Hundreds of protesting residents from Lusignan, East Coast Demerara, yesterday afternoon voiced their frustrations in uninhibited fashion to President Bharrat Jagdeo in a stormy meeting which lasted for almost an hour, and at the end many were still dissatisfied with the government and the law enforcers’ response to yesterday’s massacre.
They vowed to continue their protest action until the Jagdeo administration puts measures in place to ensure they were safe, while they expressed themselves opposed to an army presence in the village.
A heavily guarded Jagdeo had earlier met with the families of the eleven persons, which included five young children, who were cut down in a hail of bullets when a group of gunmen invaded their Lusignan homes early yesterday morning.
At the end of the discussions with the residents who were protesting at the bridge on the Lusignan, Railway Embankment, Jagdeo said that three meetings would be held today at Mon Repos, Good Hope and Lusignan so that residents could voice their concerns to him. He said he understood the anger the residents were feeling as a consequence of innocent children being killed, but he emphasized that at the same time it was up to the residents to control the protest action.
While enduring a barrage of insults and foul language, Jagdeo told the residents that it was evident that the people who had carried out the assault had come to kill and not rob, adding that he knew persons were very angry that numerous calls had been made to the Cove and John, Vigilance and Beterverwag-ting Police Stations and yet there had been no response for over an hour.
As the president was trying to address the crowd, residents pushed, tugged and shouted and everyone was asking their questions at the same time.
Jagdeo’s bodyguards before long became frustrated, and could be seen roughly pushing several persons away from the President. The residents told the head of state that they were very uncomfortable with the presence of the army in the area and following this he instructed that the soldiers should leave.
It was at this point, although the crowd was still somewhat rowdy, that the President was able to answer a few of the residents’ questions and listen to their suggestions.
According to Jagdeo, the best option at this point was to deploy the army and police but this suggestion was met with distaste by the residents who said that right now the army needed to be in Buxton to flush out the criminals who were reportedly hiding out there.
Residents suggested that private citizens, especially those with law enforcement experience, should be brought in to help the joint service, and that the cane fields at the back of the village should be looked at immediately as they were an obvious hiding place for criminal elements.
Claims of
army brutality
Numerous claims of brutality at the hands of soldiers, who had been tasked with securing the bridges and keeping the residents under control, were made yesterday.
Speaking on this issue, Jagdeo said that these allegations would be investigated. Minutes after he said that, a half naked man with the impression of boots on his chest was brought forward. He could hardly stand but he managed to tell the president that he had been “stamped” in the chest by a solider. The man pleaded with the President to help him and residents were asked to take the man to the hospital. After being in the crowd for almost 20 minutes the man then collapsed and despite the pleading of the President to get the man into a vehicle and to the hospital, the residents continued pushing and pressing him with questions.
Drenched in sweat and very weak the man was later taken away.
Another man alleged that he had been kicked by the soldiers for no reason.
A Lusignan resident told Stabroek News that some women who had been standing on the bridge had been slapped in the face by officers because they were part of the protest. With tears in his eyes, the man said that the assault had been uncalled for, as the women had done nothing wrong.
Up at Mon Repos Railway Embankment, this newspaper was told that soldiers stationed there had gun-butted several protestors and cranked their guns.
One woman who was visibly angry said that the police had arrested two men who had tyres in their cars and had taken them to the BV police station, but on arriving there, they were verbally abused.
This newspaper was also told that a boy had been pushed from his bicycle, kicked about his body and had had guns cranked at him.
“I can’t understand why deh doing this. The President order them na fuh shoot but yet de crankin up de guns pon people,” the woman said. She added that when they objected, they were told by the officers that they were getting paid and they were doing their duty.
While Stabroek News was in the area, the soldiers could be heard openly cursing and verbally abusing the protestors.
