Granger meets Diplomats over police killings in Linden

Leader of the Opposition, Brigadier David Granger, met Western diplomats on Friday to brief them on Wednesday’s killings in Linden.
The diplomats – US Ambassador D. Brent Hardt, EU Ambassador Robert Kopecky, Canadian High Commissioner David Devine and British High Commissioner (acting) – were told that A Partnership for National Unity condemned the killing of three men and the shooting of more than two dozen other unarmed, peaceful protesters in Linden on Wednesday.
The other APNU representatives, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Ms. Deborah Backer, Mr. Winston Felix and Mr. Joseph Harmon, told the diplomats that both pellets and live ammunition had been used indiscriminately on the victims of the police shooting.
The APNU team expressed its concern at the obvious lack of preparation, or lack of intention, by the police to use minimum force by employing batons, shields and the water cannon.
The Linden protest was a peaceful, lawful and civil assembly and the police response was aggressive, calculated and provocative, they said.
A Partnership for National Unity initiated the call for an independent, judicial inquiry into the killings and called for face-to-face dialogue between the central government and the regional administration. APNU welcomed offers by the diplomats to explore possibilities for assistance from international organisations and foreign countries to support an independent inquiry into the killings.