Photos by Anjuli Persaud
A stirring funeral service and viewing took place at the Square of the Revolution yesterday for Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset – the three shooting victims of the Linden electricity uprising as about 2,000 persons paid their respects and called for justice.
Amid African drumming and music befitting Freedom Day, and overlooked by the Cuffy monument, three hearses bearing the bodies of the slain men who were shot and killed by police, departed the Square of the Revolution after lunch for Linden where a service was held at the Wismar-Mackenzie bridge – the location where they died on July 18 when they were part of a protest demanding that government withdraw a proposal for higher electricity tariffs. (See other story on page 3.)
The cortege arrived at the Square at about 11:15am and initially there was a lot of pushing for a view of the bodies. This later quieted down and persons filed past in an orderly manner to view the men. “We hold the PPP and the minister responsible. We don’t need a commission of inquiry [to tell us that],” said Leader of the Opposition, David Granger at the funeral service. “Let it be a day of determination to ensure that there is no more killing. Let us have a government that protects the lives of its citizens,” Granger, also the Leader of the PNCR, said. “Let it be a day of solidarity for the people of Linden,” he added.
Representing the Alliance For Change (AFC), attorney-at-law Nigel Hughes said, “It is up to us to ensure their lives do not go in vain.” Noting that there was no arrest, no court appearance, no trial and conviction for the men for whatever their crime was, he said “they were executed by the state for no just cause whatsoever.” He asked the administration, “To those in power I ask if a criminal [were to] break into your home and slaughter your family, would you want a commission of inquiry before those persons are brought to justice?” He then cried out, “No peace, no justice. No justice,
no peace.”
One man who was shot and wounded in the face during the July 18 protest – Michael Roberts – said “just hold the struggle.” He reminded the mourners of a song by the late reggae superstar, Dennis Brown, which has in it the words “who gave the order to shoot in South Africa, it must be a damn dictator.” He said that while the song was written during the period of oppression in South Africa during which time the country’s future president Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, its lyrics are apt today. He further noted the irony that the events of July 18 were on the same day as Mandela’s birth anniversary.
Meantime, stressing the need to be orderly since observers might have their eyes on the proceedings, former PNCR parliamentarian and youth activist Lurlene Nestor urged the crowd to defy those who think there will be disorder. She urged too that they treat the fallen Lindeners with dignity and respect.
Nestor, one of the December 6, 2011 rubber bullets shooting victims, said it was “obvious” that the rubber bullets episode during which protesters were shot by police, was a rehearsal for something more deadly. She also reminded the gathering of comments by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee in the National Assembly with regards to his decision not to grant leave to senior police officers because of what he described then as impending fragility in the state of Guyana’s national security. “I am linking Rohee’s comments and the editorial in the [Guyana Chronicle of July 2, 2012] to what happened in Linden,” she said. That editorial was widely condemned as being racist.
Ovid Morrison of one of the North American Chapters of the PNCR said “We must ensure that what happened on July 18 is never repeated. These men were exercising their democratic right. We in America are 100 percent behind you in whatever action you take.”
He said that if the Minister of Home Affairs is not aware of what took place with the shootings and did not give the order for the fatal shots to be fired, it means that he is incompetent. “I do not only hold Rohee responsible but [Prime Minister Sam Hinds] and the President,” Morrison said. “Lindeners hold strong…the fight is not for Lindeners alone but for all Guyana,” he said.
AFC parliamentarian, Moses Nagamootoo said that the opposition has done one of the first duties in honouring the slain men and wounded persons by voting to adopt a No Confidence motion calling for the removal of the Home Affairs Minister. He said that in the same way Guyanese have embraced the Enmore Martyrs, the Linden three must be so embraced. “To the relatives we say take heart…these lives were not lost in vain,” he said.
Dr. David Hinds of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) in delivering his tribute, said that persons must reflect on what emancipation means. According to him, for some it means the slaughter, starving and marginalisation of persons of African descent. “We want to say to you, do not mourn. Organise. Let us stand up for the people of Linden and make sure that the blood of [these comrades] is not shed in vain,” he said.
Newspaper columnist Freddie Kissoon said that it is the feeling of the people of Linden that they are being victimised because of the results of the November 28, 2011 general elections. He said that the shooting of unarmed protesters on Decem-ber 6, 2011 and the shooting in Linden two weeks ago begs the question of ‘what next?’
“We have to stop this silence…we have to stop this fear. I say that from tomorrow there should be no more government that shoots people and discriminates,” Kissoon said.
The many persons at the Square of the Revolution were dressed in a mix of African clothing and black, red and white for a funereal look. Prior to the arrival of the cortege, Mayor Hamilton Green and others led the mourners in hymns including ‘Because he lives’, and ‘It is well with my soul.’ The group ‘Circle of Love’ performed moving spirituals befitting the occasion.
