President of the GWMO Simona Broomes, in a statement from overseas, said that after watching the video of the incident, she was saddened.
“I strongly condemn the abuse and disrespect of miners and I am outraged that a police officer would physically abuse a woman holding a child,” Broomes said in the statement.
She called for “swift action” in the matter by the authorities even as she congratulated the miners, who under abuse and threats “were brave enough to record this incident on video.”
“I take this opportunity to encourage all miners to record all these incidents when they occur in the various mining districts because the abuse of miners has always gone unnoticed and unpunished,” she further said.
Verona Prince and her 10-year-old son were attacked by the policeman as they lay on the roadway and her son, husband and another man were also severely beaten by the lawmen after they attempted to protect the child and his mother from the blows. The three men have since given a statement to the police even as they condemned the fact that the policeman is still on the job and working on dismantling mining camps in the area.
A video of the assault, broadcast on YouTube with the title ‘Police brutality in Marudi Mountains,’ showed a group of policemen and Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) mines officers standing around as one rank beat men who were trying to protect a woman and her child. The child was lying on top of his mother, who was on the ground as the men used their bodies in an attempt to protect them from the blows. The policeman used a stick to inflict the blows. There were other policemen around with guns.
Stabroek News was told that the GGMC officials and the police were on a road leading into the Marudi Mountain Area to do a follow-up visit on reported illegal mining at the site of the Romanex Guyana Exploration Ltd concession when they encountered persons on the trail. Romanex had notified the agency of the presence of illegal miners and acting on this tip, the officials went into the area.
Both the police and the GGMC have since launched an investigation into the assault.
