Emotional scenes as commissioners, police visit Linden

Oct 04, 2012 News

By Latoya Giles
The five Commissioners made their scheduled visit to the town of Linden yesterday, as they continued to gather evidence into the July 18, 2012 protest action which resulted in the demise of three men.
As word of the commissioners’ visit travelled through the mining community, scores of residents mostly women, came out and voiced their anger. A few of the persons who were shot and injured during the protest were present. Justice Lensley Wolfe O.J, who is the chairman, KD Knights, Justices Cecil Kennard and Claudette Singh made the trip to the area, while Commissioner Dana Seetahal S.C was unavoidably absent. Kaieteur News understands that Ms. Seetahal was ill.

Four of the Commissioners listen to member of the Interim Management Committee Gordon Callender during their visit to Linden

As the protestors set eyes upon Senior Superintendent Clifton Hicken and Assistant Superintendent Patrick Todd, chants erupted and many persons broke down in tears.
“Murderers …murderers, we want justice” they shouted. One woman who said that she was a relative of one of the dead protestors, had to be consoled by friends after she saw the two men.
Both Hicken and Todd walked across the Wismar/Mackenzie Bridge with the commissioners, showing them various pertinent positions. Commissioner Knights proceeded to ask Todd to point to the direction where he was standing, which he did. The witness was then asked about the distance from the bridge to the Wismar Police Station, a location in his testimony which he has highlighted several times. The commissioners then moved to the Wismar Police Station to get a sense of its proximity to the bridge. Measurements were done by surveyors of the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission.
A member of the Linden IMC, Gordon Callender, also known as “Badheart”, who was present yesterday, explained to the commissioners, his impressions of what transpired on July 18, last. At the last hearing, the commission had given consent to access the phone records of Commander Hicken and Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee. Attorney Nigel Hughes, who is representing the relatives of the deceased, intends to prove that the Commander Hicken was in contact with the Minister some forty-five minutes before the shooting on July 18.
Also at the last session, Officer Donald Harry testified that a member of the riot squad that was sent to Linden had returned a different weapon to the one he was issued.
Harry, who is stationed at the Arms Room of the Police’s Tactical Services Unit (TSU), and is tasked with documenting the issuance and return of firearms and ammunition once the TSU goes on an operation, gave the name of the officer that returned the different weapon.
Of the squad that was sent to Linden, he listed four of them who returned with less of the ammunition that they were issued with, be it tear gas grenades or 12-gauge cartridges.
On July 18, 24-year-old Shemroy Bouyea, 46-year-old Allan Lewis, and 17-year-old Ron Somerset were killed on the first day of a planned-five day protest by Lindeners.

There were emotional responses by the scores of people who turned out to witness the proceedings

The deaths stretched the protest for a month, as Lindeners pressed for a full investigation and opposition parties called for an international inquiry. In August, the Government and the Opposition came to an agreement on a foreign component being added to the Commission of Inquiry. And later that month, Government and the Opposition finally signed an agreement paving the way for the beginning of a Commission of Inquiry into the unrest. The signing also saw the mining town returning to normality.