President Irfaan Ali yesterday assured the families of the two boys murdered over the weekend at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice that he will work with law enforcement to ensure that the perpetrators are swiftly brought to justice.
A release from the Office of the President said that Ali spoke to the families of Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry.
“This morning, I had the unfortunate task of speaking with the father of Isaiah and the mother of Joel. It is unfortunate because of the tragic way that these young men met their death. On behalf of the people of Guyana and my own behalf and that of my family and Government, I express our condolences to the family, to the parents,” President Ali said, according to the release.
At a press conference later yesterday, Ali said that his government will take no special measures to address the murder of Joel and Isaiah Henry rather they will treat their killings and the resultant racial tensions with “policy and programmes” aimed at addressing the needs of all Guyanese.
“I can’t develop a policy and programme for every bandit that kills someone; for every farmer that does something illegal or for every crime that happens,” he said in response to a question from Stabroek News on the matter.
During his first press conference as President at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Ali was asked whether he had a plan to confront and address the racial tensions currently simmering as a result of the murder of two Afro-Guyanese children in a primarily Indo-Guyanese community.
His response stressed the policy-making function of government noting that “we have to ensure that our public policy and programmes are designed for all the people of our country and that is a great responsibility of the government and that is what you will see reflected in the way we craft our policy.”
“The government has a responsibility for charting policies and programmes that reflect the needs and aspirations of all the people of our country,” he stressed.
Asked by Stabroek News, whether this killing and other attacks by vigilante groups as reported over the years has caused his government to consider any specific policy to address the matter, Ali said the focus will remain on making sure persons are brought to justice.
“We have to create institutions and mechanism to address it and ensure people are brought to justice,” he stressed adding that his government has committed to providing the Guyana Police Force with whatever resources they may require to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the gruesome crime.
This is the same promise Ali made to the families of the murdered children.
“On behalf of the people of Guyana and my own behalf and that of my family and Government, I express[ed] our condolences to the family, to the parents,” he said, according to the press release, adding that he offered assurance that he as President will work very, very hard to ensure those criminals are brought to justice.
Ali stressed that efforts have to be made to ensure that crimes like these do not reoccur and called on the entire country to stand in solidarity and offer their support to the teenagers’ grieving parents, relatives and community.
“I want to ask all Guyanese not to use this moment to divide us or to separate us, but for us to be conscious of the implications that our statements, comments and posts can have, especially on social media… I can tell you the parents of these two young men are sincere; they are humble people, and as they go through this moment of loss, as they grieve in these moments, communities from which these young men came… what we can do as a people, as a country, as Guyanese is to strengthen our resolve, strengthen our commitment, strengthen our sense of purpose to our communities, to our neighbours, to our friends, to each other in ensuring that our society… our communities do not have to go through these painful moments,” he said at the press conference.
Social media
The president also took time during his press conference to address social media posts on the issue.
According to Ali, media including mainstream media must be aware that how we capture a headline can make a difference in how people react.
“We have to monitor, take strong action for some of the hateful posts and speeches being pursued on social media and against assumptions which are damaging and have serious implications. Addressing race relations requires a level of maturity from every stakeholder,” Ali maintained reiterating that his government will address the issue through policies and programmes
He specifically mentioned a youth advisory council which will have as a major component of its terms of reference, race relations.
This council will work to “create a new culture, a new environment, a new sense of purpose to go out there in at-risk communities and to develop a framework of actions that the government can pursue to help at risk communities,”
Meanwhile Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo dismissed claims from former President David Granger that his party’s failure to condemn a March 6 attack on school children emboldened those who killed Joel and Isaiah.
Speaking to relatives of the murdered children during a visit to their home, Granger said “It is their attitude! If on the 6th of March, they had condemned what happened here on the West Coast Berbice- the stoning of the school buses and the vandalism that occurred, this would not have occurred but they are sending a message that sort of behaviour is normal; they could do it again and again.”
According to Jagdeo, Granger “should not be taken seriously”.
“This is a politician who has failed to do anything in five years to improve relations and Mr. Granger doesn’t read much because (if) he were to go now to look at the party’s Facebook page, you would see a condemnation of the bus incident on the party’s page. I personally approved that and put it on the party’s page,” he stressed.
Ali maintained that he has “condemned every single act in this country that had criminality in it.”
He went on to call out Granger for igniting the situation.
“Mr. Granger has a responsibility by going there. You can either help the situation by talking to people to be lawful and respectful or you could decide to ignite the situation. For us, our focus is on reducing flames, improving relations and having a more peaceful society,” the President said.
