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Twenty charged in E’bo protests
– AFC Councillor, rice miller included
In support: Relatives and rice farmers gathered in front of the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Nineteen farmers arrested last Friday night after a protest over late rice payments on the Essequibo coast have been charged with riotous behaviour, while a miller was charged with threatening language and assault against a farmer.
Alliance For Change (AFC) Councillor for Region Two, Naith Ram, said to be one of the leaders of the protests which saw the main roadway on the Essequibo coast blocked, and Tage Sewcharran, were also slapped with additional charges when they appeared before Magistrate Sunil Scarce.
Ram is also Chairman of the Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association. Sewcharran is said to be the Secretary.
The indictable charges were read to the men at the Anna Regina Magistrate’s Court even as several rice farmers and relatives of the men lined the roadway outside in support.
Ram, who claimed police stripped him naked during a clash, was charged with assault with intent to resist lawful apprehension, speaking at a public meeting where a noisy instrument was used without permission, and holding a meeting in a public place for which no notice had been given to the appropriate officer of police.
The police, over the weekend, denied that they were associated in any way with Ram being without clothes. A photograph of the naked Councillor was published on the front page of Kaieteur News on Saturday.
Ram secured bail in the sum of $5,000 each for the assault charge and holding a public meeting without receiving permission from the police. For the other charge of using a public address system without the police’s permission, he was released on his own recognizance.
Meanwhile, Sewcharran was charged also with being an unlicenced driver, assaulting a police officer and hosting a meeting without the permission of a police. He was placed on $20,000 bail.
Also charged were Tage Persaud, Dhanniram Naipaul, Chaitlall, Bridgelall, Naheem Mohammed, Ganesh Mootilall, Azrudeen Kamrudeen, Saif Ally, Naresh Ramnauth, Persaud Ramnauth, Ravindra Ramotar, Poashan Gaylall, Dennis Raymond, Vishnu Raymond, Sooklall Raymond and Bhim Singh.
Some of them were also charged with traffic offences.
Police in the charges said that the men staged a protest on Friday starting from Bush Lot and moved to Anna Regina. The protestors later proceeded to Land Of Plenty, a village a few miles away. The police said the protestors were intoxicated when they proceeded to block the main public road and burn tyres. As a result, traffic was blocked for several hours, virtually shutting down the coast.
During the protests, police officers as well as a soldier reportedly sustained injuries. Police said the angry protestors also proceeded to pelt them with bottles and stones. The police have also indicated that they are currently considering additional charges against Ram and Sewcharran.
The rice farmers were represented by attorney-at-law Hemraj Rajkumar.
The men will have to return to court on August 5th.
Police also said yesterday that additional charges are likely to be made.
Meanwhile, a miller, Waseemul Hakh, was reportedly charged with threatening language and assault against rice farmer, Bridgelall. He was placed on $20,000 bail.
Rice farmers on the Essequibo coast said that the protests were sparked after no action from authorities over complaints that they were owed hundreds of millions from the last crop by millers.They also accused millers of deliberately using their monies to finance operations.
However, officials of the Guyana Rice Development Board, which oversees the industry, said that for the last crop, millers only owed $997M from the $4.6B in paddy they bought from farmers. Additionally, farmers were told only last week that the remaining payments were to be made within the next couple weeks.
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