed, they do not feel life’s pain, are more emotional and devoid of human reason, they readily reach for violence. Other more “enlightened” theorists have contended that because Blacks had to fight back against oppression for so long they have developed a reflex for violence. Since the Black Male has been seen as the vanguard of this violence, he is to be feared. And the way you deal with this danger of Black Maleness, which often includes the “bad, militant” Black Female, is to develop laws and institutions to combat it. This need to combat Black savagery has been at the core of “Law and Order” in places where Blacks live. This brings me to Guyana. We have inherited a Colonial Law and Order praxis that is grounded in keeping Blacks in their place and combating this presumed savagery. Our post-colonial state, despite some tinkering here and there, has maintained the colonial outlook and praxis. Anti-Black racism is at the core of the state behavior
when it comes to state violence. Some will say it is not anti-black it is anti-poor. It is both. But when those laws and behaviors were constructed, social class was not the issue. Slavery was not about social class, it was about race. Sure race and racism have since been used to maintain and defend social privilege. But social privilege often has a racial face and mind. That Black males have continued to be victims of police “law and order” is no accident. What is important to note is that the police force is predominantly Black. But policemen and women are mere servants of the state. They take orders from leaders and institutions of the State. So to understand police brutality one has to understand the nature of the state and more importantly the interests of those who have control over the state. Anti- Black biases are embedded in the Guyanese state even when it is not articulated as such. One can no doubt make the same claim from both an Indian Guyanese and an Amerindian Guyanese standpoint. Indeed, Indian Guyanese made similar charges during the tenure of the PNC. Dr. Jagan himself made the charge in a 1988 speech in New York that East Indians were second class citizens in Guyana. Other East Indian leaders have called for the ethnic balancing of the police force. Whether Dr. Jagan was correct or not, what is true is
that even under the PNC, Blacks were still more likely to be subjected to summary execution by the police than any other group. East Indian and Black dissident political protests were confronted with police violence. Police violence against Blacks has been there since slavery and colonialism and continued under the Black dominated PNC government. But I contend that the violence of the state against Africans under the PPP deserves closer scrutiny. One cannot adequately understand and explain the upsurge of police brutality against Black men outside of the interests of those who run the state. I argue that Ethnic domination through the use of institutional racism is a fact of politics and economics in Guyana. After all, ethnic domination by one group is seen as a defense against ethnic domination by the other group. Black victims of police violence, therefore, are the victims of the larger ethnoracial dynamics of ethnic
domination. There is a reason why despite widespread crime in both Indian and African Guyanese c o m m u n i t i e s , disproportionately more Black boys are being summarily executed by the police. There is also a reason why Black protest is easily confronted with police violence while Indian protest is not. Here are the dynamics. The PPP executive government has a known interest in securing the loyalty of the police and other armed forces, which it has repeatedly claimed helped to throw it out of power in 1964. The PPP government also as an inevitable interest in quelling protest and rebellion among the constituency of its political rivals. Finally, the PPP has an interest in demonstrating to its constituency that it can protect them against the deep-seated fear of Black violence both from police and civilians. David Hinds
What will be the fate of this empty lot? DEAR EDITOR, The Medex building at Liliendaal is now history. There is a space where it once stood. What is remarkable is that within the last 24 hours or so, having spoken to at least 30 people of various ages and ethnic backgrounds, the clarion questions were, “ ow you all bun down the place man? Which otel going up dey? Which Minister getting the land?” That’s how the people out there see the powers that be. Can we blame them? Esme Dottin
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Kaieteur News
Dealing with violent children must start with parents - GTU General Secretary A great deal of attention has been directed to the issue of violence in the school system. In fact the Guyana Teachers Union (GTU), as the representing body for the country’s teachers, has been particularly amplifying its concern as it relates to violence perpetrated against teachers. Speaking to the issue recently, GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald, alluded to such situations even as she shared her conviction that the vast majority of children who so engage, do not deliberately plan on targeting the educators. “We at the GTU don’t feel children set out to be violent against teachers; children operate based on what they hear, what they see and the way they were taught to deal with teachers,” speculated McDonald during an interview with this publication. She further shared her conviction that oftentimes children “act out” in their quest to get the attention that they rarely, if at all, get at home. And since such actions of children are usually exhibited in a negative manner, it can at times result in corporal punishment. “Of course, if you are
going to interrupt my class for half an hour, 15 minutes, you are going to cause me to have to move from teaching proper fractions to having to deal with you,” a situation that does not lend to favourable outcomes, McDonald noted. “A child’s attitude can keep a whole class of 35 back. When I have to deal with that child, it takes away from my lesson because by the time I am done it is the end of the period and my work is left back, which of course I have to account for...that therefore put teachers under pressure and then one thing leads to another and when some children can’t take it, they act out,” intimated the GTU General Secretary. She pointed out that children who react in violent ways are at times also influenced by the environment in which they live. “Children who are exposed to lots and lots of violence, for them it is a part of the everyday thing, it is the way ‘we end our story, so if I don’t talk-up to you, if I don’t walk-up to you’, I would not have achieved anything, my issue would not have been solved,” said McDonald of violent children. “Some children have a tendency of saying ‘I got to walk-up to she fuh leh she know how I rest, me ain’t deh suh’ and those kinds of slangs which is a replica of where they live,” explained an evidently concerned McDonald. Moreover, she disclosed
GTU General Secretary, Coretta McDonald that the GTU has been appealing for the Ministry of Education, coupled with efforts coming from the GTU and teachers, to engage parents with a view of reversing the existing trend. According to her, there is a need for hosting seminars, workshops and symposiums for parents as well as students and teachers, in order for them to be equipped with the kind of knowledge and skills required to deal with troubled students. “When they behave in a particular way, it is important for you to be able to recognise ‘oh here is a problem, there is a problem’ and this is how we can deal with this issue; we need to have these sessions,” asserted McDonald. Added to this, she alluded to the need for strategic teachers’ training in order to help them readily recognise such looming situations even as she amplified that “the cane may not always be the right answer.”
Monday March 24, 2014
Ramkarran dismisses WPA, PNC objections over Rodney inquiry The Working Peoples Alliance’s qualms over the terms of reference in the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, is nothing but a storm in a teacup. This is according to Senior Counsel, Ralph Ramkarran, who in his most recent writings on his conversationtree.org outlet, said that in order to arrive at any conclusion, much less a credible one, the Commission needs to have before it all relevant facts. The terms of reference of the COI provides for the Commission to examine the facts and circumstances immediately prior to, at the time of, and subsequent to his death between January 1, 1978 and December 31, 1980. “By providing for a time frame that is broad enough to enable the Commission to consider past events which could be relevant, the Commission is thereby facilitated… Otherwise the truth will remain hidden and closure to this national tragedy will elude us and Dr. Rodney’s family forever,” Ramkarran stated. The WPA alleges that the questionable terms of reference, is too wide and ‘runs the risk of opening a Pandora’s Box that will guarantee an unwelcome poisoning of the political environment which…is already toxic enough. The WPA proposed that the Inquiry should be restricted to the facts immediately before, during and after the incident on John Street outside the Georgetown Prison. According to Ramkarran, the former Speaker of the National Assembly, some of the facts are already largely known. He is of the opinion that the only thing a restricted Inquiry will reveal is if Dr. Rodney requested of Gregory Smith an instrument with explosives or whether the explosives were surreptitiously planted by Smith. “Is this all the nation should know?…Is this all an elaborate international inquiry should be established to discover?” questioned Ramkarran. According to Ramkarran, there can be no other valid objective of the Rodney Inquiry than to seek the truth, namely, the circumstances surrounding his death in 1980. “It is the truth that the nation has been awaiting and demanding for over thirty years…It is the truth that shall bring closure to the tragedy of Dr. Rodney’s violent death and particularly to his long suffering family who have been vainly waiting for this event for over three decades.” Ramkarran also argues that the Commission did not even require a timeframe.
Senior Counsel Ralph Ramkarran
Walter Rodney
He suggested that the mere power to inquire, would have given the Commission enough reach not only to go back to 1978 or further, if it considered it to be necessary but also investigate the activities of the security forces against the Opposition
politically neutral. According to Ramkarran, not only did former Chancellor Keith Massiah serve on the Gajraj Inquiry without objection, as was pointed out, but his brother, the late Claude Massiah, was appointed a Judge after he
“It is the truth that the nation has been awaiting and demanding for over thirty years…It is the truth that shall bring closure to the tragedy of Dr. Rodney’s violent death and particularly to his long suffering family who have been vainly waiting for this event for over three decades.” during the relevant period, even if there were no specific terms relating to this. “This issue is therefore an irrelevant storm in a teacup.” According to Ramkarran relevant issues may include: Was Dr. Rodney assassinated? If so, by whom? Was there a conspiracy? If so, who were the participants? Did the political activities of Dr. Rodney have any connection with his death? Was Dr. Rodney engaged in any illegal activities? Was his death occasioned by such activities or by his own negligence? How long did Dr. Rodney know Gregory Smith? How did he get to know him? How often did they meet? What were the circumstances of their engagements and the purposes of their meetings? Did Gregory Smith have any links with the disciplined forces and for how long before 1980? Did he assassinate Dr. Rodney? Was he acting on the disciplined forces behalf or on behalf of some other person or agency, or on no one’s behalf? There are many others. Ramkarran in his writings also addressed the objections made by the Peoples National Congress (PNC) which had also found support of the WPA that Seenauth Jairam, a Senior Counsel of Guyanese birth, who had recently appeared for the Government in the constitutional case challenging the budget cuts, was, as a result thereof, not
had been a candidate for the PNC in previous general elections. Ramkarran noted too that Justice Bovell-Drakes was the Chairman of the Young Socialist Movement, the youth arm of the PNC, before being appointed to serve as a Judge after a campaign by the PNCR, lawyers and a court case filed by him. “He continues to serve without any complaint,” said Ramkarran. The Senior Counsel opined that it is a well known and acceptable practice for lawyers to appear for and against the same person or agency at different times and in unrelated matters. “The PNC’s and the WPA’s concern about Mr. Jairam therefore ‘have no legs’ or ‘walking capacity’ as stated by the Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry, Sir Richard Cheltenham.” According to Ramkarran, the PNCR and WPA are vital stakeholders in the Inquiry. “They will have much to say to an Inquiry and, in any event, much will be said about them.” According to Ramkarran, the two parties have an opportunity to influence the narrative. “Not to take it will be a lost opportunity to do so and to settle and heal the pain from one of Guyana’s greatest tragedies…It is hoped that the wise counsel of which they are capable will prevail…The truth will be cathartic, not poisonous,” according to Ramkarran.
