By Fareeza Haniff
Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee.
[www.inewsguyana.com] – Over the past week, there have been a surge in criminal attacks on a number of Chinese Nationals and businesses in Guyana, causing several Chinese businessmen to lead a delegation, which met with Commissioner of Police, Seelall Persaud and Commander of the ‘A’ Division, Clifton Hicken.
Speaking exclusively to iNews today [Monday, August 25], Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee said the Chinese business community have been assured by the Police that patrols will intensify in the Georgetown area.
Notwithstanding this, the Chinese were also advised to install more cameras and alarms in their business places.
“It is unfortunate that it seems to me that the business people in the Chinese community are being targeted because these occurrences are too frequent and I cannot draw any other conclusion but to say that they appear to be rather easy targets because of course they are foreigners, they don’t understand a lot of things in our culture,” Rohee said.
Reports reaching iNews revealed that within the last week, there were approximately twelve robberies committed on Chinese establishments, of which four were on stores located on Regent Street.
iNews was also reliably informed that Chinese Nationals were also attacked at the weekend on their way from the Cheddi Jagan International Airport. Another report also detailed that some of the nationals were on their way into the interior when they were stopped by men in police uniform at the Linden/Soesdyke Junction and robbed of their valuables.
GDF Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Mark Phillips and Major General Kong Li of the People’s Liberation Army, recently signed a multi – million dollar military-aid package
“They don’t understand the kind of criminal gangsterism that exist in certain parts of the country, in particular, Georgetown and therefore they are vulnerable,” Rohee told iNews.
He further explained that the police have to give the necessary support to ensure that the Chinese Nationals are not taken advantage of.