– ‘inexplicable’, AG says
The Commission of Inquiry (COI) will on Monday commence its hearings into the July 18 shooting in Linden that claimed the lives of three men and left many others injured, even as A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) yesterday raised fresh objections.
At its weekly press conference, the main opposition party said that what is contained in the COI falls short of the expectations of the people of Linden and Guyana in achieving justice.
APNU member Basil Williams said the grouping was disappointed that the terms of reference (TOR) do not extend to the events of August 2 and 10, when many Lindeners were shot and maimed and communities subjected to tear smoke and gunfire.
When asked why object now, when APNU was part of the fashioning of the TOR for the inquiry, Williams said APNU “only had one person there”. He said that the people of Linden wanted the TOR to include the August events and it was not too late to do so.
But Attorney General Anil Nandlall yesterday called the objections inexplicable, noting that the TOR was as much APNU’s as it was the government’s. He accused APMU of opposing its own product.
President Donald Ramotar had tasked Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon and APNU MP Joseph Harmon to draft the TOR, but the Alliance for Change (AFC) had objected and was later allowed to have an input in the finalizing of the terms.
Specifically, the inquiry will look at which unit was deployed at the scene; its composition and its training, individually and collectively, in preparation for the crowd control operation. It will also determine whether the fatal shootings were committed by the police deployed on the bridge and, if so, who gave the order to fire and whether the police had justification for the use of lethal force at the scene.
The instructions given to the detachment as well any instructions that may have been given by the Home Affairs Minister to the police force immediately before, during and immediately after the events on July 18, form part of the terms of the inquiry as well.
The COI’s mandate includes inquiring into the nature of the violence and destruction that immediately followed the July 18 shooting and its perpetrators. It is to make recommendations to assist the police in “effectively and professionally discharging their responsibilities for the maintenance of law and order” in Linden and other communities without endangering their own safety and that of innocent persons; as well as for compensation where necessary for injury, loss or damage as a consequence of the July 18 events.
A public notice in today’s Stabroek News states that the hearing will commence at 09:30 hrs at the Supreme Court Library Building. All interested parties, their counsel, members of the public and the media may attend.
Stabroek News yesterday learnt that the fifth Commissioner, former Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard is to be sworn in some time before the start of the COI.
The commissioners have agreed on 15 procedural rules which include conducting the COI in accordance with the TOR; that it will be inquisitorial and not adversarial; and conducted in a manner which will best serve the task of reporting to the President.
They have also agreed that the proceedings shall be conducted in public, but when appropriate evidence may be taken in-camera; the commissioners shall decide which witnesses will be called to give testimony or produce evidence and this will be based on the relevance of written statements. Therefore, persons wishing to testify or tender evidence will need to submit signed statements or copies of such tangibles; witnesses’ addresses must be stated.
A deadline will be set for submission of statements and this will be publicly published. Commissioners will consider all statements etc before the deadline and will not be bound to consider late statements.
The rules state too that in view of the subject matter, all witnesses will be represented by counsel, but no one, except the Commissioners, has a right to cross-examine any witness. Cross-examination of witnesses will be allowed only to the extent that the Commissioners think it is helpful towards eliciting information on matters under investigation.
According to Rule 12, witnesses will be examined first by counsel for the Commis-sion, cross-examined by counsel for any interested party and then re-examined if necessary. Commissioners may also ask questions of the witnesses.
Witnesses have no right to silence, but a statutory exception against self-incrimination will apply, the rules state. However, since there is no provision which precludes the evidence being used in any future court proceedings, the Commissioners will inform all witnesses of this prior to the commencement of or during their testimony,
Besides Kennard, the commission is made up of Chairman and former Chief Justice of Jamaica Lensley Wolfe, Senior Counsel K D Knight, also of Jamaica, Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal of Trinidad and Tobago and Justice of Appeal Claudette Singh. They were sworn in earlier this month.
Wolfe had made it clear to reporters that the outcome of the COI would be based solely on the evidence provided.
Harmon had later objected to the naming of Euclin Gomes and Ganesh Hira, who are associated with Nandlall’s law firm, as counsel to the COI. However Wolfe had responded stating that the lawyers are not decision makers.
At the time of the shooting Lindeners had gathered at the Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge to protest over the increase in electricity tariffs. Police had opened fire and threw tear gas. The protest dragged on and finally ended after government and regional officials agreed to address several issues. The COI was dealt with separately.