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
Letters... Where your views make the news
Educate our teachers on alternatives to corporal punishment DEAR EDITOR, Corporal punishment violates human rights, physical integrity and human dignity, it carries lasting scars on children and must be thrown out of our schools, it is uncivilized and a poor excuse to physically abuse children and has never proven to correct behavior. Corporal punishment instills pain, stress and anxiety on children and the emotional and psychological effects can last a lifetime. Corporal punishment teaches children that it is right for powerful persons to be violent towards the weak and to resolve conflicts through violence; we see this behavior constantly in our schools among students. Guyana has to overcome a history of institutional violence being used during slavery, indenture ship and colonialism to force submission and to entrench relations of superiority and inferiority. There is a vast majority of parents who do not hit nor abuse their kids at home but on the other hand are sending them to schools where their teachers do just that. That is total nonsense and should not be tolerated by Guyanese parents. Our children are our greatest assets, therefore we should invest the time necessary to groom them to achieve discipline through other healthy methods and not use the
easiest and cheapest method which is corporal punishment. Corporal punishment is ineffective and has never produced positive results, it’s like sweeping dirt under the rug, the problem is only covered up, not fixed. We need to fix the problem from the root, educate our teachers more on how to use substitute methods instead of torturing our children. Come on parents! Corporal punishment is a method that was thrown out by civilized society’s decades ago and Guyanese parent should not tolerate it in this era of science and technology. Our fore parents fought to remove the whip from the fields; we need to fight to remove the whip from schools. There is a particular high school in Berbice which must be addressed by the Ministry of Education in regards to corporal punishment;
There are constant complains from students that teachers from this school torture them through different means which includes; · Locking them out of school in the sun · Use abusive language on them · Hit and ridicule them in front of other students ·Give them unhealthy chores to do ·And the list goes on As a parent, I am calling on other parents to take their stand against corporal punishment in schools. Let the authorities take steps to protect our children so they won’t be victims of corporal punishment and can make outstanding contributions to society. Share your views, comments and issues on; w w w. s a y n o t o c o r p o r a l punishment.wordpress.com Neri Alli
I oppose lawsuits against... From page 4 of say a Maxwell – that should not be purpose of a critique. Criticisms or critiques should serve to help officials better execute their tasks and the critics should not lie on them or exaggerate an issue. And the media should provide politicians with opportunities to respond to critics and detractors. Sometimes it is better to pen a response to a criticism and or have an informal chat with the editor or publisher of the media (in the Guyana context) about it rather than threaten the media with a lawsuit; more can be achieved this way. Lawsuits should be an act of last resort and only for an attack extraordinarily malicious and grossly mischievous. Vishnu Bisram
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Soldier drowns in New River Triangle area A Guyana Defence Force Private lost his life on Saturday when he drowned at the army’s New River Triangle Base The body of Private Dellon Nero, 24, was recovered and was flown to the city yesterday, according to a press release from Army Headquarters Camp Ayanganna. Reports are sketchy on the circumstances of the soldier’s demise, with not even relatives having a clue as to what transpired. But according to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), 21066 Private Dellon Nero died by drowning at approx 18:25 hours Saturday last at a GDF location in the New River area. The GDF said that a team of investigators from the GDF and Guyana Police Force were flown to that location yesterday morning to probe the incident. There are reports that Nero and a colleague were travelling in a boat which capsized sending both of them into the river. According to the reports the other soldier managed to swim to safety but by the time help was summoned Nero had vanished. This newspaper visited his m o t h e r ’s 1036 Cummings Park, Sophia
home yesterday and she informed that she was made aware of her only s o n ’s d e a t h w h e n a relative contacted her yesterday. June Sancho said she was not certain if her son was a good swimmer. She described him as a quiet, loving and caring person who was very dear to her heart. Up to yesterday when she spoke to Kaieteur News, the GDF had not made contact with her.
DEAD: Dellon Nero
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Monday March 24, 2014
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Revised Education Bill ready for National Assembly The operations of private schools may be eligible for closer scrutiny with the passing of a revised Education Bill. And such a Bill is currently on the horizon, according to Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand, who, during the past week disclosed that already a draft revised Education Bill has been crafted. An earlier Draft of the Bill, the Minister said, had gained the attention of a wide crosssection of the population before a final draft suitable enough to be presented to the National Assembly was completed. “We have had a Draft Bill that went around the country several times, engaging stakeholders, including parents, teachers, Parent Teachers Association, education officials, retired persons, just about every and
anybody,” said Minister Manickchand. “We have one or two things we need to do, editorial corrections more than anything else, but that Draft Bill is going to be laid in the National Assembly as soon as we can,” she added, during a recent interview. In fact Manickchand had earlier intended to lay the Draft Bill before the National Assembly today, a plan that was thwarted with an announcement from Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh that the 2014 National Budget will be presented today. The Draft Education Bill, once passed, is expected to repeal an archaic Education Bill, disclosed Manickchand, who insisted that “you can expect to see a Bill that addresses the needs of Guyana’s Education system today...so for example, private
schools and other issues that are a reality for us today will be addressed.” Even as moves are being made to introduce a new Education Bill, the Education Ministry is also looking at amending the Accreditation Act. Amendments in this regard, Manickchand said, are intended to allow the existing Accreditation Council to not only have the authority to accredit individual programmes but also the entire institution as well. Currently, the Accreditation Council is only permitted to deal with programmes. The move to amend the local Accreditation Act is supported by the Caribbean, which according to the Minister, has gone the way of accrediting institutions. The amendment, she disclosed, will be made to Section 4(3)
Monday March 24, 2014 ARIES (March 21 - April 19): You need to slow down a bit and try to just relax -you're heading for a breakdown otherwise! Even the highest-functioning folks like you need some down time every now and then. ******************* TAURUS (April 20 - May 20): Someone new blows into your life and shakes things up for the better. They have the zeal of a missionary, though their cause may be far from spiritual. ****************** GEMINI (May 21 - June 20): One of your newer friendships will hit a snag today, when a misunderstanding causes a confused conversation that could result in hurt feelings. ******************** CANCER (June 21 - July 22): People are likely to misunderstand you today -- so make sure that you are being as clear as you can be. Even so, expect at least one mix-up to happen, probably fairly late in the day. ********************* LEO (July 23 - Aug. 22): Try to help someone today -your energy is meant to be shared! You should also look around for new options, as you may need an expanded scope in order to make the most of your spirit. ******************* VIRGO (Aug. 23 - Sept. 22): You don't mind openly lusting after that job, gadget or project -- your ambition is perfectly okay, and in fact you can't make much progress toward it if you try to keep it a secret. Go for it! ********************* LIBRA (Sept. 23 - Oct.
22): This isn't the best feeling in the world, but you are still committed to this project or person. Move through this brief phase and you should come out the other side feeling much brighter! ********************* SCORPIO (Oct. 23 Nov. 21): Today is perfect for arranging new deals of all kinds -- especially related to business. You feel more stable and confident, and you can be sure that whatever you decide should work out for the best. ******************** SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22 Dec. 21): Things are a little weird today -- but that's not such a bad thing! You can actually make a real difference by pushing your people in a new direction, and their confusion is a big help. .********************* CAPRICORN (Dec. 22 Jan. 19): You need to feel a sense of accomplishment today -- and fortunately, it's easy to come by! You should be able to push yourself in the right direction by building on your previous hard work. ******************** AQUARIUS (Jan. 20 Feb. 18): You're not sure what's going on today -- and that's not the end of the world. It's just one of those days when the universe is acting in mysterious ways, and it shouldn't last forever. ********************* PISCE S ( F e b . 1 9 March 20): You need to deal with a leadership vacuum today -- it could be anywhere. You may not feel totally comfortable stepping into power yourself, but the odds are good that it's the best answer.
- Minister Manickchand (c) of the National Accreditation Council Act Number 12, whereby it grants the Accreditation Council the power to do institutional accreditation. “This makes sense…If we are to accredit programme by programme, then the kind of resources necessary would be very, very burdensome for offshore type universities,” said the Education Minister. Moreover, she noted that “we are amending the Act to give additional power to the Accreditation Council to deal with entire institutions rather than programmes alone.” Already regulations have been drafted under the Accreditation Act, which are being reviewed before being
sent to the National Assembly. However, before reaching to the National Assembly, the draft regulations will be sent to the Chambers of the Attorney General to be finalised. The National Accreditation Council of Guyana was established by an Act of Parliament. The Council, according to Act 12 of 2004, is the principal body in Guyana for conducting and advising on the accreditation and recognition of educational and training institutions, providers, programmes and awards, whether foreign or national and for the promotion of the quality and standards of
Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand education and training in Guyana. There have been some concerns voiced about the slothful functioning of the Council in recent times.
