To mark a month since three Lindeners were fatally shot by police during a protest in the mining town, residents last evening held a vigil before a planned rally today.
Hundreds turned up at the Wismar end of the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge last night to remember Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Sommerset who were fatally shot when police opened fire on protestors on the bridge on the night of July 18. Today, resident will march from Danjou Hill at Christianburg, the Wisroc Junction and Amelia’s Ward before congregating at the Wismar end of the bridge.
“It’s a ceremony not to get angry but just to remember and look to the future, for some it’s a lesson to exercise, for some of us to exercise more, and show more love for our fellow brothers and sisters,“ said pastor Selwyn Sills who added that the protest started off as a struggle but they are on the way to victory. “So this is not a struggle march it’s a victory march,“ he said.
“We asking for justice and if you and I are not in right standing we shall be judged because the judgement of the Lord ain’t got favour. It’s just righteousness,” said Pastor Rollingston Mitchell who urged residents not to take justice in their own hands. “We can’t ask God for justice and we want to institute we own justice,“ he emphasized. “As long as we stand still and let the Lord fight the battle, victory will be ours,“ he said.
The vigil lasted for approximately four hours and the religious bodies that were responsible for the activity ensured that the road was kept clear and traffic flowed freely. They also urged that the olive branch be extended to the peace officers who kept a steady patrol.
Meanwhile, one man is hospitalised after allegedly being beaten by police on Thursday shortly before President Donald Ramotar’s visit to the community.
Marlon Brewster, 27, of 801 Central Amelia’s Ward was admitted to the Linden Hospital Complex with three broken ribs and a gaping wound to the head. He was said to be handcuffed and under police guard at the hospital.
One man, who asked not to be named at this time, said he is prepared to stand as a witness for Brewster in court since he witnessed the incident. “You know that people still deh burning tyres and things around and the police was clearing it away” he said while relating that Brewster’s mother operates a shop at the corner of Lover’s Lane and he was heading there at the time of the incident. “I just past Rawlins Short cut (several yards from Lover’s lane) and I see he and I hailed him off,” the man said. Less than five minutes later, he heard loud screaming, he recounted.
“Is going the youth man was going pass where deh clearing deh burning tyres to enter his yard and dem police hold on him and beating him with deh gun,” said the eyewitness. “All deh man mother keep screaming that he coming home, he ain’t got nothing to do with deh burning of the tyres, deh ain’t listen to deh woman and well and beat he up,” he related.
Despite his cries for pain and the bleeding wound to the head, Brewster was taken to the Amelia’s Ward Police Outpost and placed in the lock-ups. “Hours unending they had him in there and not taking him to the hospital although he was in bad shape,” the eyewitness said. It was not until Brewster’s mother pleaded for her son with a senior officer that he was taken for medical attention. “Whole day they had him there.
Whole day and he was just crying for pain all the time now the x-ray show he has three broken ribs,” said the witness.
The man said that recently several persons have become targets of police in the Amelia’s Ward area. “They just seeing them young men especially and calling them, beating them up and throwing them in the vehicles and looking them up,” he said
This was the claim of at least three other residents of Amelia’s Ward who said that they have to keep their men folk at home because they are easy targets of the police. “Dah same day wah Ramotar come up it got a lot of other men deh hold without just reason and lock them up. Till now deh in the lock-ups,” said a woman who said she fears that her sons will be victimized if her identity is made public.
Regional Councillor Mayfield Greene had reported that on Wednesday night, approximately fifty men from the area, most of whom were watching the football game between Guyana’s Golden Jaguar and Bolivia were beaten and arrested. Most remained in police custody up to press time, reports said.
