Dear Editor,
The Working People’s Alliance Overseas Associates (WPAOA) would like to express our condolence and sympathy to the families of the 17 inmates at the Georgetown prison who lost their lives in the fire, in the ensuing riot, and the attempt of the prison authorities to bring the situation under control. According to reports out of Georgetown, early Friday morning March 4, 2016, 17 inmates met their death and 4 others were injured in the riot that ensued over deteriorating conditions at the Camp Street prison.
Prisoners are among the most unrepresented groups of the Guyanese population. Prisoners on remand are guests of the state. It is the government’s responsibility to protect the safety of all prisoners and treat them with human dignity as they await trial. The gravity of the crimes allegedly committed by some of these inmates should not cloud our judgement and thinking on this matter. This is a matter of grave national concern. It goes to the heart of the crisis that affects a deeply flawed criminal justice system in Guyana, where backlogs mean that those accused of crimes languish behind bars awaiting trial; where punishment rather than meaningful rehabilitation takes precedent; where abysmal conditions are the norm; and where prison is a sentence only – and with rare exceptions – for those without money or influence. In a meeting between a delegation of prisoners, the Minister of Public Security and the Minister of State, among the grievances raised were the conditions of the prisons, the food provided to the inmates, the treatment meted out by some prison officers to inmates, and the length of time prisoners held on remand are expected to wait for their cases to be heard in the courts. The concerns raised by the prisoners are serious enough to warrant immediate action. While we applaud the swift appointment by the government of a Commission of Inquiry, it is reasonable to expect that the subject Ministry will take immediate preliminary action to address these concerns as we await the Commission’s report.
The accidental injustice to the dead and their lived ones is so great that there should be a National Day of mourning and condolence. We must not be worthy of Martin Carter’s worst fears, “This city with a prison for a heart.”
Yours faithfully,
Mike Henderson,
Moses Bhagwan and
Alissa Trotz on behalf
of the WPA Overseas
Associates.