Promoters fail to pay Indian... (From page 2) which ended around 02:00 hours, were all spectacular. First of the four on stage was ‘Radhika,’ who, with the help of local models, showcased some of her exclusive designs of Indian garments. Beautifully decked in a bright red and blue sari, the Choti Bahu did an entertaining
dance from Alka Yagnik’s hit song- ‘Ek Do Teen’ from the movie Teezab. Following her was Suhasi Dhami ‘Abha’ who was backed by the talented ‘Ishara’ dancers. Hers was also a stunning performance that had members of the audience on their feet, and saw one fan even going up on stage,
positioned on one knee, asking the Indian beauty for her hand in marriage. Next up was Pavitra Rishta’s Asha Negi who was suddenly no longer playing her sweet and emotional character ‘Purvi,’ but a dancing diva who had been flirting with TV personality, Joel Ghansham, even in the presence of her onscreen and real life lover, Rithvik ‘Arjun’ Dhanjani. But it was all well as she childishly reminded the audience that she was married four times in the still running television series- Pavitra Rishta. “I have found my fifth husband in Guyana,” the actress joked. The night’s theme centered on Ghansham battling the Indian heartthrob for his girlfriend, with the most entertaining aspect being the two in a dance off to the hit Chutney song- ‘Yam Bakabana’. And with ‘Purvi’ joining in, ‘Arjun’ reminded humorously that she is the ‘Ardash Bahu’ (ideal daughter-in-law) of Pavitra Rishta who should not be whining away onstage. But evidently she did not care, and went on to giving the ‘Chutney Whine’ with Ghansham. Another highlight of the night was ‘Arjun’ and his ‘sweaky’ lie detecting chicken, which exposed a member of the audience who claimed that he has no relationship with anyone besides his wife. The crowd was also pleased with ‘Abha’ who sang the hit Chutney song – ‘Leh go me nah Raja.’ But who can forget little Deon Persaud, who created storm with his Michael Jackson dance moves. Saturday night’s show ended with hundreds of fans forcing themselves into the stars’ dressing tent for photo opportunities.
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 24, 2014
Miss India 2012 appointed Ambassador for AUR Suicide Prevention and Self Awareness Mission From page 19
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As the American University of Research continues its mission to address the worrying issue of suicide, Ms Alana Seebarran, Miss India Guyana and Miss India World 2012, was last week appointed Ambassador for the university’s Suicide Prevention and Self Awareness Mission which commenced last February. Seebarran will act as spokesperson for Suicide Prevention and SelfAwareness with youth, and participate in fundraising activities and accept donations for the mission on behalf of the university. She will also create links with suicide prevention and other interested organizations. The decision to appoint Ms. Seebarran stemmed from the positivity
American University of Research Ambassador for suicide prevention, Alana Seebarran
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she has portrayed in representing Guyana locally and internationally. “Ms. Seebarran dedicates herself to the practice of sharing knowledge, and encouraging World Peace – this is a dedication which we
believe will have a great impact on our mission since one of our roles not only entails research but also sharing knowledge on suicide prevention and selfawareness.” In addition, Ms.
Concerned PAC calls... From page 16 The Parliamentarian then stressed the need for the Integrity Commission as it is intended to ensure financial probity and ensure persons are not abusing their positions for personal enhancement. In light of the numerous cases that come before the Committee, and the scale of the recommendations made by the Committee, he stressed that the Integrity Commission may very well answer a lot of questions as to what has become of the millions of dollars that are yet to be accounted for.
Seebarran is also presently a part of the Ms. World Organization in their sensitization on bullying and suicide. The international beauty was presented with a certificate of Ambassadorship by the university. “The team of American University of Research is extremely honoured to appoint Ms. Alana Seebarran Miss India World 2012 as Ambassador for our Suicide Prevention and Self Awareness Mission.” Dr. Eton Simon, Psychologist and President of the organization, had told Kaieteur News about growing concerns over suicide occurrences. The university has recently completed research on the Essequibo Coast and found over 100 suicide attempts for last year, with 16 deaths. Residents there expressed concerns that enough was not being done to fight the issue. They opined that domestic issues were the leading cause of suicides and recommended new programs to tackle the issue. Dr. Eton said that the university was committed to addressing the matter, so much so that by month end, potential suicide victims would be able to access real counselors on their cell phones, while in time to come, a special suicide website will be up and running so that victims could hear the testimonies of persons who have attempted suicide and from the family members of persons who have committed the act. The university is scheduled to conduct research in several communities. Activities are scheduled for Berbice within a few days.
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
FOR SALE LARGE QUANTITIES OF HIGH PURITY MERCURY (QUICK SILVER) 99.99995% PURITY$19,000 PER POUND CALL: 592-227-4754.
FOR SALE Toyota Forklift - Excellent condition, 4,000lbs capacity, 117" Lift, Solid Wheels, Automatic Transmission, 4 Cylinder LPG Motor. Call: 6046108.
Spare for washing machine, microwaves,fridges, stoves, timers, gearbox, pumps, etc call: 225-9032, 647-2943
2 Flex house 10ft- 5", 2 sheet 6mm aluminum plate, 2 – Hydraulic pump, 1-BT 121 Earth Auger STIHL drill, 2 Amplifier – Tel:625-1621
Live/pluck chicken call: 6504421, 220-9203 1 Music system, 3 crown amps, Numark CD player crossover & mixer, 2 base box with 15" Mid range & tweeters – Call:619-2800 Fishing boat, 5" nylon Seine, 40 Hp Yamaha - $1.6M - Tel: 267-1563; 691-3501 / 4162667627 One 14" river dredge in excellent condition - Call: 669-8985
1 Canon Image runner #2525 Contact: 652-0709 Cooler chest/fridge 15 cubic, good for shop use - $100,000Call:683-4803, 225-9871 Barge 200ft in length as is – Call:623-4045 1 Chair & dryer, styling chair, combination wardrobe, Sony DVD, home theater system & north star (Air Compressor Pump) – Tel:683-7102
One hardly used cradle $20,000 with accessories & one brand new play pen $33,000 - Call: 670-2343
1 complete pools table, 1 no frost fridge, 1 electric stove, 1 compressor C/W spray kit & air-tool assembly. Owner migrating – Tel:641-6239
Tractors: MF285 $2.8mil (neg) Ford 5000 $3.2mil (neg),Both Good Condition -Call 257-0212, 628-8487
1 Raum: DVD player, alarm system, mag rims - $1.2M negotiable, excellent condition – Call:627-9424
Toyota Tacoma 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, Nissan Frontier $2.9M, 4X4 Extra Cab 2002, DJSystem - $2.8M– Tel:6959807
One 6 Base music set in parts – Call:641-2088; 266-2503
Black & white photocopy and colour copy - Tel:6268586 Tibetan Terrier pupsCall:225-4780; 601-5927 COMPLETE SAWMILL with all new industrial machine, going business with contract - (Wanted Kabukalli Logs) - Tel:6845868. Tacoma Tundra lights & Parts - Tel: 641-1127 1 Toyota Raum fully air conditioned – Tel:678-6108, 692-8419, 266-2771 Household items: Stove, bed, sofa, dishwasher, dresser, sewing machine, coffee dispenser, printers & more – Call:227-1028; 2239719 Large beverage cooler, two doors, 3 wheel motor bike – Call:227-1028; 223-9719 1 Stall @ Stabroek Market – Tel:658-0115; 718-757-8031
Dell Computers with 20" LCDs - $65,000, Laptops $50,000, I-phone 3GS - $30,000 at Futuretech – 231-2206, 6446760 One Mobile Food Caravan Contact: 675-5448 1 Used Model M Truck with winch. Price:$5M negotiable – Contact:601-0763 Just Arrived from Canada: 400Amp Miller, 300-Amp Lincoln, 3 Cylinder Perkins. Rentals of Metal Scaffold! – Call:660-1514; 644-0153 Games PS2 $900, PSP $900, XBox 360 $2600 & PS3 $2600 & Original Games Call: 672-2566 6½ Month old Germand Shepherd, fully vaccinated – Contact:683-4832 or 263-5755 One Reciprocating Saw (brand: Chicago Electric) one 600 Amp jump starter (brand: peak) – Call: 621-9604. Complete sawmill operation with lots of equipment, customers & suppliers and large land space – Contact Swamee: 614-1466; 678-1421
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PROPERTY FOR SALE
EDUCATIONAL
VEHICLE FOR SALE
2 - Income properties at bargain price - $40M negotiable - Tel: 686-4899; 6843718
Balloon decorating classes – April 05 - Call: 225-3133; 6137513 for more information and to register.
1 Toyota Minibus pit-bull, BRR Series, immaculate condition, owner leaving country – Tel:629-3663
Property for sale - Call:6275416
Practical Electronic courses begining 7th April at Abdol Electronics - Tel:226-6551; 225-0391
1 Toyota Hilux Single Cab 4X4 solid Axle pickup -$2.7M Tel: 658-5193; 638-2525; 648-4374
Unfinished two storey concrete house @ Bladen Hall E.C.D – Call:688-6316
EP-82 Starlet – Call: 685-9696 1- 2007 Toyota 4X4 Tacoma for sale Call: 670-3328 for more information.
