President David Granger has issued a proclamation outlining Monday June 25, 2018, as a national day of mourning in memory of the victims of the piracy massacre off the coast of Suriname that occurred between the the period of April 27 and May 3, 2018.
According to the proclamation that was signed by the Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, “the President considers that the Co-operative Republic of Guyana should observe Monday the 25th day of June, 2018 as a national day of mourning as a solemn memorial to the victims of the massacre of Guyanese fishermen off the coast of Suriname.”
Moreover, the proclamation issued by the President states “in exercise of that authority vested in me under article 99(1) of the Constitution, I declare Monday the 25th day of June, 2018 a national day of mourning for that purpose and call on all Authorities, Boards, Commissions, Corporations, Public Agencies, Ministries and citizens to fly the national flag of Guyana at half-staff to demonstrate solidarity with the families of those killed in these grisly and gruesome acts and to accord due homage, respect and reverence to the memory of the victims.”
During the late part of April 2018, four boats were attacked by a group of men who brutalized the occupants by chopping them about their bodies, drenching them in hot oil and then tying the barely alive men to batteries before throwing them overboard.
Two days later, another boat was attacked and the captain killed.
Part of the crew is still said to be missing.
Recently, the alleged ring leader of the deadly pirate attacks on Suriname waters during April 21, 2018 to May 2, 2018 was arrested by police in Berbice.
The suspect has been identified as Premnauth Persaud called “Sanbad”, “Sinbad” and “Bouy.”
According to reports, the accused was arrested at Number 68 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, by ranks acting on intelligence information.
His apprehension is seen as a major breakthrough in solving the crime which left several persons dead and several missing, to date.
Persaud was wanted by both Surinamese and Guyanese lawmen following the brutal attacks on high seas.
It was reported that after committing the heinous crimes, Persaud, who was the captain of vessel Cristina-1 SK-1221 and his crew held Gowkarran Outar called “Gavin” as hostage on their way back to Guyana.
As the men approached their destination, they allegedly killed Outar and threw his body into the Atlantic Ocean, resulting it in surfacing a few days later on the Number 63 Beach.
Meanwhile, shortly before Persaud’s arrest, 19-year-old Alexander Denhart, also called “Shameface”, was arraigned with the murder of Tilacknauth Mohabir who was killed between April 27 and May 3, 2018.
One week prior to this, Denhart’s ‘boss’ Nakool Manohar, also called “Fyah”, was also arraigned with the same murder, as well as several robberies committed on the high seas.
Mohabir’s body was discovered on the Wai Wai Bank in the Atlantic Ocean days after the deadly attacks.
Surinamese law enforcement officers had arrested “Bolo” as a member of the deadly gang and they are on the hunt for another referred to as “Dick”.
The piracy attacks allegedly stemmed from the execution-style killing of Somnath Manohar who was gunned down on March 30, 2018 in Suriname.
As a result of Manohar’s death, his brother Nakool had allegedly travelled to Suriname and reportedly offered US$50,000 to the gang members to take revenge for his brother’s death.
Moreover, “Killerman” who was fingered in the death of the Guyanese businessman, was arrested and remains in custody.
Prior to his arrest, Premcharan Ravikan, a Surinamese Police Auxiliary Agent, was found dead hours after he had allegedly been kidnapped by Guyanese.
He was reportedly stabbed five times and shot once.
His throat was also slit, and a single bullet wound was evident to his abdomen.
It was later reported that he had allegedly provided the weapon that was used to execute the Somnath Monohar.
To date, “Crackhead”, who was arrested two weeks after the attacks, has confessed to killing five of the Guyanese fishermen and disposing of their bodies by throwing them overboard.
Upon his arrest, he reportedly told Police that he was following orders, which were to attack the boat and “get rid” of the occupants.
Five of the men survived the attack and are providing the necessary information as investigations continue.
