Tear gas, shots fired on pro-democracy protesters

…7 injured

Mayhem was unleashed in the community of Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, on Friday evening after a heavily armed riot squad of the Guyana Police Force released teargas and later opened fire on a group of protesters.

Earlier in the day, thousands of persons gathered at Lusignan to join the countrywide protest against the unlawful act by the Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) Returning Officer to declare unverified results for the district.
This was done without verifying the information on the Statements of Poll in the presence of party agents, international and local observers, despite a Court Order being secured by the PPP/C to have an injunction against such an unlawful declaration.
However, as the pro-democracy protesters were voicing their concerns, shots of rubber pellets rang out in the afternoon hours. Seven persons were shot while some were arrested, resulting in mass chaos. When Guyana Times arrived at the scene, the last shots rang out a short distance away in Mon Repos and one man was seen lying in a corner in a semi-unconscious state. His foot, bleeding profusely, was bandaged with a piece of cloth as residents fumed.
By then, the roads were blocked with burning tires as glass bottles were hurled into the air. The ranks bolstered themselves in the middle of the roadway, using force to get people into their homes.
Bibi Mohammed, who witnessed the ordeal, detailed what transpired, noting that they were sitting when the shots came out of nowhere. While expressing that their grievances were displayed in a peaceful manner, she reiterated that the violent behaviour from law enforcement was uncalled for. Her brother, Wazir Mohammed, was one of the injured persons.
“We see a teargas throw where we sit down. We run. When we run they keep firing. We don’t know who create the scene but this teargas keep throwing and we face start to burn. Just now, we at Mon Repos market, the police them start to shoot up and couple [persons] get shoot,” Mohammed shared.
By then, other ranks had shown up at the scene in their battle uniform and weapons. As tensions brewed, former Member of Parliament, Dr Vindhya Persaud and former Education Minister, Priya Manickchand arrived to quell the situation. The injured were transported to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for medical attention but the emotions of residents were difficult to contain.

The other injured were identified as were Ejaz Ally, and two others were recognised as “Alligator” and “Swalla”. One of the protesters was shot in the face while others were shot about the body. A teen who was walking along the roadside and who was not part of the protest was shot by the police.
The situation reached a point where former Attorney General Anil Nandlall was forced to return to the community to address the crowd. He explained that the People’s Progressive Party and other smaller parties are still working to ensure that GECOM returns to the lawful process.

“Of course, we’re trying everything to get the position reversed at the other level to get the verification process completed by the Returning Officer or the Deputy and to have the electoral process restored,” Nandlall said.
He added, “The people are very outraged by what has happened…They saw the electoral process and democratic machinery of this country highjacked in a most brazen and foolish way.”
He indicated that they are working to ensure that democracy returns to Guyana. Some persons were convinced to return to their homes while others stayed at the corner of the streets.

Last resort
Throughout the day, many persons from the community raised their disappointment with the attempts to ‘rig the elections’. In the early gathering at Lusignan, the protesters said this was last resort after waiting since Thursday for GECOM to rectify its blatant blunder.
Faye Alleyne, a supporter of the PPP/C, told this publication that she along with the mass of protesters want to ensure that the count of the votes and the verification process is “thoroughly transparent.”
“There must be an admission from this Government (APNU/AFC) coalition that they are incompetent, they have been voted out, and it is time that they give up peacefully and this is entirely my opinion. The PPP/C’s opinion is that if that count, if that verification shows that they (APNU/AFC) won then fine, we will not protest…we are standing here peacefully demanding our democratic rights.”
Another protester, Travez, told Guyana Times that the thousands of persons protesting at Lusignan on Friday were not only supporters of the PPP/C but others who supported other political parties in this year’s elections.
“We are in the 21st century and we have to be on the road like this protesting for democracy…clearly we have seen rigging, attempt to rig that has backfired…we are not drinking, we are not partying, we are not having fun, we are not stealing and we are not destroying people’s property. We are just here to have a peaceful protest to represent what is right.”
Additionally, Pandit Rajin Seemadray stated that he never attended a rally hosted by any political party before the recently held elections but that his presence at the protest is in light of his fight for democracy to reign.
“GECOM should process the results of the elections in a credible manner, to verify it the way it was supposed to be verified, not behind closed doors, not to go lock up in some room and to come back with some miscellaneous figures. We want them to do it the way it was supposed to be done, in front of us, that is what we want. Our votes must count.”
Throughout the countrywide protests, another group gathered at Schoonord next to the Demerara Harbour Bridge, West Bank Demerara, with placards, voicing similar calls.