One 3 bedroom house in La Parafaite Harmonie -$16M negotiable – Contact:6221782; 658-5803; 264-0042 Regent Street -US$800,000 negotiable – Call:623-4045 Campbellville (2buildings) $25M, Near Regent Street $35M, Lamaha Gardens $55M – Call Diana:227-2256; 626-9382 Sophia ‘C’ Field - $3M – Call:618-7483; 611-3835 Prime Business property, huge land space, 200’X50', next to Police Outpost @ Mc Doom 233-0570 Prime Property for sale at Light Street, Alberttown – Contact:639-3619, 619-7299 Sunflower @ 229 Bourda Georgetown – Call:269-1274; 269-0264; 647-8798 Zone Rber Block VII Parcel 1983, next to Parbhu Hardware, Parika - Tel:2691274; 269-0264; 647-8798
Toyota Tundra 4X4, Clean $2.450M – Call: 662-6024 FOR RENT PLANNING AN EVENT? BIRTHDAY PARTY, G R A D U AT I O N , W E D D I N G S , ANNIVERSARY, ETC. – CALL DIAMOND TENTS: 216-1043; 677-6620 One 2 Bedrooms bottom flat Tel: 613-6402 MOVE IN ready fully furnished two bedroom upper flat apartment @ Atlantic Gardens - US$1,000 dollars negotiable - Call:600-9981 GT TOOLS RENTAL, RAMSON SPECIAL - TEL: 675-0767; 627-5098 House in Diamond/Grove Tel:692-8513 Vreed-En-Hoop Junction: games station, stationery shop, photocopying machine & printing store, lessons, internet – Call:680-9905 One upper flat @ 6th Street Cummings Lodge ECD – Call:622-3580
LAND FOR SALE Romrima Trust Versailles @ W.B.D - Tel: 652-3707 House lots in Friendship. Tel: 692-8513
1,2,3 Bedroom @ Lot 2 Anna Catherina W.C.D – Call J.Ali:276-0818 One Semi furnished apartment to rent at Industry ECD – Tel: 222-6001
Bachelor’s Adventure, E.C.D, 100ftX120ft, title land – Tel:680-5944
Loo & Madewini creek - $7M, Queenstown -$25M – Call:231-2199; 618-7483 FOR SALE/RENT Vacant corner lot 58"X30" @ Garnett & Republic Streets, Newton, Kitty – Tel: 645-0616 FOR SALE Motorized Wheelchair by hovearound. New batteries – Call:225-0271; 623-8192
Toyota 4 Runner; grey. Good condition – Call: 227-1028; 223-9719 Unregistered Toyota Premio $2.450, Toyota Spacio - $2.250 Tel: 616-3001; 628-4284 AT192 - Call: 602-0236
CAR RENTALL Dolly’s Car Rental- Call: 2257126/226-3693- dollysauto rental@yahoo.com/ www. dolly sautorental.com Aidan’s Car Rental & Pickup Call: 645-7981/ 698-7807 Wings Car Rental - Call: 6431131 TOUR Lethem Rodeo - Tour to Bontin Moco-Moco Falls 17th to 21 April - Call:6392663;644-0185;665-5171;2278290
AT150 Carina, PGG 5408 manual - $170,000 – Call: 6544635 Hilux Surf, 3Y Engine/ Automatic, SUV 4 Doors, PGG 8871 - $1.4M negotiable – Call: 663-7518 Passenger Diesel Turbo Bus, Late “NN” Series – Call: 617-3124 1 Toyota Will VS fully loaded, drop springs, etc. 1 Toyota Auris Fully loaded – Call:623-2999 RX8 Price - $3M – Tel:6026024. 1 Suzuki R1 wagon (Jeep) Automatic, Fully Powered with A/C, hardly used – Price:$1.3M Contact Rocky: 621-5902/ 225-1400
Toyota Raum, Spacio, AT212, AT192, AT170, NZE and LTouring wagon, Nissan E24 Caravan – Tel: 644-5096; 6971453
1 AT 212 Carina (Private) Automatic, fully powered with AC, alarm - Price:1.3M Contact Rocky:621-5902
One Honda Accord DX manual transmission, excellent condition – Call:6185972; 685-57-27; 218-1204.
1- AT 192 Carina (Private) automatic, fully powered, mags, A/C - price$1.2M Contact Rocky:225-1400
1 Freight liner hauler with sleeping cab, 1 -48ft trailor with treated wood – Call: Rakesh 613-6979
2004 VVTI automatic, bus, BNN series @ Bargain Price, Excellent condition. Serious Enquires! – Tel:697-0203
1 DAF 4X4 Bush Truck Winch - $3.8M - Tel:658-5193; 638-2525; 648-4374 Unregistered Toyota Raum 2004 & Spacio -2003 - Tel: 6175536 Toyota Fun Cargo, RZ minibus, IST, 4X4 Hilux pickup - Tel: 644-5096; 6971453 We buy & sell vehicles for cash, also parts available & 30 seater buses; Extra Cab pickups; 2006 TacomaCall:680-3154
One Farm at Yarrowkabra 20.1 Acres and one house and land – Call: 265-3586
3 Acres Land @ Parika Backdam E.B.E – Call: 6174837
One unregistered vehicle, Toyota Premio – Call Sunil: 227-5950; 681-5470
VEHICLE FOR SALE One RX-8 Mazda fully air conditioned, stick gear, wheel lights, fog lamps, power windows – Tel:6532477
AT192, 212, Allion, Premio, Hilux Surf, BNN & RZ & Pitbull buses, 7 seater super custom. Cash / termsCall:680-3154 2004 Toyota Raum $2M @ MRR Autos, Cheap online vehicle deals – Call:691-7475; 626-9590
VACANCY Barbers – Contact:683-1534; 609-4983 Sales clerk. Written application @ Perfume Dazzle, 137 Regent St. Live in housekeeper 3045yrs to take care of infant, long term employment - Call: 697-8797 Mill Wright, Porters, clerk woodmizer, moulder and bandsaw operator, timber grant, manager - Call Richard:609-7675; 233-2614 MASSAGE
One registered Allion 2003. Colour: Silver, In excellent condition- Call:665-4529; 6523820 Smart Choice Auto Sales: Unregistered: Premio, Allex, IST, Spacio, Allion – Call:6523820; 665-4529
American Style massage services- Call:678-7499 The Gents Spa: Deep tissue, Swedish massages, sport massage, aromatherapy, body scrubs Call: 657-5979 Continued on page 18
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 24, 2014
Venezuela prosecutor sees police Pennelope Beckles-Robinson’s relative held in gun raid ‘excesses’ in protest crackdown (Reuters) - Venezuela’s top state prosecutor yesterday said security forces had committed “excesses” in breaking up nearly two months of opposition protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro that have left at least 34 dead. Maduro’s adversaries have accused the National Guard of brutally repressing the demonstrations, while the president says security forces have in fact been restrained in face of violent disruptions of public order. “With regards to the violation of human rights, yes, there have been excesses by police, but s t a t e prosecutors are investigating this,” said Luisa Ortega, the top state
Nicolas Maduro prosecutor, during an interview broadcast yesterday. Since the start of the demonstrations, state prosecutors have opened 60
investigations into alleged human rights violations and imprisoned 15 officials in connection with those incidents, she said. Three people have died from gunshot wounds in shootouts linked to the protests, witnesses and local media said on Saturday. Demonstrators have been clashing nearly every day with riot police since the demonstrations began, with security forces firing tear gas and buckshot and the demonstrators responding with rocks and Molotov cocktails. Opposition activists have shown videos of troops and police beating student demonstrators as evidence of excessive force. Maduro’s sympathizers have shown videos of hooded assailants attacking government offices and say improvised barricades have restricted free transit and caused deaths by preventing the ill from receiving treatment.
Trinidad Express - Four relatives of challenger for the leadership of the People’s National Movement (PNM) Pennelope BecklesRobinson—including a male relative who has worked with her campaign—are now in police custody after a number of guns were reportedly found at the relative’s house during a police raid. Police reports indicate the illegal weapons and ammunition were seized and 11 people arrested during early Saturday morning raids carried out by Northern Division Police at two houses in the Malabar, Arima area. Beckles-Robinson, an attorney at law, will come up against the encumbent political leader of the PNM, Dr Keith Rowley in the party’s May 18 internal elections. Around 5 a.m. Saturday Nothern Division Police officers raided the relative’s home and another residence nearby following a tip-off. The arresting officers conducted a news briefing at the Arima Police Station Saturday morning where they displayed the cache of arms and ammunition. Officers confirmed that one of the houses is owned by Beckles-Robinson’s relative. Police said search warrants were presented at both houses located at Phase III, Malabar after months of surveillance. Police found one AK47 assault rifle, one pump action shotgun, one .44 revolver and one .357 revolver inside the
Swift Avenue, Phase III, Malabar, residence where they arrested four people, including a man in his mid20s, (who police described as the main suspect) along with three other people in their 50s. Up to last night, police were engaged in tracing exercises and were still questioning the suspects. The raid at Cocorico Avenue, Phase III, Malabar, turned up 37 rounds of ammunition and seven people were arrested there. Police may charge the suspects today. Police believe the weapons may be linked to gang-related activities in the Malabar area, which has now become a hotspot for criminal activities. Acting Sgt Harewood and PC Andrews are continuing investigations. The exercise was conducted by Insp. Garvin Simon. Yesterday Beckles-Robinson, a former member of parliament, and public utilities minister, could not be reached for comment
despite numerous calls to her phone. There were early reports that the former Arima MP would be hosting a news conference, but this did not materialise. However, one of her candidates and spokesman, Chandrabhose Sharma —who is contesting the position of field officer — appeared shocked about the matter yesterday, and told the Sunday Express, “I cannot comment at this time. I don’t know what is really going on since I was with (relative’s name called) up until late yesterday and I really cannot comment without more information,” Sharma said. Beckles-Robinson was holding a campaign meeting at Sangre Grande last night, where she was expected to comment on the incident involving her relatives. Beckles-Robinson spent Friday and part of yesterday in Tobago where she conducted walkabouts in Store Bay, Bon Accord and Scarborough.
One in five people with TB unaware of the disease – PAHO WASHINGTON, March CMC – The Pan-American Health Organisation (PAHO) says one in five people infected with tuberculosis in the Americas, including the Caribbean, remains unaware of the disease. PAHO said this is due to “failure to access health services or because they are not properly diagnosed.” In 2012, PAHO said regional countries reported 220,000 cases of tuberculosis,
and an estimated 19,000 people died from the disease. But it said an additional 60,000 people are believed to have TB, who have not yet been diagnosed. “This situation not only endangers their lives, it also facilitates further transmission of TB, producing more disease and generating socioeconomic costs for individuals, families and communities,” PAHO warned.
It issued the statement in commemoration of World TB Day on Friday that sought to raise awareness on the tuberculosis burden in the world, as well as the efforts made for its prevention and control. Throughout the years, PAHO said this commemoration has offered the opportunity to mobilize the political, economic and social commitment for the prevention and control of TB in the countries. For the 2014 campaign, PAHO said it will follow the worldwide focus on TB diagnosis and case detection of those still not reached, “with emphasis in the Americas on vulnerable populations, social determinants and large cities.”
