The unrest at the Georgetown Prison has ended following a meeting between aggrieved inmates and Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan and Minister of State Joseph Harmon, who promised to address their complaints immediately.
“They have promised that they are gonna calm down now that they have seen two senior members of government because that’s what they wanted,” Ramjattan said this morning, moments after the meeting with more than a dozen prisoners at the Prison Officers’ Sports Club building, located opposite the prison on Camp Street.
A protest erupted again at the prison this morning in the aftermath of yesterday’s disturbances, which saw 17 inmates dying after a fire was started in the Capital Offences building. It is the third day of unrest at the facility.
Five prisoners were today rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) for injuries they sustained. Two of them are said to be in critical condition. Five prison officers were also taken to the hospital for treatment for inhalation of tear gas.
Members of the Joint services were forced to use tear gas to get the prisoners out of the Capital A building, where another fire was lit around 7am. The fire was quickly extinguished.
The prisoners also kicked out an already weakened wall located at the southern side of the building. Some prisoners were seen on the roof of a building in the compound holding various implements.
While they were being escorted to the Georgetown Prison Officers Sports Club, where they met with Harmon and Ramjattan, the prisoners said they wanted justice.
“All this is because of justice, we in here long without no fair trial or justice,” one said.
“We need justice. Is not just so they will charge you and put you in here and lef you,” another added.
After the meeting, security remained tight around the facility, while a few roads were closed as well as schools in the surrounding area.
Ramjattan told reporters that the group of prisoners had “quite a lot of grievances” with the conditions of the prison, wardens and their lengthy detentions without trial. He said some also voiced complaints about judges and magistrates.
He said the matters raised by the prisoners that could be dealt with administratively would be addressed forthwith. He said those that are more technical will be dealt with by the three person Board of Inquiry that is going to be set up to investigate the unrest.
At present, both Ramjattan and Harmon are at a meeting finalising the names of the three persons.
Ramjattan said that the inquiry will “start as soon as possible” to hear the complaints of prisoners. He said that he wanted as many prisoners as possible to give evidence on what is happening and the systems in place for the purposes of providing remedies.
He spoke of this occurring so that the government could find the necessary finances to ensure that there can be remedies at that level.
Asked about the matters to be dealt with immediately, he mentioned allegations against senior prison officials but pointed out that he would want to want to hear from them too. He said that complaints about the kind of food being supplied could be dealt with
Asked whether government’s meeting with the prisoners is a sign of weakness, he responded in the negative. “Absolutely not. It’s meeting them to meet their demands and I feel that it is a useful thing talking to them and hearing their versions too at our level because at times indeed they could be speaking to the prison authorities and the prison authorities listening to them but not acting. We need, at our level, sometimes to meet them and talk to them and it is very useful information we got this morning and they seem to be all credible in what they are saying,” he said.
Harmon stated that the exchange with the prisoners was useful. “The important thing is that they have given us a commitment that when they get back into the prison that they will speak to the other prisoners to ensure that there is no other escalations,” he said, before expressing confidence that the prisoners will stick to their word.
“So I think we have sort of a gentleman’s agreement on both sides. We are going to try to keep our end of the bargain and they are going to keep theirs,” he said. “We feel very confident that what has happened will aid in the security arrangements in the prison…we will do all that we can as a government to ensure that the prisoners live and work in a humane conditions that should make their lives a little comfortable,” he added, while noting that prison is not a five-star hotel but the government must assure certain minimum standards. (Additional reporting by Sharda Bacchus and Jonelle Fields)
