The Alliance For Change (AFC) yesterday released a draft of its Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Commission of Inquiry into the July 18 Linden protestor killings and it is pressing for the panel to consist solely of international experts.
This move comes less than 24 hours after Attorney General Anil Nandlall announced in the National Assembly what was later described as the final draft of the TOR but which did not find favour with the AFC. AFC’s MP Moses Nagamootoo told the House that the AFC was not a party to the announcement.
Other members of the AFC have also expressed their disappointment with not only the manner in which the TOR was presented but also its content.
Region Ten Chairman Kuice Sharma Solomon when contacted last evening said that he would wish to refrain from commenting on the issue, since as he understood it, Nandlall’s TOR was not official. He said that the announcement was not recognised in parliament and that the opposition had objected to it. As a result, he said it would be inappropriate to comment at this time.
The AFC in a statement yesterday said that the party, being cognisant that it has been more than two weeks since three persons lost their lives during the peaceful demonstration at Linden, is urging that there be no more delay in setting up the Commission of Inquiry to look into what transpired in the mining community.
“The AFC thinks it is most unfortunate that the government and APNU seem not to have reached an agreement on the Terms of Reference for such an inquiry”, the release said adding that in this regard, the AFC puts forward the following recommendations:
“The inquiry into the deaths of Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset should consist of a panel solely of international experts in the following fields, namely human rights law, crowd management and control, use of firearms and deadly weapons and law enforcement”.
It said that the inquiry should be mandated to do the following:
-To inquire whether there were standard operating procedures which were in force at the time of the fatal shooting;
-To inquire whether the standard operating procedures were consistent with standard international operating procedures for the use of force and crowd control;
-To inquire whether the standard operating procedures were adhered to by the law enforcement persons at the time of the fatal shooting of the protestors;
-To inquire whether, in the event that there was a breach of the standard operating procedures, those breaches occurred as a result of systemic failures and if so what were the systemic failures;
-To inquire about who, if anyone, issued orders to use deadly force;
-To inquire, in the event that no orders to use force were issued, who utilised deadly force against the protestors;
-To inquire whether any justification existed for the use of deadly force;
-To inquire into the treatment of the injured at the time of and after the shooting;
-To inquire into the procedures for investigation, if any, which were initiated and pursued into the deaths of the three protestors and the injuries to members of the public;
-To inquire into the events, if any, which directly led to the loss of property as a result of fire;
-To make recommendations on the improvement of the standard operating procedures of the Guyana Police Force in the area of crowd control (dispersal) and treatment of the injured and wounded.
The AFC said in the statement that it stands ready to work with the government and other concerned parties to move forward with the inquiry.
Opposition Leader David Granger while not clearly stating his position on the issue had said after Nandlall’s announcement that that there is “a danger” in having “things which are written, produced, edited and delivered by one side” presented to the Assembly.
The TOR lacked any information on critical issues such as composition, when the inquiry would begin and its expected duration. Instead it dealt with the issues that would be investigated as well as making recommendations to improve the standards of the Guyana Police Force as well as recommendations for compensation to the relatives of the victims.
APNU’s Joseph Harmon, who was one of the keys drafters of the TOR, in seeking to clarify the apparent confusion the announcement brought explained to reporters that this was a final draft and that it could later be amended to include or excise things.
He said that issues such as the duration of the Commission of Inquiry and the actual composition still had to be addressed. He further said that the contribution of APNU and the AFC was by way of a draft document sent to Dr. Roger Luncheon on July 30 and was included in what was announced.
President Donald Ramotar had on July 20 set August 2 as the deadline for the TOR to be completed by Harmon and Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon. Critics have said that they had more than enough time to complete this task and the final document should have already been presented.