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 21
Former contractor general proposes 21-point plan to tackle corruption GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman — Jamaica’s former contractor general Greg Christie has put forward a 21point plan which he believes Caribbean governments could use to kick corruption in the groin. Christie, who was speaking at a Cayman Islands University College-organised conference on corruption, called ‘A Conference on Ethics, Values, Trust and Morality’, in this British dependency Friday, said that the time had come for those Caribbean governments that are serious about tackling corruption to employ “remedial counter-measures that can be pursued”. Calling his proposal the 21 high level lessons learntbased anti-corruption strategies, Christie told an attentive audience of university students, professionals and visitors from several countries that it is important for Caribbean jurisdictions, including Jamaica, that are perceived as corrupt, to start changing gears now. “They must do so
immediately and they must do so by setting in place visible, measurable, comprehensive and effective institutional best-practice arrangements for combating corruption and bribery,” he argued. “If ruling administrations refuse, or fail in the public interest, to rapidly and decisively bring about the requisite changes, they must be pressured into action. They should be held to account by the Opposition, the citizenry, civil society, the Church, the independent media, international development partners and/or the multilateral lending community,” Christie said. Among his recommendations was the establishment of a single independent anti-corruption State agency, with specialist resources, and having exclusive criminal investigations and prosecutorial jurisdiction, with full police powers of arrest and detention over all corruption offences. That, he said, was critical. Continuing, he said that the setting up of an
independent procurement regulator to monitor and investigate the award of government contracts, subcontracts and licences, with the objective of ensuring probity, transparency, competition and value for money in the same awards, was also key. “It is imperative that the regulator be given the power to halt proposed awards in instances of suspected irregularity or impropriety,” Christie insisted. (There is a need to) “Establish a corruption court to adjudicate all corruptionrelated offences. In the alternative, give priority to corruption cases in the prevailing courts system,” he went on. The senior attorney-atlaw, now a consultant, also called on regional governments to “strengthen and enhance the independence, effectiveness, accountability and competence levels of existing anti-corruption institutions, and take all requisite measures to insulate them from government, political or
17 people still missing Barbados Nation - Close to 25 people went missing in Barbados between October 19 last year and March 15 this year. Police could not give an update on all the cases, but NATION records indicate that 17 of those people appear to be still on the missing list. That list showed that 15 teenagers, ranging in age from 14 to 19 years, disappeared and three who were 70 and over were also numbered amongst the missing; Leroy Forde, 83, and 70 year-old Mildred Wilkinson have since been found dead.
David Welch Last week 23-year-old Onicka Gulliver’s
decomposing body was discovered in Vaucluse, St Thomas, and someone was charged in connection with her death. There was some good news in that missing bunch, however. Three women and one male were found alive. Public relations officer of the RBPF Inspector David Welch told the SUNDAY SUN on Thursday that there were systems in place that were working in the search for missing people and determining their whereabouts.
Caribbean American lawmakers welcome lawsuit settlement Jamaica Gleaner - At least two Caribbean American legislatures have welcomed an agreement reached in principle with the City of New York and intervening plaintiffs to settle an employment discrimination lawsuit. The lawsuit involves the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) over its discriminatory hiring practices for Caribbean nationals and other
minorities. United States Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke, the daughter of Jamaican immigrants, and New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams, the son of Grenadian immigrants, said they are elated with the agreement. The settlement will allow Caribbean men and women, among others, who were not hired based on their race to claim US$100 million in back pay and medical
Yvette D. Clarke benefits that had been denied to them.
third-party influence, direction or interference”. Also listed in his recommendations is a need to legislate minimum standards of integrity and goodgovernance conduct for politicians and public officials, and enforce that by way of impeachment provisions. He also wants the imposition of “significantly tougher criminal sanctions, inclusive of minimum or mandatory custodial and economic-based penalties, for all corruption offences, (as well as imposing) “added sanctions, inclusive of the imposition of term bans from office, and forfeiture of pensions, in the case of public officers who are found guilty of corruption, or breach of prescribed goodgovernance and integrity standards”. Christie, who left the Office of Contractor General in November 2012, after serving in that capacity for seven years, is also arguing for the imposing of tough criminal and civil sanctions upon private sector entities for the bribery of public officials, as well as a requirement for them to develop, implement and enforce company-wide antibribery compliance programmes. Among his other suggestions are to: * Legislate appropriate political donation and
Greg Christie campaign finance laws; * Continuously review anti-corruption laws to cauterise loopholes, criminalise new developments in corrupt behaviour, and elevate existing sanctions, where necessary, to deter unwanted conduct; * Establish national and regional public registers of corporate beneficial ownership; * Implement a national (and regional) system for the certification, de-certification, debarment and crossdebarment of government contractors who engage in fraudulent practices or who consistently fail to perform their contracts to the required standard; * Require the public filing and disclosure of assets, income and liabilities for all parliamentarians, politicians
and critical-level public officials; * Implement a minimum one-year public sector to private sector ‘revolving door’ ban for certain classifications of public officers; * Develop and deploy a mandatory two- to three-hour ethics, public trust, and anticorruption online course to be taken by all public sector employees and supplement it with annual follow-up refresher courses; * Introduce a mandatory ethics, corruption prevention and corruption educational module on the curricula of all primary, high and tertiary level educational institutions; * Develop and administer a national community-based corruption prevention and corruption awareness educational programme; * Appoint an ethics/ good-governance/anticorruption cabinet minister; * Establish a national (and regional) anti-corruption/ anti-bribery policy development advisory council; and * Implement ‘open government’ concepts, and conduct and publish annual performance surveys of national anti-corruption institutions. The conference, which began on Monday, saw over 120 participants speaking on corruption as it relates to various disciplines in the society.
Jamaican laws silent on spreading of HIV/AIDS Jamaica Observer - The intentional or reckless infection of a person with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is considered a crime in many countries and punishable by law. But according to Margarette Macaulay, attorney-at-law and women’s and children’s affairs advocate, there is nothing in the Jamaican law to deal with situations where a person knowing of his or her infection, knowingly or wilfully exposes another person to infection by engaging in unsafe sexual conduct with that person and thereby intentionally or recklessly transmitting a venereal disease (STDs, and STIs) or HIV/AIDS. “The need for legislation to deal with the pandemic of
HIV/AIDS is obvious,” Macaulay said. “The 1937 Venereal Disease Act is archaic, and so, woefully inadequate for the epidemic propositions of infections from STDs and STIs and HIV/ AIDS. We must not forget the increasing number of children born with the infection,” she said. Some countries or jurisdictions, including some areas of the United States have enacted laws expressly to criminalise HIV transmission or exposure, charging those accused with criminal transmission of HIV. Others, including the United Kingdom, charge the accused under existing laws with such crimes as murder, manslaughter, attempted murder, or assault. In 1995 the Ethical sub-
committee of the National AIDS Committee (NAC) in Jamaica submitted a position paper to the Ministry of Health asking that legislation be passed to deal with HIV/ AIDS, persons infected, and those infected by them. However, Under the Public Health Act (review) it is believed that the definition of communicable disease under Section 2 of the Act is sufficiently wide to include HIV/AIDS as a notifiable disease (which is recorded as being notifiable since 1986). Extensive power is given to the local board under the direction of the Minister to allow for all necessary measures to be taken to investigate and implement strategies to combat the spread of all communicable diseases.
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 24, 2014
World leaders gather for Hague nuclear summit today THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Nuclear terrorism is officially the main topic for world leaders at a two-day summit in the Netherlands starting today. In practice, the Ukraine crisis will likely overshadow those talks. The Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague will form the backdrop for an emergency meeting of Group of Seven leaders on Russia’s annexation of Crimea. It’s a confrontation between Russia and the West reminiscent of the Cold War. Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending, instead sending Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is expected to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the event’s timing means world leaders can discuss Ukraine and Russia face to face. “I think these multilateral summits are an excellent opportunity for world leaders to discuss bilaterally and also amongst smaller groups of countries various issues
which are high on their minds,” Rutte told The Associated Press. But experts say frantic diplomacy focused on Ukraine shouldn’t divert from the goal of better security of nuclear material. “International attention can turn in a moment,” said Deepti Choubey, a senior director at the nongovernment Nuclear Threat Initiative. “The attentions of terrorists do not.” Delegations from 53 countries, including the leaders of the U.S., China and Japan, have started to arrive in the Hague. They will meet to negotiate on reducing and securing supplies, and keeping them out of terrorists’ hands. The G-7 includes the U.S., Britain, Germany, Japan, France, Italy and Canada. Notable absentees from the summit are North Korea and Iran, excluded by mutual consent. The summit is the third since U.S. President Barack Obama launched the series in 2009 shortly after taking office, saying that reducing
the risk of a terrorist attack with either a nuclear weapon or a “dirty bomb” was one of his most important international policy goals. Rutte agreed, saying that while progress has been made, “it’s not nearly enough.” He told reporters in The Hague that 146 nuclear “incidents” were reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency last year alone. Although they mainly were about material that temporarily went missing, “the possibility of a serious incident continues to hang over us.” Because countries usually regard protecting nuclear weapons and facilities as a confidential sovereign matter, the summits center on individual commitments by participants and conclude with a nonbinding accord. Still, they already have reached tangible results. The number of countries that possess enough highly enriched uranium or plutonium to make a bomb has fallen steadily, from 39
Mark Rutte before the first conference in Washington in 2010 to 25 at the start of the Hague summit. Piet de Klerk, the Dutch diplomat who chaired
negotiations before the summit, says a further large drop in numbers is unlikely. But he says The Hague closing accord will likely include a new commitment to reduce plutonium stores. That is particularly relevant for Japan, which owns a large plutonium stockpile even as it reevaluates its use of nuclear power in the wake of the 2011 Fukushima disaster. Additionally, the Netherlands, with help from the U.S. and South Korea, is weaving together all existing nuclear arms treaties, agreements and voluntary guidelines for military, industry and civilian use into a single package of “best practices” for nuclear security. The three host nations
