The terms of reference for the Commission of Inquiry into last Wednesday’s killing of three Linden protesters should be completed by August 2, President Donald Ramotar said yesterday even as he maintained that the electricity subsidy to the town is “unsustainable” and will only be discussed when the community returns to normal.
In a hastily-called press conference at the Office of the President, Ramotar stressed that the gradual removal of the subsidy proposed by his administration remains on the table. The decision to remove the subsidy for electricity for the mining town triggered the massive protest and shutdown of the community which began on Wednesday and which saw Ivan Lewis of Wismar Housing Scheme, Ron Somerset of Amelia’s Ward and Shemroy Bouyea of Wisroc Housing Scheme being fatally shot by police. Over 20 others were injured.
“What the government offered on April 19, 2012 in the engagement with APNU and which was agreed to and then subsequently rejected remains on the table,” Ramotar said yesterday. “We spoke of gradualism and selectivity then and we are prepared to discuss this proposal once again,” he said. However, the president said, “fruitful discussions cannot be had in (the) atmosphere that currently prevails but we are ready to discuss all of these matters with all the stakeholders once normalcy is restored.”
Lindeners, on the third day of the planned five-day protest yesterday, blocked the entrances into the town. All traffic passing through Linden to enter the interior has been stopped since the protest began. The president said yesterday that he has ordered the roads cleared. “I have instructed the Minister of Public Works, Mr. Robeson Benn to bring in heavy-duty equipment to clear the roads of debris and logs so as to ensure that there is ingress and egress to and from and through the township of Linden,” he said.
The president reiterated that his administration remains “deeply concerned at the level of unrest which has accelerated over the past two days or so” and expressed regret at the loss of life and property. “The entire township of Linden has been destabilized by these events,” he said adding that other areas such as Kwakwani and Ituni as well as other regions have been affected in terms of accessing emergency medical care, food, fuel and other goods.
Full investigation
Ramotar recalled his administration’s commitment to a full investigation “once some order was restored” and said that the position remains the same and he will be appointing a Commission of Inquiry to examine the events in Linden including the three deaths. “In the discussions with the opposition parties, the government and the APNU agreed to draft the terms of reference for this Commission and two leaders from the two sides were designated to work on the draft terms of reference,” he said. “The meeting also agreed to conclude the terms of reference not later than August 2, 2012 with the objective of establishing the Commission of Inquiry very soon after,” Ramotar said, adding that he is pleased that all stakeholders endorsed the approach.
The timeframe for the setting up of the Commission of Enquiry has been questioned and criticized as too long and when contacted last evening, APNU leader, David Granger said that the August 2 date is an outside deadline. “I’m surprised that that date was mentioned because it was said then that work be started immediately,” he said. The three political parties will work together as quickly as possible to get the draft terms of reference, he said. In terms of the Commission having an international input which is a condition set by the AFC, Granger said that APNU has no objection to an international component but would first like to see the terms of reference before they decide on the composition of the body.
Ramotar was non-committal on an international component for the Commission. He said that in his discussions with the political parties, “we have not closed any doors to anyone participating in it but we thought that the most important thing at this point in time is to have the agreed terms of reference so we have not rejected any proposal at this point in time.” In terms of a timeline for the Inquiry, he said that this has not been discussed yet but all recognize the urgency and no one wants to slow down the process.
Meantime, the president steadfastly maintained that the gradual removal of the subsidy for Linden electricity is necessary since it is unsustainable but said that his administration remains willing to engage with all stakeholders in order to find the best approach to bring Linden over a specified time to the same rates as the rest of the country. “We think that there are many, many measures that can be taken to ease the situation, a lot of measures can be taken to do that and those measures could be discussed fully as I said once we have some level of normalcy in the situation,” he declared.
Sober discussion
According to the president, the people of Linden have probably not been told the whole truth and he stressed that the removal of the subsidy will be gradual even as he pointed out that the issue is not a new one. “What is needed now is to have some sober discussion on all the measures that needs to be taken but this is important that the rates be brought together and we want to do it in the least painful way for the people of Linden,” he emphasized.
Questioned on whether in the interim a moratorium would be imposed, Ramotar said that tariffs were not discussed much at his last meeting with the opposition parties because they saw the security situation as being more important at this point in time. He noted that it has been discussed a lot in the past and said that some stakeholders “are repeating some arguments that really are not germane arguments” such as line losses and “those arguments really can’t stand.”
“The situation needs cool heads, it needs soberness at this point in time for us to move ahead with,” the president stressed. He said that Linden is being and has been “terribly and deliberately misinformed by some extremists and well-known political activists with regard to the recently introduced tariff increases.”
In terms of the events of Wednesday, Ramotar declined to speak on whether he had established from the police why live rounds were used. ”I immediately said that we want an independent investigation so I don’t want to pronounce on that immediately. I don’t want to prejudice any discussion but we are determined to get to the bottom of this incident,” he said. In relation to why the water cannon was not used he stated that the question should be directed to the Commissioner of Police. Asked whether he believed that the police used too much force, Ramotar responded: “Let us not try to inflame the situation more by speculation but let us try to work assiduously and quickly to have the facts be inquired into and the whole matter come out into the public.” He said that at this time the questions and any answers would be in the realm of speculation.
With regards to the removal of the Commanding Officer for the E and F Division, Ramotar said that this is consistent with law enforcement norms that once there is a death during the performance of an officers’ duty, he or she is removed from the situation. And in terms of compensation for the victims, the president said that this has not yet been discussed “but we are open to discussions on all of these things.”
‘No instructions’
Meanwhile, Eve Leary yesterday said it wished to make it clear that it had not been issued with instructions by any “political personality” including ministers on how to handle the demonstrations in the mining town.
“Cognisant of rumours circulating among concerned members of the public, the Guyana Police Force wishes to categorically state that at no time was any directive or instruction given to the police, either verbally or in writing, by any political personality including Ministers of the Government, in relation to the policing of the protest demonstrations that have been occurring in the community of Linden since Wednesday July 18, 2012,” it said in a statement.
It noted that the maintenance of law and order in the country is within the mandate of the Police Force and added that the force’s administration, inclusive of Divisional Commanders, has been unilaterally dealing with all administrative and operational aspects involved in the situation at Linden.
The Ministry of Home Affairs on Thursday also dissociated itself from the police operation. The Ministry, in a statement, said “The Ministry of Home Affairs wishes to emphasise that the events which took place at the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge was strictly a police operation with no direct or indirect involvement of the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
That statement also said that the ministry had directed the Police Commissioner, in accordance with the Police Act, to effect immediate changes at the command level of the division in which Linden falls.
