-findings handed over to president
The report of the findings of the Linden Commission of Inquiry (COI) was yesterday handed over to President Donald Ramotar by former Jamaica Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe, who said justice was done.
Although no details were given about the contents of the report, Wolfe said that once the recommendations made are followed there will be good relations between Lindeners, their neighbours and the Guyana Police Force.
Persons close to the commission were tight-lipped about the findings, saying that in all fairness the president ought to be given a chance to go through it and make his comments.
Stabroek News understands that parts of the document exonerate Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee from allegations that he gave the police orders to shoot at Lindeners who were protesting a proposed increase in electricity tariffs on July 18 last year.
The handing over took place during a simple ceremony at the Office of the President (OP) in the presence of the media and members of the commission, with the exception of Trinidadian Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal, who was ill.
The other members of the commission are Senior Counsel K.D Knight of Jamaica, former Justice of Appeal Claudette Singh and former Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard, both of Guyana.
The focus of all the commissioners was on ensuring that justice is done and all of us are satisfied that justice has been done and we are sure that if the recommendations that we have made are implemented, it will indeed have a very positive impact upon the relationship between the citizens of Linden and the government, between the citizens of Linden and the Guyana Police Force and between the citizens of Linden and their neighbours,” Wolfe said in brief remarks.
Wolfe, who also thanked the president on behalf of himself and his colleagues for the privilege and honour to participate in the COI, was hopeful that those reading the report would give it the consideration it deserves, while noting that it is well written and easy to read.
Ramotar, after receiving the report, said he was content that it was completed and thanked the commissioners “for their efforts to get to the bottom of these events and to have an open and fair inquiry on this matter.”
He said that he is only now receiving the report but “it will be a very interesting and a very instructive document to guide us in our work.”
The president also said that the purpose of having an “independent inquiry” was not only to get to the bottom of the events of July 18 but also “so that we can move beyond this” to continue in developing the country.
“I cannot answer you on what the report contains because I haven’t read it as yet but we will make it public,” Ramotar said.
When asked how soon he would be able to do so, he said “I can’t say,” while adding that because of the amount of paragraphs it contained he would need time to go through it.
Notably absent from the ceremony were members of the Region Ten administration. Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon told Stabroek News yesterday afternoon that he had not seen the report nor was he aware of its contents. He said that everything he knows about it was from what he had been reading in the press.
Three men, Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea and Allan Lewis, were killed while other persons were injured when police opened fire and discharged tear smoke in the vicinity of Mackenzie/Wismar Bridge on July 18, 2012, which was intended to be the first day of a five-day protest over the planned hike in the electricity tariffs for the town.
The killing of the protesters – allegedly committed by the police – led to a blockade of the mining town that lasted for more than a month and cut off access to the hinterland and mining areas.
The blockade ended following an agreement between the government and Region 10, which included the setting up of the inquiry.
Police have denied they were responsible for the fatalities. Specifically, the inquiry was to look at which unit was deployed at the bridge, its composition and its training, individually and collectively, in preparation for the crowd control operation. It was to also determine whether the fatal shootings were committed by the police deployed on the bridge and the instructions given to the detachment and instructions that may have been given by the Home Affairs Minister to the police force immediately before, during and after the events on July 18.
In addition, the inquiry’s mandate included inquiring into the nature of the violence and destruction that immediately followed the July 18 shooting and its perpetrators. It was 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.
During the commission’s hearings, 71 witnesses testified, including the families of the dead, persons who were injured and those whose properties were destroyed during the unrest as well as senior police officers and Minister Rohee.