and an unknown number of others will vow to adhere to this package as much as possible. Kenneth Luongo, of the Partnership for Global Security, said that the willingness of countries to commit to “essentially what’s already on the books” will act as a litmus test to show which countries are taking security seriously. “I would hope that by 2016 everybody would be on board,” he said. What’s likely to be left for a final summit back in Washington in 2016 is a mechanism for countries to request a confidential independent review of their security practices, presumably conducted by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Jimmy Carter believes U.S. is spying on him
“I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored.” Former President Jimmy Carter believes U.S. intelligence agencies are spying on him — so much so, he eschews email to avoid government spies. “You know, I have felt that my own communications are probably monitored,” Carter told NBC’s Andrea Mitchell in an interview broadcast yesterday. “And when I want to communicate with a foreign leader privately, I type or write a letter myself, put it in the post office and mail it. “I believe if I send an email, it will be monitored,” Carter continued. The 89-year-old said the National Security Agency and others have abused the argument that gathering intelligence is critical to homeland security. “That has been extremely liberalized and, I think,
abused by our own intelligence agencies,” Carter said. The 39th president, however, stopped short of criticizing No. 44 over the handling of the N.S.A. scandal, the crisis in Ukraine or anything else. “I don’t have any criticism of him,” Carter said of Obama. He was asked if the the president ever asks him for advice. “Unfortunately, the answer is no,” Carter said. “President Obama doesn’t. But previous presidents have called on me and the Carter Center to take action.” Why not Obama? “That’s a hard question for me to answer, you know, with complete candor,” he said. “I think the problem was that in dealing with the issue of peace between Israel and
Jimmy Carter Egypt, the Carter Center [took] a very strong and public position of equal treatment between the Palestinians and the Israelis. And I think this was a sensitive area in which the president didn’t want to be involved.” (Yahoo News)
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
Page 23
Turkish PM Erdogan says rivals will be crushed ISTANBUL (Reuters) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, rallying hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in Istanbul, said yesterday that political enemies accusing him of corruption would be crushed by their own immorality. The rally on the shores of the Sea of Marmara marked the climax of weeks of campaigning for March 30 local polls that may decide his political fate. Tens of thousands more gathered outside the rally grounds and clambered over fences to get in. Massed supporters cheered, called Erdogan’s name and waved red Turkish flags and the blue and gold emblems of the AK Party he founded in 2001 and led to power a year later vowing to root out the corruption that
had dogged his rivals. As the vote nears, audio tapes of telephone conversations have appeared on websites almost daily purporting to expose corruption around Erdogan. The prime minister accuses the U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers of manufacturing a police corruption investigation that touched on business associates, government members and Erdogan’s own family. “Whatever threats, blackmail or slander you throw out, you will be crushed beneath the immorality of these montages,” Erdogan said from a platform flanked by banners with his portrait. “The people can see the game that is being played.” The size of the crowd, which he put at 2 million, suggested AK Party was well
placed to keep control of Istanbul. Loss of the city would be a serious personal blow for Erdogan. The Republican People’s Party (CHP), the chief opposition group, would struggle to bring out anything like that number. But the CHP could claim a significant victory in taking Ankara. The ramifications of the turmoil in a country long held up by Washington as an example of a Muslim democracy that could anchor the Middle East are broad. On the economic front, the consumer confidence index fell to its lowest in four years last month, interest rates have risen and the lira has weakened. Erdogan described the influential Hizmet network of Gulen, who lives in selfimposed exile in Pennsylvania, in a speech on
French satellite image also shows possible plane debris KUALA LUMPUR/PERTH (Reuters) French satellite images show “floating debris” in the southern Indian Ocean, Paris said yesterday, which together with Chinese and Australian images of suspicious objects in the same wide area have focused the search for a missing Malaysian jetliner in remote seas off Australia. The new lead came as the international search for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 entered its third week, with still no confirmed trace of the Boeing 777 that vanished with 239 people on board. “This morning, Malaysia received new satellite images from the French authorities showing potential objects in the vicinity of the southern corridor,” the Malaysian Transport Ministry said in a statement. “Malaysia immediately relayed these images to the Australian rescue co-ordination center.” Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott had said there was “increasing hope” of a breakthrough in the hunt for the plane on the strength of Chinese and Australian images of possible large debris. The French Foreign Ministry said radar echoes from a satellite put the new debris finding about 2,300 km (1,430 miles) from Perth, without giving a direction or a date. The debris in the Australian image was about 2,500 km southwest of Perth and the Chinese sighting, captured two days later, was around 120 km (75 miles) “south by west” of that. “These elements have immediately been passed on to the Malaysian authorities,” the French ministry said in a statement. “France had decided to mobilize complementary satellite means to continue the search in the identified zone.” Flight MH370 vanished from civilian radar screens early on March 8, less than an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on a scheduled flight to Beijing. An international force resumed its search efforts on Sunday, zeroing in on two areas around where the earlier sightings were made in an effort to find the object identified by
China and other small debris, including a wooden pallet, spotted by a search plane on Saturday. Nothing was found, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in a statement. The search area was covered in early sea fog, particularly in the western areas, but conditions improved during the day. “The search will resume tomorrow,” AMSA said. “Chinese military Ilyushin IL-76 aircraft and Japanese P-3C aircraft will join the search on Monday.” China said the object it had seen on the satellite image was 22 meters long (74ft) and 13 meters (43ft) wide, floating in some of the most inhospitable sea territory on Earth. It could not easily be determined from the blurred images whether the objects were the same as those detected by Australia, but the Chinese photograph could depict a cluster of smaller objects, said a senior military officer from one of the 26 nations involved in the search for the plane. The wing of a Boeing 777-200ER is approximately 27 meters long and 14 meters wide at its base, according to estimates derived from publicly available scale drawings. Its fuselage is 63.7 meters long by 6.2 meters wide. Investigators believe someone on the flight shut off the plane’s communications systems, and partial military radar tracking showed it turning west and re-crossing the Malay Peninsula, apparently under the control of a skilled pilot.
Tayyip Erdogan Saturday as a terrorist organization. Turkey blocked the Twitter social networking site, a vehicle for many of the audio tapes, last week, drawing accusations from Western governments and rights groups of an attack on democratic values. Erdogan responded at a smaller rally yesterday. “The usual media are attacking us. What do they call it? ‘Intolerance of freedoms’,” he said. “I don’t care who it is, I’m not
listening. “This entity called Twitter, this YouTube, this Facebook, they have shaken families to their roots ... I don’t understand how people of good sense could defend this Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. There are all kinds of lies there.” There is widespread expectation of further postings intended to damage Erdogan, who denies all graft accusations. These could emerge ahead of the local polls, where any result much below the 40 percent achieved by AK five years ago could weaken his prospects of being elected president in July. But they could also emerge during the presidential election period itself. A poor result next week could revive concern that emerged over his hard line against protesters last summer. Ultimately, much could hinge on the opposition regaining the leadership and momentum it has lacked since 2002. Back then, Erdogan drew on public anger over corruption in Turkey’s old
political elite and named his new party AK, an acronym for Justice and Development but also a word meaning clean or white. Gulen is widely believed to have played a key role helping Erdogan to rein in the military that toppled four governments in 40 years, by using his influence in the police and judiciary to bring generals to trial. But the two fell out over Gulen’s influence, which Erdogan says amounts to a parallel state. Erdogan has shut down Gulen’s network of cramming schools, a major source of income and influence for Hizmet. He has purged the police and judiciary of Gulenists and blocked a bid by Gulen to extend his influence into the intelligence service, MIT. Gulen, who denies any scheming against Erdogan, says he has no plans to form a party of his own. The prime minister accused the CHP, the nationalist MHP and the Kurdish BDP party at the weekend of forming an “alliance of evil” to undermine him.
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 24, 2014
NATO commander warns of Russian threat to separatist Moldova region (Reuters) - NATO’s top military commander said yesterday Russia had built up a “very sizeable” force on its border with Ukraine and Moscow may have a region in another ex-Soviet republic, Moldova, in its sights after annexing Crimea. Russia was acting more like an adversary than a partner, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, U.S. Air Force General Philip Breedlove said, and the 28nation alliance should rethink the positioning and readiness of its forces in eastern Europe. Russian troops, using armoured vehicles, automatic weapons and stun grenades, seized some of the last military facilities under Ukrainian control on Saturday in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russian President Vladimir Putin formally annexed the day before. Breedlove was one of several Western officials and politicians to warn yesterday that Russia may not stop there in a crisis that has taken EastWest relations lurching back towards the Cold War since pro-Western protests in Ukraine ousted Moscow-
allied President Viktor Yanukovich last month. “The (Russian) force that is at the Ukrainian border now to the east is very, very sizeable and very, very ready,” the NATO commander told an event held by the German Marshall Fund think-tank. U.S. President Barack Obama’s deputy national security adviser Tony Blinken said the build-up might just be aimed at intimidating Ukraine’s new pro-Western leaders but that Russia could invade the country’s mainly Russianspeaking east. “It’s possible that they are preparing to move in,” he told CNN. A meeting of the G7 group of industrialised nations has been hastily convened for Monday in the Netherlands to allow leaders to discuss a response to Russia’s actions. Obama will also meet Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for bilateral talks. Russia said it was complying with international agreements and had no plans to invade. It has called the soldiers who took over Ukrainian bases in Crimea
“self defence forces”. The United States and the European Union have targeted some of Putin’s closest political and business allies with personal sanctions and have threatened broader economic sanctions if Putin’s forces encroach on other eastern or southern parts of Ukraine with big Russianspeaking populations. Germany, which has close trade ties with Russia, said the European Union was united in its readiness to impose sanctions on Russia if necessary, and that Moscow had the most to lose. “None of us wants to escalate, but if Russia changes things unilaterally, then it must know that we won’t accept it and that relations will be bad,” Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German television. Ukrainian marine standards were still flying yesterday alongside the Russian flag at the Crimean base of Ukraine’s top military unit in Feodosia, but the Ukrainian troops were getting ready to leave after the Russian military takeover.
