Why some protesters are the victims of police brutality

Oct 01, 2014 Letters

Dear Editor,
Under the captioned heading ‘ Why this drum beat of doom when it comes to African Guyanese protests? Some of us are familiar with the otherization that is central to racist constructions. Is there an otherization of African Guyanese protests in Guyana? My answer is not important here. What does the evidence show’??
The reason for me understating Dr. Hinds’s position on this issue clearly is simply because whenever protesters of African descent predominantly take to the streets, peacefully, to protest for better wages, living and working conditions, better health care, education system and equal rights, among issues of genuine concern to them in this country, they are either being arrested, terrorized, murdered, jailed, tear-gassed, beaten, tortured and in some cases shot with live rounds by ranks of the police force. This is a matter that need to be address.
While on the other hand, when protesters of different ethnicity, background and of section in society protesting on the streets on issue of concern to them the treatment from the same police force is be completely different from when African Guyanese protests in Guyana.
This is a fact that couldn’t be questioned since it is obvious in the eyesight of everyone that shows that there is some form of discrimination against protestors on the basic of their gender, ethnicity and culture in this society today.
On the morning of Thursday, April 10, 2014 hundreds of sugar cane workers turned up in front of parliament to register their concern and to support the $6B allocation that the Government had made for the sugar industry in the 2014 budget by Finance Ministry Mr. Ashni Singh which was presented in the national assemble recently.
These sugar cane workers who were predominantly Indo-Guyanese were allowed to protest outside of parliament on that day in question that was fair it was their constitutional right to protest of matters of interest to them.
However, we have all observed that none of those protestors were arrested, terrorized, murdered, jailed, tear-gassed, beaten, tortured or shot by any member of the Guyana Police Force.
The police and those in authority acted in a professional and civilized manner in dealing with the hundreds of sugar cane which was very good and noted
In July 2012, the police reaction to protestors which were predominantly Afro-Guyanese was totally different.
Shemroy Bouyea, Ron Somerset, and Allan Lewis were killed during a protest regarding Government’s plan to increase electricity tariffs in the bauxite mining town of Linden. The protestors were calling for a reversal of the decision.
These three protesters of African descent were peaceful and unarmed, just like those sugar cane workers outside Parliament Buildings on the morning of Thursday, April 10, 2014, yet they were killed senselessly by the police. Why?
Here is another reason why I say that protestors who were predominantly Afro-Guyanese were being treated differently on the afternoon of December06 2011 when APNU Member of Parliament, James Bond along with eleven persons were shot and injured with rubber bullets by ranks of the Guyana Police Force during a peaceful march in the city for job creation for our youths.
There were no reports of police brutality when Government workers from National Communication Network (NCN) Government Information News Agency (GINA) One Laptop Per Family Pogramme held a peaceful march in front of Parliament against the Opposition budget cut on April 24, 2014.
Under the Constitution, “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person” and Article 20 (1) states that “Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.”
So why have predominantly Afro- Guyanese protestors have been the victims of police brutality under this PPP/C Administration for the past twenty one years? Why it is so?
It is because of the pigmentation of Afro-Guyanese in his country the reasons being for them to be treated in that manner by the police while protesting which is their Constitutional right to do so.
To date, it hurts me to note from the records that they have been over three thousands protestors who have been the victims of police brutality. They are predominantly of African descent. Their punishment has ranged from murder, arrests, jail, tear-gassing, and beatings to torture and in some cases, being shot at with live rounds.
We are now a divided society where our motto’ One People, One Nation and One Destiny’ no long exists for one and for all.
Rayvonne P. Bourne

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Why some protesters are the victims of police brutality

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