The money awarded to the families of the three men killed during the Linden protest is a clear indication of a “frightening period in our history”, where the life of a poor person is worth very little, according to Attorney Nigel Hughes, who said that the relatives are still awaiting justice as the ranks who fired the fatal shots are still to be identified.
“… The findings was that the state through the police had unjustifiably used lethal force and deprived three citizens of life and in the circumstances any award would have reflected the severity and gravity of the unjustified actions of the state…. I was expecting nothing less than $10 million to $15 million [each[,” Hughes said.
The recommended award in the Linden Commission of Inquiry (COI) Report is $8 million in total.
The five-member commission, after analysing the contributions in terms of earnings by the three men recommended compensation of $3 million to the estate of Shemroy Bouyea; $3 million to the estate of Allan Lewis and $2 million to the estate of Ron Somerset. The slain men were aged 24, 46 and 18 years respectively. Just before the commission handed over its final report to President Donald Ramotar, the commissioners, following a discussion, changed the sum awarded to Somerset’s estate from $1 million to $2 million.
Hughes, who represented the relatives of the three men throughout the COI which began in September last year, told Stabroek News during an interview that he was disappointed with the conclusion; “in terms of content and in particular in the case of the deceased in terms of compensation.”
Stressing that Guyana’s Constitution guarantees the right to life of all citizens, he said he had been in discussions with relatives who above all things were seeking justice for their tragic loss.
Hughes, who was speaking only in the capacity of an attorney, said that what they sought was “not only should the perpetrators be identified and be held responsible but if found liable the state should not only compensate them for their loss but the reward of damages should reflect the gross violation of the right of life.”
He explained that rewards are computed on strict narrow legal principles adding that on an occasion when the state took a determined decision to use lethal force against its own unarmed citizens and thereby deprive them of their life, “the outrage of such actions should have been reflected in the award of damages.”
Further, he said that there are two types of awards. The first being the dependency award and the second being the “straight award” for loss of life. “The award for loss of life was $1 million [in reference to Somerset’s initial sum]. It is absolutely outrageous that a person who was clearly challenged would have his life valued at basically one third of the monthly income of an ex-president. The message that sends is that some lives are more valuable than others. We are at a very frightening period in our history,” he said. He said that the awards given to the relatives of the slain men send a clear message which says, “If you have the misfortune to be poor your life is not worth much.” And that, according to Hughes, is unacceptable.
The commission in its report had stated that relatives of the deceased had lied about their earnings. Responding to that Hughes said that in the case of Somerset’s mother, the commission looked at the support her other children could give.
“…The fact that she had children capable of supporting her was the basis on which they would degrade any dependence award and challenge her veracity and then value her son at US$5,000. That speaks volumes,” Hughes told Stabroek News.
Who is responsible?
One of the disappointments, he noted, was that the report does not identify a single person as responsible for the deaths.
“It doesn’t say the minister, the Commissioner of Police, the head of crime. Not a single person was identified and that is regrettable, after spending US$83,000 on highly trained experts they can’t identify the person for an activity that they said was unjustifiable by the Guyana Police Force,” he said.
According to Hughes, the commissioners have “not remotely” touched the issue of ministerial responsibly and the question that the relatives of the deceased are asking. That question is “who is responsible for what took place on July 18?” the attorney said.
“That question has to be answered. The minister has ministerial responsibility for what is a disaster and the Commissioner of Police bears equal responsibility for using lethal force against unarmed citizens,” he said.
Asked what the next move would be, Hughes said that the report was not binding on the executive. “We are waiting to see what government’s position is in relation to the findings of the report, whether they exercise discretion to increase the award of compensation for the loss of life of three citizens… If their actions indicate that they are not disposed to move in that direction I will confer with them [the relatives] on what the next move is,” he said.
Hughes expressed disbelief at the award given to Linden resident Hector Solomon Jnr, who sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. Solomon was awarded $120,000 for his injury.
When asked if he had heard any reactions from Lindeners about the contents of the report, Hughes said the message from some is that the police were less than candid with the commission about the 00 cartridge which the police still have in their possession. He called on the police to launch an investition into who allowed the cartridges to be in possession of the police after they were decommissioned and why they would be deployed to a scene where there was the real possibility that they would be used on unarmed citizens.
He said that as counsel for relatives of the men he is yet to be formally notified about the contents of the report. He said he has had glimpses of it but nothing was handed over to him as such he had nothing to share with his clients.
“I think it is an insult to the relatives that they would not even be notified by government whether directly or through their counsel [that the report is available],” Hughes said.
“I told the truth”
Margaret Somerset maintained that when she took the stand on the final day of the COI she spoke nothing but the truth in relation to her son Ron Somerset.
In the report, the commissioners said they were unimpressed with her as a witness and did not believe her son was employed at the time of his death. Somerset was attending the Linden Technical Institute and his mother in her testimony had said that he worked with her son-in-law and earned $15,000 a week. She said he gave her $10,000 out of that as his contribution towards the running of the household.