“Our only issue is that we want to leave this place with honour, weapons and vehicles,” one Ukrainian soldier said. Blinken said Washington was considering all requests for military assistance from the government in Kiev, but that it would be unlikely to prevent an invasion of Ukraine, which is not part of NATO. Breedlove said the military alliance needed to think about its eastern members, particularly the former Soviet Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. “We need to think about our allies, the positioning of our forces in the alliance and the readiness of those forces ... such that we can be there to defend against it if required, especially in the Baltics and other places,” Breedlove said. Breedlove said NATO was very concerned about the threat to Transdniestria, which declared independence from Moldova in 1990 but has not been recognised by any United Nations member state. About 30 percent of its half million population is ethnic Russian and more than half of the total speak Russian as a mother tongue. Russia has 440 peacekeepers in Transdniestria plus other soldiers guarding Soviet-era arms stocks. It launched a new military exercise, involving 8,500 artillery men, near Ukraine’s
eastern border 10 days ago. “There is absolutely sufficient (Russian) force postured on the eastern border of Ukraine to run to Transdniestria if the decision was made to do that, and that is very worrisome,” Breedlove said. The speaker of Transdniestria’s parliament has urged Russia to incorporate the region, which lies to the west of Ukraine. The new leaders in Kiev have said Moscow could seek to link up pro-Russian regions in Moldova, and Georgia to Ukraine’s east, in a destabilising southern corridor with Crimea in the middle. Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov was quoted by the state’s ItarTass news agency as saying Russia was complying with international agreements limiting the number of troops near its border with Ukraine. Moscow’s ambassador to the European Union, Vladimir Chizhov, said Russia did not have “expansionist views”. Asked to give a commitment that Russian troops would not move into Ukrainian territory outside Crimea, he told Britain’s BBC. “There is no intention of the Russian Federation to do anything like that.” U.S. Senator John McCain, a Republican foreign policy specialist, told the same BBC show that Putin’s actions in Ukraine
were akin to those of Adolf Hitler in 1930s Germany. “I think he (Putin) is calculating how much he can get away with, just as Adolf Hitler calculated how much he could get away with in the 1930s,” McCain said. Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier underscored the huge potential repercussions of Russia’s bid to redraw national borders in Europe. “I’m very worried the unlawful attempt to alter recognised borders in our European neighbourhood, 25 years after the end of the Cold War, will open Pandora’s Box,” he said. Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, accepted on Sunday that Crimea was now “de facto” a part of Russia, but said the annexation set a “bad precedent”. Western sanctions lost some of their sting on Sunday when Russia’s SMP bank, whose main shareholders were targeted by U.S. sanctions, said Visa Inc and MasterCard Inc had resumed payment services for its clients. The bank said it was glad the two biggest international payments systems had listened to its arguments to reverse Friday’s suspension of services as it was wrong to target the bank, which was not itself subject to any sanctions.
Israel to pay ‘very high price’ if it attacks Gaza: Hamas Gaza City (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - Gaza’s Hamas premier Ismail Haniya warned Israel yesterday it would pay dearly if it heeded its foreign minister’s call to reoccupy the Palestinian enclave to try to halt rocket attacks. “We tell the enemy and (Foreign Minister Avigdor) Lieberman who is threatening to reoccupy Gaza that the time for your threats is over,” Haniya told a rally in Gaza City. “Any aggression or crime or stupidity you commit will cost you a very high price.” On March 12, during a two-day flare-up in which Gaza militants fired at least 60 rockets into Israel and the Israelis responded with dozens of air strikes, Lieberman said Israel would have no choice but to reoccupy Gaza, from which it withdrew all troops and settlers in summer 2005. “There is no alternative to a full reoccupation of the entire Gaza Strip,” he told Channel 2 television.
Ismail Haniya Speaking to around 40,000 supporters at a public rally marking 10 years since an Israeli air strike killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, Haniya warned Israel that Gaza militants had “far more capabilities than you imagine”. He also restated his Islamic movement’s opposition to peace talks between Israel and the West Bank-based Palestinian
Authority of president Mahmud Abbas. “Stop negotiating with the enemy,” he told the PA. “We will not recognise Israel.” The memorial rally for Yassin — the wheelchairbound co-founder of Hamas killed on March 22, 2004 — took plac e u n d e r t h e watchful eyes of hundreds of Hamas policemen who closed off streets around the central Al-Sarraya square and took up positions on rooftops. Senior Islamic Jihad officials and members of smaller groups attended the event but Abbas’s Fatah, Hamas’s bitter rival, stayed away. The Ezzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s military wing, sent threatening text messages to Israelis and foreign reporters in Israel on Saturday, the anniversary of Yassin’s killing. “If Gaza will be attacked the life of the Zionists will be hell” and “In the next war all the Land of Palestine
Monday March 24, 2014
Kaieteur News
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Turkey shoots down Syrian Britons sceptical of success in plane it says violated air space Cameron’s EU renegotiation bid (Reuters) - Turkish armed forces shot down a Syrian plane yesterday that Ankara said had crossed into its air space in an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for control of a border crossing. “A Syrian plane violated our airspace,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told an election rally in northwest Turkey. “Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard.” Syria condemned what it called a “blatant aggression” and said the jet was pursuing rebel fighters inside Syria. It said the pilot had managed to eject before the plane crashed. The Turkish general staff said one of its control centres detected two Syrian MIG-23s around 1 pm (1100 GMT) and warned them four times after they came close to the Turkish border. One plane entered Turkish airspace at Yayladagi, east of the Kasab border crossing, it said. A Turkish F-16 fired a rocket at the Syrian jet and it crashed around 1,200 metres (1,300 yards) inside Syrian territory. Amateur video released by rebel fighters showed smoke rising from wooded hills in the border area where they said the plane had come down. The rebels have been fighting since Friday for control of the Kasab crossing, one of several counter-offensives since they retreated this week from a crusader castle near the Lebanese frontier and town on a vital cross-border supply route. State television said Hilal al-Assad, a cousin of the president and local leader of the National Defence Force militia which has been supporting the army’s efforts to crush the rebellion, was killed near Kasab yesterday.
Assad’s soldiers, backed by Iran and Shi’ite forces from Iraq and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, have been pushing rebels back in the centre of the country around Damascus and Homs, but have only a minimal presence in most of north and eastern Syria. The incident occurred six months after Turkish warplanes shot down a Syrian helicopter which crossed into Turkish airspace in the same border area. Once a close ally of Assad, Erdogan became a fierce critic of the president’s military response to Syria’s uprising and has sheltered and supported rebels battling to overthrow him. Authorities in Damascus say this week’s Islamist rebel offensive around the Kasab border crossing marked a new escalation, accusing Turkey of firing tank and artillery shells into Syria to provide cover for the fighters. A source at Syria’s foreign ministry called Turkey’s actions “unprecedented and unjustified”, state news agency SANA said. More than 140,000 people have been killed in Syria’s conflict, while 2.5 million refugees have fled to neighbouring countries and millions more need humanitarian aid. Assad’s forces have already lost control of most border crossings with Turkey during the three-year civil war but had held on to Kasab, gateway to the coastal province of Latakia that has remained an Assad stronghold. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said heavy clashes continued for a third day around Kasab, where rebels have seized control of the border crossing but Assad’s forces, who still control the nearby Kasab village, have been fighting back, supported by air power.
MF’s Lagarde says can’t do much about reform without U.S. support BEIJING (Reuters) International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said yesterday that there was not much she should could to push reform at her organization and give emerging economies a bigger say without the support of the United States. China in January called on IMF member nations to stick to a commitment to give emerging markets more power at the global lender after U.S. lawmakers set back historic reforms that would give developing countries a greater say. The remarks by China’s foreign ministry were an indirect criticism of the United States, the biggest and most powerful IMF member, where lawmakers that month failed to agree on funding measures needed for the reforms to move forward. The U.S. Congress must sign off on the IMF funding to complete 2010 reforms that would make China the IMF’s third-largest member and revamp the IMF board to reduce the dominance of Western Europe. Speaking at Beijing’s elite Tsinghua University, Lagarde
Christine Lagarde said this was a matter for the United States to complete the process and ensure that the relevant legislation can be passed. “This is not something I can do much about,” she told students. She added that she hoped emerging economies could have a bigger voice within the institution. The reform of the voting shares, known as quotas, cannot proceed without the United States, which holds the only controlling share of IMF votes. After putting off the request in 2012 because of the U.S. presidential election,
the U.S. Treasury has sought to tuck the provision into several bills since March of last year. The administration’s requests, however, have been met with skepticism from some Republicans, who see them as tantamount to approving fresh funding in a tight budget environment. Some U.S. lawmakers have also raised concerns about how well the IMF is helping struggling economies in Europe and the risks attached to IMF loans, suggesting Congress is in no hurry to approve any changes. Developing nations have long viewed the IMF with suspicion for promoting disastrous privatizations that complicated the transition from communism for some emerging nations in the early 1990s, and for pushing budget cuts that exacerbated debt crises in Asia and Latin America a few years later. That suspicion has been compounded by a power structure that dates to IMF’s founding in 1944. The structure was shaped by the victors of World War Two the United States and other Allied nations.
(Reuters) - Nearly threequarters of Britons doubt that Prime Minister David Cameron will succeed in a bid to renegotiate the country’s relationship with the European Union, polling data released yesterday showed. The large-scale poll showed public opinion split on whether Britain should leave the 28-country bloc but highlighted widespread discontent among voters about the ways in which the country benefits from its EU membership. The data, gathered from 20,000 respondents, will come as a blow for Cameron just a week after he set out seven key policy areas, including judicial powers and immigration, where he hopes to reshape Britain’s ties with the EU. Faced with eurosceptic factions in his Conservative Party and voters defecting to the anti-EU UK Independence Party (UKIP) Cameron has promised to negotiate sweeping reforms to the EU and, if re-elected next year, to hold a referendum by 2017 on whether Britain should stay in it. The poll, released by former Conservative party
David Cameron deputy chairman Michael Ashcroft, showed 72 percent said they had “little or no confidence”, or “not a great deal of confidence” that Cameron could negotiate a better deal for Britain. Just 4 percent expressed a “great deal of confidence”. “Many like David Cameron’s plan to negotiate better terms for Britain,” Ashcroft said. “The trouble is, three quarters of them doubt it will work.” “Most of the pessimists think other countries will not be prepared to make concessions to Britain however well the PM (Prime Minister) argues the case.”
Cameron has so far received a lukewarm reception for his renegotiation bid from European leaders. French President Francois Hollande poured cold water on the prospect of major EU treaty changes while a high profile visit to Britain by German Chancellor Angela Merkel yielded only limited backing for reforms. The Ashcroft poll, which was conducted in January this year, showed that 41 percent thought Britain should leave the EU, with an equal proportion supporting continued membership. Cameron’s party is expected to suffer in European elections next month as voters increasingly turn to UKIP to express their frustration with a perceived interference in British affairs by European authorities. The poll said that 49 percent of people think the costs of EU membership outweigh the benefits, with only 31 percent holding the opposite view. A 62 percent majority believe other countries get more out of EU membership than Britain does.
