SABOTAGE OF TELEPHONE SYSTEM CONTINUES

UNCLAS GEORGETOWN 000417 SIPDIS SIPDIS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: ECPS MCAP PINS ECON GY SUBJECT: SABOTAGE OF TELEPHONE SYSTEM CONTINUES REF: GEORGETOWN 219 ¶1. SUMMARY: Guyana Telephone and Telegraph (GT&T) has revealed several "acts of sabotage" that have disrupted telephone communications for several key military installations and large businesses. The events are the latest in a series of acts of vandalism against the company's facilities. END SUMMARY. ¶2. GT&T, owned by U.S. firm Atlantic Tele Network, announced that more than 1,000 customers were without telephone service following two acts of vandalism over the May 5 to 7 weekend. In one act, vandals severed a cable in the Alberttown section of Georgetown. The outage reportedly left the Guyana Defense Force installation at Camp Ayangana without telephone service, including a hotline number established for information on the recent theft of 33 AK-47s from the base. In the second incident, vandals broke a padlock and cut cables inside a telephone switch box at Houston, just south of Georgetown on the East Bank of Demerara. The outage affected several businesses in the largely industrial area, including Banks DIH, the country's largest distillery, and the company's D'Aguiar Park housing compound, which was a subject of recent GDF raids. ¶3. The phone company noted that the vandalism appeared to be a "well orchestrated plan", with a company official estimating that repairs could take up to two weeks. A GT&T official told EmbOff on May 9 that the company expects to have service to the GDF facility restored by the following day. ¶4. COMMENT: These latest incidents follow a series of acts of sabotage that disrupted internet and data service on the Americas II cable (reftel). The earlier incidents, which occurred in relatively rural coastal areas, sparked speculation that the sabotage was intended to undermine the company's image amidst GOG allegations that it was offering poor service to Guyanese customers. The latest incidents, however, have been widely reported as acts of vandalism and were clearly not accidental. The particular choice of locations and their potential strategic importance raise concerns about the security of Guyana's communications infrastructure as well as the vandals' motive. END COMMENT.