Civil society groups condemn police limp response to ECD mayhem

Jul 05, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – Three civil society groups have joined in condemning the joint services limp response to the recent violent protest on the East Coast of Demerara.

A section of the riot squad who were sent to the East Coast to contain the unrest

Article 13, the Electoral Reform Group (ERG) and the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) in separate statements joined with the rest of Guyana in condemning the violence meted out to stallholders at the Mon Repos Market, East Coast Demerara last Tuesday.

In its statement, Article 13 also asserted the police should have been better prepared to deal with and prevent the violence which followed. “It is regrettable, that the police have so far failed to explain its delayed response,” Article 13 added in the release. Similarly, the GHRA on Saturday condemned those who assaulted Mon Repos market vendors and stole, damaged and destroyed their properties last week, but heaped criticism on police and soldiers for taking a laid back approach and allowing the march to extend for several miles.

On that night, police fired teargas and pellets at protesters who had charged at them. Hours later, more than a dozen persons were arrested and placed before the court for riotous behaviour.

As such, the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force’s performance in containing the unrest has also been criticised by the GHRA.  “Equally to be condemned is the violent and indisciplined behaviour of the GPF/Joint Services both for the expansion of the protest along the East Coast and the terrorizing of the residents of Golden Grove village throughout the night of June 28,” the GHRA noted.

The GHRA indicated too that it had no faith in the investigation into the incident by the PCA and the Police Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility as they are both at the behest of the Police Commissioner.

Further in the statement, the GHRA expressed concern about the politicisation of the appointment of the Police Service Commission, the constitutional body that is responsible for the appointment and disciplinary action of members from Inspector to Assistant Commissioner.

Meanwhile, for its part, ERG said while upholding the right of citizens to protest and agitate in the furtherance and defence of their interests, it is appalled at the acts of rioting and looting that occurred in connection with the protests related to the Quindon Bacchus killing. “ERG condemns these acts in no uncertain terms and calls on the authorities to expedite the investigation of the killing and rioting so that all who were involved in illegal actions are held accountable.”  The group said, “these events reflect the reality of a permanent undercurrent of political distress in Guyana, where unrest and instability are always around the corner even at times of apparent calm. There is a thunderstorm brewing under blue skies. The events also illustrate the folly of the politics of ethnic division and polarization that pervades the nation. One is left to wonder at the possibility that, were it not for the rioting, the people of Mon Repos would have supported the demonstrators from the villages further east.”

According to the ERG the real tragedy, therefore, is the loss of working-class solidarity that brought a massive, united victory in 1953, but has been shattered ever since. “This incident serves to underline the destructive nature of the relationship between the Government and Opposition, and the futility of basing electoral reform initiatives narrowly on the events of the 2020 attempted rigging instead of addressing the underlying electoral arrangements that lead to perverse political behaviour, such as relate to ethnic insecurities, state capture, and elections.  We must urgently address the weaknesses that leave people cynical about the integrity of key national institutions, such as the Police, the judiciary, and GECOM and governance arrangements lacking in effective channels for addressing public grievances,” the ERG statement concluded.