Residents of Linden were told yesterday that the tear-gassing of residents early on Friday was a deliberate attempt to derail the discussions for an agreement which would bring an end to the protest. They were also assured that their struggle was legitimate and that while sooner or later it must come to an end, it would not be without success.
Hundreds of residents who walked from all corners of Linden and converged at the Wismar end of the town’s main bridge were addressed by the leader of the APNU and the PNCR David Granger, Regional Chairman Kuice Sharma Solomon and Chairman of the PNCR Basil Williams.
The two party leaders were in the town for a meeting with stakeholders earlier in the day and had intended to return today for a larger, organized meeting, but according to Solomon owing to last night’s turn-out it was decided to hold the meeting then.
All three speakers were confident that Friday morning‘s act of tear-gassing residents in the early morning hours was deliberate and was intended to cause further unrest in the community while attempting to derail the discussions. “I kept using words of progress, promising and hopeful because I was seeing an end to the protest in sight, taking into consideration the stage we were at with the negotiations,” said Solomon. He condemned key government officials for referring to himself and the residents of Linden as extremists, when it was they and their people who were the extremists because they killed innocent unarmed people and then threw tear gas at protestors and in the homes of residents in the dark of the early morning hours.
Granger emphasised the importance of removing Clement Rohee as Minister of Home Affairs since there were numerous records of police TSU officers using extreme force on unharmed, peaceful residents throughout the country. He assured residents that Solomon and the negotiators would continue to be diligent in their cause as they represented the issues to the government on behalf of the region.
Williams gave residents assurances of the continued support of the PNCR until justice was served.
Blockade
Meanwhile Lindeners continued to give clear signals of their intention to continue the protest.
Up to press time the Wismar end of the bridge was heavily blocked with sand bags, logs and other objects, a move fuelled by Friday‘s action of tear-gassing residents in the early morning hours.
There was free movement in and out of Linden up as far as Mackenzie as a result of the ongoing efforts of the Joint Services in the town yesterday morning, and that had been maintained up to press time.
However, protestors continued to re-erect blockades at Amelia’s Ward. No attempt was made to remove the blocks at Wismar.
Several persons were arrested during the Joint Services’ efforts to maintain the clearance of the roads and bridges at Mackenzie.
When SN arrived on the scene after 7am, the TSU were seen using two graders: one operated by the TSU and the other by soldiers to clear Casuarina Drive at Mackenzie.
The residents of Wismar continued to maintain the block on the Mackenzie-Wismar bridge, which is currently inaccessible to vehicles, and all the primary and secondary roads in Mackenzie continue to be blocked while residents are out in large numbers at Wismar.
Another meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, while an overseas-based Guyanese group has indicated its intention of holding an all-night candlelight vigil at the bridge. A massive march which should have come off on Friday is to be rescheduled.
At last night’s meeting residents called on leaders to insist that the several camps set up around the town by the Joint Services be removed. “This is not Iraq or Baghdad; get rid of those camps, let the ‘Black Clothes‘ stay out from our face cause dem is the cold-blooded killer,“ said a resident.
Burnt building
In a release issued yesterday the police said that at 2:30 hrs a building used by the Region 10 Farmers Association at Christianburg, Wismar had been completely destroyed by fire.
The statement went on to say that Guyana Fire Service tenders had been unable to reach the scene owing to blockages along the roadway.
