Following the deaths of two of its members this month, the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) says it is concerned for all of Guyana’s law-abiding citizens.
On September 10, 27-year-old Zilficar Namdar was shot dead when gunmen invaded his Meten-Meer-Zorg grocery store. Five days later, 79-year-old Abdul Majid of Number 70 Village Corentyne, was found dead in his home after it was invaded by bandits. Zilficar Namdar was the son of Gulzar Namdar, a Regional Vice President of CIOG.
“Our concern is not directed solely at Muslims, but for all law-abiding citizens, irrespective of religious, ethnic, or political background,” the organisation yesterday said in a release. Of particular concern to CIOG is its perception that the relevant authorities seem to lack the ability to stop, apprehend and curtail the persons responsible for the atrocities.
Meanwhile, it said, the assailants continue to show scant regard for human life, and it is purported that such crimes are “driving fear and frustration among the citizens of Guyana and the Diaspora.”
The crime rate does indeed have the propensity to negatively affect the Diaspora’s perception of Guyana, particularly those persons thinking about re-migration or just returning to Guyana for vacation purposes.
Last October, the battered, semi-naked body of Muneer Hussain, a Canada-based Guyanese home on vacation, was discovered by relatives in a shallow pool of water near the Blankenburg, West Demerara seawall where he had gone to exercise. Hussain’s killer was never found, and his wife, Zora Muneer, who came from Canada for her husband’s funeral, had said she doubted she would return to Guyana.
The CIOG yesterday lamented the hearsay, innuendos and assertions which it said cast doubt on the true causes of the offences and victimise the victims, while calling on “all law-abiding citizens, in and out of Guyana, to take a positive stance in demanding immediate action to remedy the situation that has now become a scourge to our nation.”
CIOG is calling for the constitution of a panel, comprising police and government along with all religious leaders. The panel, the body suggests, would work toward reviewing “current procedures, implementing new ideas and identifying causes and solutions that can be effective in bringing an end to these dastardly acts.”
