Roads blocked; persons robbed, extorted; cars damaged in WCB protest

…as Police forced to fire rubber pellets to restore order

Protest action by residents of several villages along the West Coast of Berbice over the horrific death of two teens turned chaotic after persons began throwing missiles at Police as they attempted to clear the blocked main roadway.
The situation mostly escalated at Hopetown village. Police on Monday evening said that while the Force is aware of the origin of the protest, and by extension the state of emotions of protesters from the affected villages, the administration of the Force urges persons engaged in protest action to exercise calm. The GPF added that investigators are still probing the killing of the two teens – Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry – to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Notably, the GPF said that it is also in receipt of several reports of robberies being perpetrated on several innocent citizens, acts which the Force takes seriously.
“Additionally, the Force wishes to state that when protest action degenerates into unlawful acts, infringing on the rights of other citizens and putting the protection of life and the safeguard of property at risk, the GPF will consequently take the appropriate action against perpetrators,” the GPF said in a statement.
But as evening dawned on Monday, the situation further escalated at Hopetown. Reports are a long queue of vehicles waited for Police to clear the roadways to ensure a free flow of traffic, persons in the vicinity threw bricks and bottles at the vehicles.
In several instances, villagers allowed persons to pass the “roadblocks” they erected while they demanded money from others for safe passage.
“Every roadblock that we reach is $1000 or $1500 you have to pay to pass,” one driver, Satesh, told Guyana Times.
He noted that he left Zeelugt, West Coast Demerara, at 03:00h to take a passenger to Number 46 Village but could not get back home.
The taxi driver related that at one roadblock, he was told by protesters that he needed to get out of the car.
“Then tell me that if I don’t come out the car they gon chop out my hand,” he recalled, adding that “they take away all the money and phone and then they start to pelt the car with bottles.” As a result of that, Satesh said his windscreen was smashed.
Between Cotton Tree and Number Five Village, there were about 12 areas the police were trying to clear up to press time.
Meanwhile, residents at Bath Settlement also took to the streets burning tires. In nearby villages of Hopetown, Ross and Yoville, villagers took to the streets, threatening to stay all night.
Hundreds of persons have been trapped and have not been able to return home. The Guyana Police Force has confirmed that its ranks have fired tear gas and rubber pellets in an effort to break up the protests at Hopetown, West Coast Berbice.
As a result of the protest, the Fort Wellington Hospital was operating on a skeleton staff as many were stuck in the traffic buildup.
Meanwhile, on Sunday evening, protesters took a tractor and trailer and patrolled the streets, calling on residents to come out and join them as roadblocks were placed at Cotton Tree and Number Five Village.
Attorney-at-Law Horosho Edmondson told this publication that he was forced to flee in order to preserve his life on Sunday.
“They started shouting ‘kill him, kill him, he is PPP,” Edmonson said as he recounted the ordeal.
He further revealed that villagers told him that if he was not a supporter of a certain political party, take a bottle with gasoline which was being given to him and throw it on a heap of tires on the road.
“I told them that I am an attorney-at-law and I cannot do that.”
Edmondson said he was protected by some residents and escorted to where his car was parked some distance away.
According to him, on Monday morning when he went to Number Five Village, the roadblock had returned.

Private Sector condemns
On Monday, the Private Sector Commission called upon the nation to remain calm while the police do their job to bring the perpetrators to justice. The PSC condemned the brutal, heinous act.
Likewise, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) said it is deeply saddened by the senseless murders of Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry.
“We extend our deepest condolences to the families, loved ones and communities of Isaiah and Joel,” GCCI said in a statement, adding, “We share in their grief, heartbreak and anger. The GCCI calls on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to continue their investigation into the matter and we ask that the public allow the investigation process to occur without hindrance.”
It noted that the perpetrators of this heinous crime must be swiftly apprehended and brought to justice, and all parties responsible must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the laws of Guyana.