The PPP has hailed the “fair report” of the Commission of Inquiry into the events of July 18, 2012 at Linden during which three protesters were fatally shot but Leader of the Opposition David Granger is dissatisfied saying that the antecedents of these events were not adequately examined.
“I am not satisfied with the report in general,” Granger told Stabroek News yesterday adding that he believed more could have been done to determine who exactly did the shooting as this was the crux of the COI but the report in this regard was a bit inconclusive.
Residents of Linden had asserted that Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea and Allan Lewis had been killed by police during a July 18, 2012 protest sparked by a government plan to raise electricity tariffs. The police in the days that followed the shooting had denied responsibility for the shooting but the Commission found the police responsible for the deaths but said that in the circumstances, the discharge of ammunition was justified as the police were confronted by a hostile crowd and had no clear intention to kill or injure anyone. The report was presented to President Donald Ramotar on Thursday.
“The COI has ruled. We believe it is a fair report and that there was a transparent effort by the Commission to ensure all parties and all evidence that was available came forward,” was the reaction by PPP executive member Gail Teixeira during a press conference at Freedom House yesterday. She said that the COI findings exonerated Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee of all charges levelled against him by “an irresponsible opposition” and the party hopes that the findings bring closure to the issue which has held up parliamentary work.
“The PPP wishes to signal its appreciation to all the members of the Commission of Inquiry for having thoroughly examined these claims with regards to the Minister of Home Affairs and for allowing full scope for public hearings, daily media coverage and legal representation to all parties so that no one can claim that the findings of the COI with regards to the Minister were not fully transparent and dealt with,” said Teixeira, reading from a prepared statement. “The PPP/C notes that its public pronouncements with regards to the Minister of Home Affairs’ involvement in the July 18, 2012 protests in Linden have been vindicated,” she added.
Teixeira said that the country lost nine “precious months” of serious development work and good faith efforts due to the “contorted, reckless and irresponsible agenda of the combined Opposition…” Teixeira said that now that the opposition would have “seen the light” she is hopeful that they would settle down and get on with the task of nation building.
Granger told Stabroek News that he is not happy with the report. “The report attempted to record the events of a single day but… the antecedents of these events were not adequately examined,” he said. As a result, he said that the recommendations made as these relate to the police, were inadequate because they are of “insufficient depth.”
Granger said that the blameworthiness of the police is central but the COI should have ensured that more investigations were done to determine who shot the three men. “The Commission of Inquiry did not bring that out strong enough,” he said.
In relation to Rohee, the opposition leader said: “I think the COI completely missed the point.” He stated that the commission focused on a specific day when they should have been focused on the minister’s stewardship over a longer period. “We were concerned more with the general policy and preparedness of the police to deal with public disorder in general,” he said, adding that the report brought out that the police were unable to deal with it.
Granger said that what should have been examined were the measures taken to train police to control any public disorder. He noted that insufficiently trained ranks were sent out in insufficient numbers to deal with the protest when better training could have prevented what occurred. “He cannot escape responsibility for the quality of management of the police force over a longer period,” Granger declared saying that it was “a long period of maladministration.”
Granger said that he was concerned that the inquiry did not probe more deeply into the way the police force was managed or administered over the past ten years. The deployment of police as well as training and command were inadequate, he noted.
Meantime, in relation to the recommendations for compensation, Granger said that he was disappointed that it was so meagre. Some of the amounts awarded are barely enough to meet the expenses of those injured over the past seven months, he said. “I think it’s inadequate and it’s unfair.” The opposition leader said that the compensation was not adequate especially when the loss of life is considered and the persons were not proved to be committing any criminal offence.
Granger said that the report points in the direction in which the force needs to travel but having been a member of the Disciplined Forces Commission if there was commitment by the government to implement the reforms, the events of July 18 would not have occurred. He noted that whether the recommendations of the DFC and COI are implemented, they have to be implemented by Rohee but noted the past record.
The opposition leader also addressed other aspects of the report and said that as he was concerned, the police could have used ammunition which was not authorized including from other sources not in the official record. He said that there was also the issue of record keeping and it means that the police probably still had the ammunition, stored. The report does not seem to have been able to determine exactly how much ammunition and tear gas were distributed and used, he pointed out too.
Further, he noted that several members of the TSU half-unit sent out to quell the protesters were special constables and they had an inadequate level of training and given that only a small number were sent out, there was obviously bad judgment.
In terms of the administration and management of the police, the question was what was done to train the police to manage these events over the long term, he said pointing out that the Linden unease over the tariffs began since April and the situation was tense all though the months till July.
Further, Granger said that the law enforcement operations continued into August and insufficient attention was paid to the people who suffered during the police operations after July 18.
Asked about what happens now, Granger said that it is now up to the president to act on the recommendations of the commissioners. He said that the National Assembly should also consider it and the police should face substantial reforms.
The reforms articulated by Rohee last December are not enough and the real situation on the ground is not provided for in the plan announced by the minster, he said adding that Rohee’s reforms were not relevant to the situation on the ground as happened on July 18. The police need major reforms and this is not provided for in Rohee’s plan, he said.
Meantime, at the PPP press conference yesterday, Teixeira expressed disappointment at the recommendation for compensation for the PPP building in Linden which was attacked during the Linden unrest. “Obviously we have noted the claim of Freedom House in Linden and we are a little bit disappointed but we will live with the ruling of the Commission,” she said. “Freedom House had a claim…we were attacked…we were assaulted at Freedom House Linden and the claim for the damage – which by the way we have not fully repaired the place yet – electrical wiring, computers, [were valued at] $2.5 million. The Commission has awarded us $400,000. We are grateful for the support. Obviously we would have liked to have gotten the full compensation… but we will live with the results,” she said.
An AFC spokesperson said that an official statement by the party would be issued later.
