-residents have been hit by water pollution

Police have arrested two men in connection with the recent shooting on the Barama River that left a miner dead and another injured and sources yesterday said that the incident may have stemmed from more than a conflict between residents in the area and those operating a dredge.

Reliable sources told Stabroek News yesterday that the arrested men hail from Matthews Ridge, which is about one hundred miles from the North West District area where the shooting occurred. “The fact that these men are not from the village close to the dredge means that it is more than residents complaining about water pollution,” the source told this newspaper.

Malvin Edwards

However, the source quickly pointed out that the men were arrested during the preliminary stages of the police investigation as the lawmen have only made one trip into the area, which is about nine hours by boat from the nearest police station in Port Kaituma.

The two suspects arrested reportedly worked in the area and were seen in the vicinity of the shooting. They returned to their home village shortly after the incident. Their names were called when the police made their initial trip to the nearest village where the incident happened and police at Matthews Ridge immediately apprehended them and they are now in custody pending investigations. “More names are calling and the police have to return to do further investigation,” the source said.

Regerton Simon called ‘Baba,’ of Lot P 73 Guyhoc Park was killed on the spot while Malvin Edwards, 33, of East La Penitence, was badly injured when gunmen launched a brazen attack on the dredge two Saturdays ago. Four Brazilian workers including a pregnant woman managed to escape without injury. What those Brazilians know and whether they have been questioned in detail is still unclear.

Regerton Simon

Reports were that the September 5 incident stemmed from a water pollution conflict those on the dredge had with persons living in an area know as ‘Punta’ and that might have been the cause of the shooting. But sources said yesterday the fact that the two suspects hail from Matthews Ridge indicates that there may have been more to the shooting incident and that the lawmen are also looking at reports of problems that miners were having among themselves.

Last week, Crime Chief Seelall Persaud had said that the police were focusing their investigation on a conflict between the residents in the area and those operating the dredge. But Persaud had also said that the investigators were still “open” on the case but had said the dispute kept “showing up” as a motive.

The source told Stabroek News that indeed like several other villages, the residents of Punta had a problem with the dredge as its activities were polluting the river, their only source of water. The source said that reports were made to the regional administration. It is unclear what transpired after. Attempts to contact Region One (Barima/Waini) Chairman Fermin Singh on this matter yesterday proved to be futile.

“You see when they operating the dredge, if they close off in the night then you lucky to get some drinking water between three and four in the morning and if it ent close off then no water at all. That is how bad it is for villages where dredges operate,’ the source said. Stabroek News was told that in some areas dredge owners provide black tanks to villagers in an effort to assist them with the hardships their dredging activities caused.

Police last week had said robbery was ruled out as a reason for the shooting as nothing was stolen and that the production money and equipment were intact.
This newspaper understands that during the last National Toshaos Conference in August, mining pollution in the Barama River area was raised by the community leaders, who had urged the authorities to address the matter. The residents in communities along the Barama River have been complaining to their respective toshaos about pollution since they depend a lot on fish and use the water in the river for household and personal purposes.

The dredge which was attacked on September 5 had been moved from its original position after residents of the small village nearby complained about pollution.

Yesterday, Edwards’ mother said that he was still in the High Dependency Unit (HDU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) and that he had to undergo a chest x-ray yesterday as doctors try to assess the damage done by the bullet. She said her son still could not speak properly because of the bullet to his head.
Using pen and paper Edwards had recounted that over an hour before the shooting they saw two men with rifles passing the dredge. He said that they were suspicious but carried on with their work nonetheless.

According to Edwards, a former Guyana Defence Force member, he was in the sleeping quarters when gunshots rang out and while attempting to investigate he was shot and rendered unconscious.