Police Commissioner, Henry Greene yesterday said that all leads are pointing to Rondell Rawlins’ criminal gang as the perpetrators of the slaying of eight miners at a diamond mining camp in the hinterland.
Greene, speaking for the first time on the issue told a media conference at his office that investigators have since done a lot of work and many things were coming to the fore. “Our investigation so far has not led us away from believing that the men were killed by ‘Fineman’ and his gang,” Greene declared.
Leonard Arokium, the owner of the camp, located at Lindo Creek on the Berbice River has accused the military of carrying out the attack on the eight miners whose burnt bodies were discovered on Saturday, but Greene yesterday said that the miner was not very forthcoming with information and he mentioned that Arokium is yet to answer why he made several stops before reporting the discovery of the dead miners to the police. Arokium could not be reached for a comment on the issues raised by Greene yesterday. The Joint Services had refuted Arokium’s claims that the miners were killed by members of the military saying it was unimaginable and unthinkable and on Wednesday it issued a press release, stating that four spent shells retrieved from the Lindo Creek site matched shells recovered from previous skirmishes involving Rawlins and his gang.
Yesterday the joint services were still scouring the jungle for the rest of the gunmen who escaped with Rawlins during the initial confrontation on June 6 at Christmas Falls.
In a statement yesterday the joint services said that acting on information received, during Wednesday ranks recovered an AK 47 rifle along with ammunition and articles which were dug up at a location at Ituni. The statement said 324, 7.62 x 39 rounds, four magazines for the rifle, five 20-gauge cartridges, two 9mm rounds, one 40mm round, one camouflage pouch and one green canvas tarpaulin were also recovered.
Meanwhile, Greene told reporters that the security forces were still in the jungle, declaring that from all accounts Rawlins and men are still trapped and would be caught.
The Joint Services had maintained since June 6 – following the police attack on the Rawlins camp at Christmas Falls – that the gunmen were trapped in the jungle.
They have since not explained how the men were still able to move 90 miles to the Aroaima trail one week later where they hijacked a busload of passengers. Two of the gunmen, Julius Chung and Cecil Ramcharran were shot dead the same day at Goat Farm.
President Bharrat Jagdeo on Wednesday told a press conference that he would ensure that a full investigation was conducted into the matter, announcing that his administration has since requested from the US government assistance in forensic pathology to examine the remains of the miners skulls and bones which were wrapped in a tarpaulin and left in a heap at the camp.
Greene yesterday could not say exactly when the miners might have been killed, although indicating that based upon information received they would have been slaughtered before June 16, the day the gunmen hijacked the bus on the Aroaima trail. Asked whether members of the joint services are being investigated for their alleged involvement in the killing of the miners, Greene said two joint services teams that were in the area had been questioned. He said too that a Brazilian operating a mining concession in the area was also questioned as well as a security guard of the mining site. “At this point we are still waiting to question two soldiers who were stationed at the Unamco Gate…we are searching for them,” Greene said. Arokium had told members of the media that some of the miners had mingled with the soldiers and they might have shared food at some point.
Warnings
On the issue of the miners being warned to leave the area following the June 6 attack at Christmas Falls, Greene asserted that he was aware of this being done. “We knew people were in the area doing logging and mining and the relevant ministries issued warnings for them to leave,” the acting Police Chief said. He said whether the men heard the announcement but refused to leave or did not hear the warning at all was still an issue to be cleared up. Greene said what was clear was that Arokium knew about the joint services activities in the area as he had enquired from a policewoman at Kwakwani when it was safe for him to travel to the area.
There had been speculation that there might have been some collusion between the miners and the criminals, but Greene refused to speculate on the matter.
Some observers believe that there are still many unanswered questions which the security forces have not addressed and the fact that some have accused them of executing such a heinous crime required an independent commission of inquiry (CI). Jagdeo told the media on Wednesday that he had seen a letter from AFC leader Raphael Trotman requesting a CI into the matter. He said while he had not decided whether they would go the route of a CI, if one is to be done it would have to include the other recent massacres to determine whether there was any political involvement. “I have not decided whether a Commission of Inquiry is the best vehicle, but we think that external expertise at this time is the best route to go,” Jagdeo asserted.
Senior joint services officials have admitted that there were a number of outstanding questions to be answered. Stabroek News had been told that lawmen who visited the Lindo Creek camp site found evidence of some of the miners being tortured. This newspaper has been informed that one of the skulls found at the location had an impression suggesting that the person was beaten in the head. According to information reaching Stabroek News, on arrival at the camp all the lawmen found were burnt bones. Reports are that the camp site has been sealed off to facilitate the work of the US forensic expert.
The eight men who were murdered are Nigel Torres, Bonny Harry, Cecil Arokium, Lancelot Lee, Horace Drakes, Dax Arokium, Clifton Young and Compton Speirs.
