Toshao of Baramita Sharmain Rambajue has said that she and a village councillor have been threatened with arrest after insisting that the police adhere to the precautionary measures put in place to protect the community’s residents from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
In a telephone interview, Rambajue told Stabroek News that among the precautions adopted by the council is limiting the number of persons who would be allowed to carry food supplies and fuel into the village.
She said there was no objection by residents and the police ranks identified a man who would be bringing their food supplies from Port Kaituma every two days. The council agreed and whenever the man wanted to enter the village, they allowed him.
However, Rambajue said after a while the man started disrespecting the persons who were monitoring the gates and was demanding to be allowed into the village after the 6 pm curfew that is in place nationally. Rambajue stated the guards got fed-up and complained. As a result, she contacted the police and asked them why it was necessary to allow the man into the village when the army Sky Van goes into the village to drop off food supplies every three days. She added that she even told them of the man’s behaviour whenever he arrived at the gate.
On one occasion, she recalled, the man arrived at the gate around 9 pm and demanded to be allowed into the village. “He shouted at them and say why this gate not open? Y’all don’t know I does be coming at this hour? Y’all know this so before I reach! Y’all supposed to open this gate!” Rambajue recounted.
As a result, she said she told the officer-in-charge that the man would no longer be allowed to get past the gate and that a rank would have to go to the gate to collect whatever he was bringing for them. She said she even offered to provide transportation to take the food supplies from the gate to the place where the officers are staying.
However, she said her offer was met with displeasure by the officer-in-charge and he told her that she doesn’t have a choice but to allow the man into the village even if he himself had to send a rank to open the gate to allow the man to pass. He also told her that no one should be walking around the community after 6 o’clock in the afternoon and casually reminded her about a time she was transporting a village councillor home after six o’clock. She said he told her that only soldiers and police officers should be seen on the road after that time.
According to Rambajue, a few days prior a village councillor went to transact business at Matthews Ridge on behalf of the village council and the said person arrived back at Baramita after six so she went to collect her from the gate to take her home.
After this encounter, she said, the delivery man went back into the village on Thursday and stayed the entire day until 9 o’clock that night, when he went to collect another supply of items. She said she texted the officer-in-charge and told him that she thought only police officers and soldiers were allowed on the roads after six. She said he did not respond. However, when the man attempted to leave the community the next day around nine o’clock in the morning, she instructed the councillor who was stationed at the gate for the day to not open the gate. She said, “Because the officer tell me that they will go and open the gate themselves for the man, I thought that they should also go and open it for him to leave.”
Because the councillor refused to open the gates for the delivery man, Rambajue said, the officer-in-charge confronted her and the councillor and told them they were under arrest and would be taken to court. She said the officer told her that he had contacted the Police Commissioner and was awaiting orders to arrest her. Further, she said, she was told that the regional commander gave them orders to take pictures of the checkpoint and that the village council cannot stop anyone from entering or leaving the village and if they tried, they would be guilty of breaking the law.
In addition, Rambajue said the officer-in-charge also threatened to break down the gate and checkpoint hut before asking her if it was even legal for them to construct a gate at the entrance of the village. In response, Rambajue said, she told them that the gate was constructed with the approval of the Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs Ministers and with a presidential grant before indicating that they could break it down if they want.
A tearful Rambajue told Stabroek News that the gate was built to protect the residents from COVID-19 and she never expected to be so disrespected. “I am only trying to do what is right for my people,” she added. “What I want to know is if the Amerindian Act is now invalid because of all these new restrictions,” she added before saying that many persons are now worried about contracting the virus because as of Thursday many vehicles were in and out of the village.
Regional Commander Wendell Blanhum did not wish to offer a comment on Rambajue’s complaints when he was contacted.
