Pres Ali urges calm as peaceful protests hijacked by political extremists

…warns of prosecution of looters, persons fuelling unrest, lawlessness

…as Opposition Leader throws support behind protests

Calling on Guyanese to respect rule of law and avoid action that will put them in breach of the law, President Dr Irfaan Ali called an emergency press conference on Monday night during which he bemoaned the hijacking of the Adrianna Younge tragedy by politicians and violent extremists.

During the press conference, President Ali reiterated his Government’s support for peaceful demonstrations, which had initially broken out after the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge. But with numerous reports of fires on the road ways, destruction of private properties and the looting of businesses, he slammed the hijacking of the protests by destructive elements.
“Unfortunately, the peaceful protests were hijacked for political and selfish motives. And that is unfortunate, that persons would seek to profiteer selfishly on situations like these. Hijacking what should be a peaceful process.”
“So, I want to say that there’s a lot of images already, captured of persons creating destruction along the road ways and public and private property. And those persons will be prosecuted. I’m appealing to every Guyanese to let good sense prevail,” President Ali said.
Ali also reminded of his promise to deal with the matter in a transparent manner and pointed out that the three pathologists who came into Guyana to conduct the autopsy on Younge’s body, were highly qualified. As a matter of fact, Minister of Health Dr Frank Anthony, who was at the President’s side and joined in the calls for peace to prevail, went on to read out the credentials of these pathologists.
Distinguished forensic pathologist of the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, Dr Glenn A Rudner, was joined by Barbadian pathologist, Dr Shubhakar Karra Paul, who was brought in by the Guyana Government, and Dr Gary L Collins, the Chief Medical Examiner of the State of Delaware, who was selected by the Younge family for the autopsy which was carried out on Monday.
Attorney-at-Law Darren Wade, who acted as the attorney for Younge’s family, had subsequently confirmed that the child died as a result of drowning, based on the autopsy conducted at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) by the three pathologists. And President Ali reported that following the autopsy, the report presented to the police representative at the autopsy had ruled out forcible drowning.
In the meantime, President Ali assured that international help will be sought to review existing laws and Standard Operating Procedures (SOP’s), including for the Guyana Police Force (GPF), but also public places and public pools, to improve security.
The President also noted that the GPF’s conduct during the investigation must be examined. According to the Head of State, empathy is non-negotiable when it comes to the public service. Police media engagement and communication must also be examined.
The President further assured that public consultations will be held to come up with ideas on making Guyana more family friendly, as well as improving the operations of the police force. He assured that he would continue reaching out to the families.

According to the President, they will also seek to procure the necessary equipment for conducting in country pathology.
Meanwhile, President Ali when asked on whether anyone had been held responsible for the GPF’s release of misleading information in the early stages of the investigation into Younge’s disappearance.
According to him, he was informed that a civilian in the control centre was the one who provided the false information relative to the car. The President assured that there will be a top to bottom review of what went wrong. He made it clear that he will not leave these problems to be inherited by someone else.
Opposition’s support for protests
Meanwhile in a statement of his own, Opposition Leader Aubrey Norton expressed support for persons right to protest, blaming this on the actions of the GPF during the Younge investigation. However, he noted that such protest must be peaceful.
“The dark clouds hanging over Guyana are a direct result of the GPF misinforming people and creating a situation that resulted in protest. We support the Guyanese people in the struggle for justice for Adrianna Younge,” Norton said.
Norton also went on to distance his party from the violent protests, noting that they do not support the looting and destruction of property. However, he did urge for protests for justice to continue.