The report said that Margaret, who was a vendor in the interior but is now unemployed and living in Suriname, testified that Ron worked at an Electronic Shop at Linden which is owned by her son-in-law and assisted in supporting her and her two grandchildren.
“She was a most unimpressive witness and it is left to wonder whether Ron in fact assisted to support the family, bearing in mind that she received a monthly support of US$250 from two of her children who live overseas,” the commission said. As such the $2 million was awarded for “loss of life”.
Contacted in Suriname yesterday the woman was shocked but stated that she knows that one day she will get justice. She noted too that it was never about the money as at the end of the day she wanted to know who shot and killed her son.
“My concern is that we want to know the person who killed Ron and we are looking for justice… Money is not all. Ron’s life was more important,” the grieving woman said. She said once she knows who fired the fatal bullet which struck Ron in his neck, she would be satisfied.
She said that prior to this newspaper making contact with her she was unaware of the contents of the report as it related to her son. “I felt hurt that they didn’t believe me. I felt really bad about it. I was talking the truth,” the woman stressed.
According to Margaret, she does not even think that what her son earned should have been made an issue. She said what was awarded for the death of her son was “too little”. She noted that every day is a fight for her as when she remembers her son it brings tears to her eyes.
Asked if she believes the person who killed her son will be identified, she responded, “I think that I will know who killed him. As the old people say what is in darkness will come to light.” She said she continues to pray hard every day and she knows that one day the truth will be revealed.
She recalled that had the teenager listened to her he could have possibly been alive today. She said that after hearing that there would be a protest over the electricity situation in Linden, she urged him not to travel to the mining town. At the time Somerset was staying in Georgetown.
“There was no need to fire bullets. He was shot under the throat,” she said.
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with the relatives of the other two men.
Shocked
When it rains, Solomon experiences excruciating pain in his chest where three fragments of a bullet still remain embedded in his flesh. To compound his situation, he will need to travel overseas to have them removed.
When contacted last evening the man was shocked at what was awarded to him and called on his fellow Lindeners to reject the report in its entirety.
The report said that Solomon is a porter and a part time DJ. It stated that he had assisted in placing the music set, which was used for the meeting, on the bridge, after which he was standing nearby. When the police discharged their firearms, the report said, Solomon started to run and was shot in his upper left side chest. Thereafter, he was admitted to the Mackenzie Hospital where he spent a few days after which he went to Woodlands Hospital where a bullet was extracted.
“He said he has been unable to work since, which we do not believe. We are not convinced about his evidence. This witness had also made an attempt to mislead us. He wants us to believe that he earns as much as $24,000 per week as a porter. This cannot be true. His medical and other expenses have not been proven as his father who paid same is overseas and did not testify before the commission,” the report said.
It went on to say that the commission was satisfied that he did “receive injury to the chest and must have suffered some measure of pain”. As such $120,000 was the award in his favour.
Solomon told Stabroek News, via telephone from the mining town that $120,000 could not even pay for the surgery to remove the fragments. He said he is still unable to work as a result of his injury as he still cannot lift heavy objects.
He went on to explain to Stabroek News how he earns his wages, stating that he gets at least $17,000 per trip when goods are taken into the interior. He also sometimes earns a separate income.
He said that during the testimony he did not include his laptop computer which went into the Demerara River when the music set it was resting on was thrown off the bridge, allegedly by the police.
“This thing is a slap in the face,” the man said, adding that he was shocked when he heard how much Somerset’s relatives had been awarded. He said the teen was a good friend.
Solomon explained that during a recent visit to the doctor he was told that the fragments would have to be removed. The process entails the opening up of his chest cavity, an operation which cannot be done here. “I was shot five inches above my heart and three inches from my main artery. All my shoulder tissue tear up. All that money my father paid and he can’t get it back,” the upset man told this newspaper.
He said that he will still have to find money for that operation and the money awarded to him is far from enough. The father of two children: a five-year-old girl and a four-year-old boy, questioned whether if he had died $1 million would have been an adequate compensation for his death. He said that besides his children he also cares for his mother and sister and stressed that not only is he his mother’s first born; he is also her only son.
Meeting tomorrow
Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon said the compensation to the family of the deceased is “sad and unfortunate” and a meeting is being planned for tomorrow with all the affected parties to discuss the content of the report and the way forward.
He said he only managed to collect a copy of the report late on Friday last and only had a chance to “skim” through it. He said most of what he knows, he read in the press.
According to Solomon, the COI Chairman’s remarks that justice was done during the handing over of the report to the president is far from the truth. He said the report is an indictment against the police that they murdered those men.
He said the report was “most selective” in terms of the Terms of Reference (TOR) and in terms of ensuring that the responsibility to engage with Lindeners was the government’s.
Solomon told Stabroek News that the government should have engaged the citizens of Region Ten from the first protest which was in April last.
“The government is responsible for everything that has occurred,” he said adding that the community is now faced with injustice.
Asked if there have been any reactions from Lindeners to the contents of the report, he said that is being hampered by absence of independent media.
He said that in the coming days the community will see government “bombarding the minds of Lindeners with their own report”.
