Commuters were left stranded and were forced to walk
long distances to get transportation to get to their
destinations while many schoolchildren returned
home.
Around 12:30 hours after the protestors refused to
adhere to the repeated calls from the police to
"disperse and go to your lawful place of business; this
is illegal," police fired teargas canisters at the
crowd, sending everyone scattering for cover.
A few persons jumped into the trench to "cool off",
while a few men decided to challenge the ranks by
picking up the teargas canisters and hurling them right
back at the police. The policemen, who were armed with
shotguns, then fired at the crowd and their pellets hit
the seven persons.
As this was happening, other police officers were
busy clearing the road, allowing the traffic to flow
freely. A truck with soldiers was the first to blaze
through. The ranks quelled the fires with buckets of
water from the trench and later used a Bobcat to clear
the debris.
Advancing behind shields, the police officers beat
some of the protestors with batons after they threatened
to block the road again. This resulted in angry comments
from residents and the ranks ran into the streets where
a crowd was and in a yard and arrested a few men.
The sugar workers claimed that the police were too
"violent" and vowed, "we are not taking this".
When this newspaper visited earlier, the protestors
said they were saddened at the way the innocent people
from Lusignan were killed and shouted, "We want justice.
No justice; no sugar! We want the police to catch
'Fineman' then we gon work."
Another cane harvester shouted, "if they can't find
Fineman, we gon give them we cutlass and leh dem give we
dem guns and we gon find him. If they can get $30
million to find one man then wha dem doing with the
military… Is so he powerful? Let them bring the
foreign soldiers."
A few women and children displayed pages of a
newspaper that showed the victims and one woman
remarked, "Look at these innocent children; Fineman mek
dem fuh kill them? What dem do to deserve this?" Another
woman said, "We are so sad for the people they kill,
especially the children. Me watch them children
[pictures] and me can't sleep."
Meantime some children and along with other
protestors bore placards with the slogans: "Bandits in
charge," "Jagdeo this is too much," "Bring back Gajraj,"
"We want Moses" and "find f--- Fineman."
Before using force to repel the protestors, the
police officers removed an old truck cabin from the
road, but the protestors promptly lifted it right back
and this sparked an angry confrontation.
Assistant Commander of 'B' Division Balram Persaud
then told his officers to move to another area but some
of the protestors followed them while others remained
and started the second fire.
Asked why they men were arrested even while in the
street, Persaud told Stabroek News that they were
"agitated" and threatened his officers. "The fact that
we were outnumbered we had to take action. We were
trying to clear the road manually…," he said.
Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee and Minister
of Health Leslie Ramsammy arrived and tried in vain to
pacify the residents. Ramsammy told the residents he
wanted to see "black flags, not black smoke" and shortly
after residents had the black flags flying.
Ramdihal, a Guyana Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU)
Field Secretary said he "tried to get the workers to
workers to come out to work but they attempted to throw
me and my motorcycle in the trench."
Region Five Chairman Harrinarine Baldeo told this
newspaper he was not against the people protesting but
"it is not the right form." He said this was the
harvesting season at the estate and given that most of
the protestors are cane cutters, the sugar industry
would be affected. Attempts made to contact an official
from the Blairmont Estate proved futile.
Meanwhile at the Georgetown Public Hospital, Alli,
Lall and Silchan denied doing anything that would have
caused the police to react in such a manner. They told
this newspaper that the policeman just looked at them
and opened fire.
David told this newspaper that he was just passing
through the area on his way to visit some friends. He
sustained four pellet wounds, two to his right shoulder
and two on his right hand.
The four men were referred to the hospital's x-ray
department after being seen by a doctor in the emergency
room.
Lall whose right side chest was bandaged told
Stabroek News that he was shot three times. The angry
man said he was on the road protesting with other cane
cutters, villagers and schoolchildren for justice in the
Lusignan incident.
He said that the police just came threw tear gas and
"just started throwing pellets at people".
Lall later told this newspaper that when they turned
up for work they decided to strike and take to the road
in protest over the killing of the children.
"We just been pon de road protesting… We have a
right to protest. All we looking for is justice. Is
justice we want," the man declared.
Silchan who sustained the worst injury was confined
to a wheelchair yesterday. He was shot several times in
the right foot and was unable to walk properly.
According to Silchan he was the main target as the
policeman pointed the gun at him and started to fire.
His co-workers who were behind him were also wounded, he
said.
He said when the policeman pointed the gun at him he
thought that he was joking.
Silchan later said that they had blocked the road
with a trailer and lit a fire on the Bath Settlement
Public Road. But all three men stressed to this
newspaper that they had done nothing wrong and should
not have been shot. (Additional reporting by Zoisa
Fraser)