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Kaieteur News
Monday March 24, 2014
CARIFTA GAMES TRIALS Jeffrey, Vieira, Roshandin, Mohamed delight fans Yaw, Abbensetts star on day 2 It was a day that young Matthew Vieira would never forget as he took full advantage of the absence of seasoned competitors to dominate the Superbike, during the staging of the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club Meet which ended yesterday, before a fairsized crowd, at the South Dakota Circuit. Vieira won all three Superbike races to be voted champion rider as he produced a flawless display that will surely send jitters up the spines of his more seasoned opponents heading into the next Meet. Other outstanding performances of the day was registered by current Group 4 champion Kevin Jeffrey, who raced unbeaten in all three races in the category, while Shairaz Roshandin duplicated his feat in Group 2A and Rameez Mohamed secured two first places in Group 2B to cap off a solid day’s performance. However, the day was robbed of the absence of the Group 3 drivers and the
professional Superbikers who were a no-show on the grid. In the first Group 4 race, Jeffrey led from pole to lead into second place Mark Vieira, while Viskok Persaud in his Subaru Impreza ended third. The next Group 4 event saw Jeffrey once again lead from pole and never relinquished his advantage to come home ahead of Vieira and Andrew King. The final race in the category saw Jeffrey start from the back of the pack and he obliterated the field, picking off the front runners one by one until he lastly overtook Vieira and stormed clear for a decisive win to stay unbeaten throughout the day. Young Matthew Vieira was similar in his demolition of his opponents as he too lead from start to finish in all three races. The full results will be made available in the next issue.
Stag Beer/EBFA Div. 1 League
Agricola arrest Soesdyke; Diamond needle Mocha On a sunny Sunday afternoon in the village of Grove on the East Bank of Demerara, Agricola Red Triangle maintained their excellent form in a performance that ensured that they took back the lead in the Stag Beer/East Bank Football Association (EBFA) Division-one League with a solid 5-0 win over Soesdyke Falcons in feature play of a double header at the Grove Playfield. The day’s curtain raiser saw Diamond Football Club recording their first win of the league when they needled Mocha Champs to seal their first points of the competition. Agricola, a very offensive minded side, maintained that billing with another compact performance. They opened the scoring in the 15th minute after being awarded a corner which was taken by Travis Welch. Welch’ shot sailed across the goal and past all the Soesdyke players to find a lurking Gordon Grant at the
last post. Grant’s first time volley quickly settled at the back of the net, goalkeeper Javier Greene had no chance to avert the goal; it was the first of three for Grant. Constant pressure by the Agricola side resulted in a penalty being awarded 35 minutes on, Grant was entrusted with the shot and did not disappoint as he buried the shot past Greene. Welch’ hard work paid off for him with a goal of his own five minutes into the second half to increase the lead, 3-0. Soesdyke have only themselves to blame, they were just not able to get it right in the attacking third whilst their opponents ensured that they were clinical in that department. Such was the pressure on the Soesdyke lads that they gave away an own goal in the 77th minute, compliments of Collin Holder. Agricola were just not satisfied with a 4-0 win and continued to take the attack to Soesdyke. Grant was unstoppable again with ten minutes to full time with another well taken
shot that sailed into the back of the nets across the flat footed Greene, Agricola 5 Soesdyke 0. The win took Agricola to 9 points, the same as Timehri Panthers but the former has a better goal difference of plus 14 to the latter’s, plus 6. The Diamond/Mocha Champs clash was a keen tussle between two sides that were chasing their first win of the league. The exchanges were even for the most part as neither side allowed each other any leverage in the final third. But it was Diamond that shone bright when it mattered and took the opportunity when it came their way to score. Lenardo Cottam, who was a constant bother to the Mocha defenders, nailed his opportunity in the 58th minute to give his side the lead. As it turned out, that was the golden goal of the match that brought Diamond their first points and second goal of the season. As the completion heats up more action is slated for Sunday at the same venue.
Points Standings Teams Agricola Timehri Panthers Kuru Kururu Grove Hi Tech Soesdyke Falcons Diamond
Played 3 3 3 2 3 3
Won 3 3 2 1 1 1
Lost 0 0 1 1 2 2
Draw 0 0 0 0 0 0
GF 15 6 6 6 9 2
GA 1 0 3 5 9 4
GD +14 +6 +3 +1 0 -2
Mocha Champs Herstelling
3 2
0 0
3 2
0 0
0 0
7 14
-7 -14
Pts 9 9 6 3 3 3
Recreation does for you what it says literally. It creates you again. It refreshes the mind, renews the spirit, and motivates the body. Constant working towards some objective can do the opposite, unless we control it by rest and relaxation.
0 0
By Zaheer Mohamed Undoubtedly two of Guyana’s most promising junior athletes, Jason Yaw and Kevin Abbensetts, turned in commendable performances when the 2014 CARIFTA Games trials continued yesterday at Police Sports Club. Yaw overpowered his rivals to take the boys 200m U-18race. He took an early lead and clocked 21.80 seconds to finish ahead of his Running Brave club mate Dequan Vancooten who ran 22.20 and Linton Mentis of Police SC in 22.70. Abbensetts of Mercury Fast Laners blazed the field in 21.50 seconds to take the boys 200m U-20 race; Kareem Purch of Police SC placed second in 22.40 and Shaquille Smartt of Upper Demerara took third in 22.60. Cassey George of Christianburg battered her rivals to claim the girls 3000m open. She dominated the race from the onset and clocked 10:44.50; Andrea George of Running Brave finished second in 11:22.50, while Shontel Hinds of Christianburg ended third in 11:37.80. Shannon Griffith of Upper Demerara won the girls 200m U-20 in 26.00 ahead of Running Brave duo Shaquan Daniels in 26.20 and Shomane Daniels in 26.80. Kezra Murray of Police Sports Club took the girls
800m U-18 in a time of 2 minutes 26.20 seconds. Cassie Kirton of Christianburg placed second in 2:26.30 followed by Leyanna Charles of Enmore in 2:38.00. The girls 800m U-20 event was taken by Shaunsel Adams who clocked 2:42.20, she overcame her Mercury Fast Laners Club mate Sasha James who finished in 2:56.90. Sasha James of Mercury Fast Laners leaped 1.35m to win the girls U-20 high jump, while Shannon Griffith of Upper Demerara grabbed the honours in the girls U-20 Triple Jump with 10.49m. The girls U-18 Triple Jump was won by Natrecia Hooper of Running Brave with a leap of 11.32m; Melanie Griffith and Chanton Bright, both of Upper Demerara placed second and third with 10.83m and10.18m respectively. Mercury Fast Laners’ Khadidja Ba carted off the girls U-18 Discuss throw with 21.54m. Trystal McAllister of Upper Demerara placed second with 18.65m. Kwesi Blair of Mercury Fast Laners ran a time of 2:04.40 to win the boys 800m U-18 ahead of Orlando Adams of Christianburg who finished in 2:09.40 and Anfernee Headerker of Running Brave in 2:09.80. Orin Prince of Mercury Fast Laners grabbed the boys U20 800m in 2:04.40, while
Rondel Austin of Police SC placed second in 2:04.60 and Darrell Pelew of Enmore came third in 2:10.60. Matthew McKenzie of Running Brave put his name on the selectors list by winning the boys 3000m U18 event in 18:08.20, his club mate Joshua McKenzie took the runner spot in 10:08.40 followed by Police SC Ronaldo Wishart in 10:59.00. Grivon Grant staked a claim for selection after he won the 5000m boys U-20 in 17:37.10, Carl McKenzie of Running Brave finished second in 18:08.80 and Christianburg’s Leon Benjamin ended in third position in 18:57.80. The boys u20 Triple Jump was taken by Kade Pearce of Enmore with a leap of 12.85m; Kareem Purch of Police SC placed second with 12.72m, while Damon Williams of Royal took third with 12.19m. Joel Thom of Enmore won the boys U-18 Triple Jump with 12.67m; Sherwin Vangendern of Upper Demerara placed second with 11.76m. Police SC athlete Clarence Greene cleared 27.49m to win the boys U-20 Discuss while Timothy Fullington placed second with 27.39m. The boys U-18 Discuss was taken by Jermaine Simmons of Christianburg with a throw of 33.73m, George Jacobs of Mercury Fast Laners placed second with 32.40m followed by Emanuel Sanko with 30.63m.
Mayor’s All Star footballers suffer... From page 27 Dutch goalkeeper. Minutes later Dominique Garnett failed to convert from a cross in the goal. They kept their composure and continued to execute the coach’s game plan despite a few slip ups. However, Perriera’s efforts finally paid off when he got another breakthrough and converted on the run to place his team in the lead 1-0. Minutes later off a cross from Malcolm Wilson, Perriera converted his second placing the Dutch side on in an uncomfortable position in the game. With a few creative build ups the home side began working the ball on their opponents and forced central defender Sheldon Ramsay to tackle as he fouled the forward in the penalty area resulting a penalty. Conswette again converted from the spot giving the home side some reassurance and hope of leveling things within the
Kevin Layne remaining minutes of the game. Joshua Browne’s defensive work marshaled the flank attacks of the Dutch forwards and fended off their raids as the game concluded in the Mayor’s All Star favour. Suriname U20 Head Coach Roberto G’odeken speaking with the media after the game indicated that these two matches were very good practice for his squad, which is in preparation some thirty days now, ahead of the Concacaf Olympic Qualifier. He noted that these two
matches were used to test their game plan in defence and the exploitation of quick forward movement. Expressing thanks to the Guyanese touring squad, who arrived in the Dutch capitol on Monday, he noted that the players were quick and skillful; however he hopes that his squad can repair the exposed sections of the unit and move ahead in their preparation. Meanwhile, the Mayor’s Cup side punished Prakash FC, a third Division side, 11-1. Running rampant were Vurlon Mills, Joshua Kamal and Tichard Joseph with doubles, while 16 year old Kevin Lane, Shemroy Arthur, Ronnel Arthur, Delon Lanferman and Jeffrey Perreira with one apiece inked their name on the score sheet. Goalie Devon Charles was noted as the outstanding player on tour and came in for praise. Thanks were expressed by the Management and squad to Thrill for assisting them in their travel to Suriname.