10-year time lapse disadvantages Commission – Justice Trotman

Lindo Creek CoI

Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry into the 2008 Lindo Creek massacre, Justice (ret’d) Donald Trotman, said the 10-year time lapse poses a disadvantage to the Commission since some important persons may have died or emigrated.
“Some relevant persons who might have given important evidence have died, some have emigrated but there is a core of relevant persons who still remain with us and many of them are cooperating and giving information that will help the inquiry to arrive at the truth which is one of the main objective of the Commission,” he noted during an interview on Tuesday.

“For instance, the DNA evidence which would have been very important in giving the Commission more valuable information, valuable leads the time had long passed and some of the material which could have been subjective to DNA testing has been disposed of either by burial or otherwise,” Justice Trotman added.
The CoI head further explained that although the majority of the DNA evidence has been disposed of, the Commission has been furnished with the remaining which it intends to use “very importantly and valuably” to further the work of the inquiry. He also added that the results of the DNA evidence is not to worry about since “scientifically, time does not run very much against DNA testing.”

Political biasness
Responding to criticisms of political biasness from some sections of society, Justice Trotman unambiguously stated he nor the Commission takes any political directive or has any political agenda.
“We and I particularly in the Commission is in no way politically motivated, politically instructed, politically influenced or politically directed and has no political agenda whatsoever. We are out to find the truth of the matter whichever the cards fall or the chips fall, that is it,” Trotman said.
He noted that the cooperation from various entities, particularly from the Guyana Police Force, and other persons have been very good since much of the documents and evidence are being presented with very little prompting from the Commission.
“There has been quite a lot of cooperation. I think it’s amazing to think that even people who may think that they are being targeted, they are cooperating because they too want to see the truth,” Trotman noted.
The retired Justice is the only Commissioner on the Inquiry and noted that it has been challenged in some ways but because of the nature of his work some of that burden is lifted.
“It is challenging because it places a heavy burden on my ability not just to function in a logistical way but to be able to not allow my own judgement to exclude the opinions of others or the suggestion of others. I am very conscious of that so I really bend over backwards to avoid that happening,” he noted during an interview.
With the April 30 deadline fast approaching, the Commissioner said the Commission of Inquiry Act gives the President the power to extend that deadline if necessary. He notes that the extension would also have to factor in his recommendation and added the fact that they had a late start would be one of the factors for a short extension.
Sometime between June 12, 2008 and June 24, 2008, miners Cecil Arokium, Dax Arokium, Compton Speirs, Horace Drakes, Clifton Wong, Lancelot Lee, Bonny Harry and Nigel Torres were shot and killed, and their bodies burnt at the Upper Berbice River mining camp, which was being operated by Leonard Arokium.