VZCZCXRO9604
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHGE #0417 1301132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101132Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3460
RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL

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.