By Gaulbert Sutherland
Banging empty pots, pans and milk cans, a PNCR protest march on the cost of living ploughed through city streets yesterday, overrunning police barriers to get to Parliament Buildings where an effigy of President Bharrat Jagdeo and mock coffins representing VAT were set afire.
The march, another in the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led actions saw one of the larger crowds in the series of protests led by the main opposition party so far and for a period descended into unruliness as protesters dodged police and broke through barriers to move into other areas that were not a part of the route, notably Regent Street.
This was condemned by the Guyana Police Force, which in a press release last evening, expressed “gross disappointment” with the conduct of PNCR leader Robert Corbin and members and supporters of his party “for their display” during yesterday’s march. “To the shock and surprise of members of the Force and perhaps all law abiding citizens, the barriers at Brickdam and Manget Place used to prevent traffic, other than members of Parliament, from proceeding west along Brickdam were thrown down and the protestors then proceeded to outside of Parliament in breach of the approved route”, the release stated. It said that the police were forced to exercise great restraint taking into consideration the many businesses and persons assembled along the streets where the protesters breached. “The Guyana Police Force wishes to state that appropriate actions will be taken in relation to the breaches of the law identified”, the release added.
The procession moved to Regent Street after the march moved off from parliament, and saw protesters breaching the police barrier at the corner of Avenue of the Republic and Robb Street before rushing to Regent Street, forcing some obviously terrified shop-owners to hastily bolt their doors. During this time there were no notable PNCR leaders at the head of the procession and the presence of heavily armed police and the urgings of some persons prevented them from proceeding farther up the street. Dodging police, who drove around in their vehicles, the crowd moved quickly to the John Ford Car Park at the corner of Church and East Streets, where a rally was held.
Speaking at the rally, Corbin said that the protests would continue unless there is a change in the system of governance. He charged that the high cost of living situation had arisen because of a “visionless government that excludes everyone else”.
Earlier in the afternoon, at the corner of Durban Street and Mandela Avenue a crowd comprising a few hundred persons had assembled, waiting to move off, which they did some 50 minutes after the 1 pm scheduled start time and under the blazing sun. Led by a black banner with stark white writing that proclaimed ‘Jadgeo, Cost of Living Killing We’, the march slowly moved off with Corbin and PNCR Members of Parliament (MP) George Norton and Basil Williams immediately behind the banner at the head of the procession.
The banner was preceded by a number of persons on bicycles and in a din of sound created by the banging of metal utensils and empty milk cans, with the protesters’ chants barely perceptible above the deafening noise and fetching an effigy of President Jagdeo and a coffin with the words ‘RIP VAT’ and ‘Death by high cost of living’, the march moved off.
Chanting slogans such as “Jagdeo, we hungry”, “5% can’t wuk”, “if anywhere open, shut them down”, “who are we, the people power”, “the cost of living is killing”, “we demand a cost of living allowance” among other phrases, the marchers also intermittently sang “We shall overcome”. A few carried placards with phrases like ‘Ease the tax and reduce oil prices’ and ‘5% can’t wuk’.
Corbin, who spoke to reporters shortly before the march started off, said that the party had asked for something to be done about the cost of living and declaring that nothing was done, contended that the measures announced on Tuesday by Jagdeo are “half-measures”. He asked how much can be done with $4000 declaring that “these half-measures are not enough”. He asserted that Parliament was deliberately fixed for yesterday as the party had announced that they would be marching that day and declared that the motion placed in parliament by the government which was due to be debated yesterday was a “smokescreen to delude the people that they are doing something about it (the high cost of living)”. Emphasizing the billions “in excess” collected in VAT; Corbin stated that this should be refunded to the people. He added that the government should be calling all stakeholders to see how to get out of the “dilemma”.
Meantime, as the procession moved along D’Urban Street, two youngsters, dressed in what appeared to be school uniforms walked with a banner that stated, ‘Join the demonstration against high cost of living. Demand relief now’. Banners separated the procession into sections with one reading ‘Starvation and Death by High Cost of Living. We demand relief now”. The marchers also chanted slogans like ‘Free Oliver Hinckson Now’, ‘Give Sharma he license now’ and ‘No Carifesta’.
Barriers at the junction of Creen and D’Urban streets, close to the Camp Street prison saw vocal protesters shouting with the police ranks manning the barriers as about 10 other ranks in full riot gear, stood closer to the prison. By this time, about 2:30 pm, the crowd had grown larger and proceeded through Creen Street, through Norton Street, then Camp Street into Russell Street moving into Hunter Street in Albuoystown to Barr Street, then Sussex Street in Charlestown before moving into Charles Street. At the Carmel Community High School on that street, behind the fence, students loudly joined in with the protesters’ chants.
By this time, the crowd stretched quite some way away from the head, which had become submerged as persons also walked in front. After leaving Hadfield Street and into Brickdam, the persons at the front, pushing aside the police barriers, surged to the Public buildings, where parliament was in session to discuss the government’s cost of living motion. This was shortly after 3 pm.
There, PNCR MP Volda Lawrence attempted to gain entrance through the bolted gate, which was manned by armed ranks but was refused. She asserted that they had been given orders to “lock us out of parliament” and asked why she could not enter and perform her constitutional duties. As the protesters chanted loudly, a number of PPP parliamentarians and staff of Parliament could be seen looking on from the balcony.
After a few minutes, the ‘RIP VAT’ coffin and another smaller one were set afire by a group of persons close to the western exit of the Parliament buildings and then the effigy of President Jagdeo was also burned. As this was happening the people cheered. Some faced off with the armed policemen there but then as they procession moved off again, they followed.
Proceeding through Avenue of the Republic, the protesters swarmed the barrier at the corner of that Avenue and Robb Street and pushing through, they raced up the street as the police also rushed to the corner of Robb and King streets, and the protesters then rushed up King Street into Regent Street. Here, stores hastily shut their doors and as heavily armed ranks assembled at the Guyoil Gas Station on Regent street, the protesters moved into Wellington street then to Charlotte Street before there was a split with some moving into Camp Street and others moved up to Alexander Street. When they reached the corner of Alexander and Robb Street, some split and headed to Bourda Market while the main body headed to Church Street and then to the rallying point at the John Ford car park.
Here, they moved to the sound of Bob Marley before being addressed by the party’s leadership. First was Lawrence, who declared that the concessions given by the government weren’t given with a good heart and “we gotta squeeze it out of them”. She asked how the 22 bakeries which the government said it would subsidize were selected and if they were spread across the country. “We want to survive…we want to ensure the people of this country can get a salary that they can live on until the next salary”, she told the gathering to loud cheers. After her was parliamentarian Aubrey Norton who urged that they must fight with discipline and courage. “We are struggling for justice, to put food on our plates”, he stated.
Speaking after him was Corbin, who noted that they were there with specific objectives in mind. He said that there is a crisis in governance currently declaring that they would not take the measures announced by President Jagdeo at face value as previously the president had signed and made a number of promises and “today, five years later, he has not implemented most of them”. He charged that the government was not serious in dealing with the “economic crisis”. As he spoke, a helicopter circled once in the air above the gathering and then left. He urged single-parents to sign up for the single-parent fund stating that “we have to put them to the test”.
Corbin declared that the cost of living situation arose because of the “visionless government” that excludes everyone else and asserted that unless there is a change in the system of governance in the country, “this (protests) will continue to happen”. He urged persons to assemble at the square of the Revolution at 10:30 am today stating that President Jagdeo had failed to implement proper measures to deal with the cost of living. “We will not stop unless we have some results from Jagdeo”, he declared.
