A small group of supporters of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) rallied outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre yesterday afternoon, calling for the release of Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed as the National Assembly met without him.
Waving Guyana flags, protesters marched in circles in front of police barricades. Hana Mohamed, the Opposition Leader’s sister, led chants through a loudspeaker calling for his release and that of the three men charged in connection with the sinking of the MV Barima.
“What is dead? Democracy!” protesters chanted as they marched in circles in front of the police barricades, waving Guyana flags. The calls of “Stop the persecution, stop it now!” and “Free the innocent, jail the guilty!” alternated with demands to raise the *MV Barima*. “The nation is watching!” some shouted at the officers, while Hana Mohamed called through a loudspeaker, “Bring up the evidence! Edghill and Indar must go!”
Hana Mohamed walked along the barricade, telling officers that the country was watching and accusing senior officers of sending junior ranks to carry out political directives. “You will never find in any other democratic country Parliament sitting without its Opposition Leader,” she told the protesters.
Mohamed has been on remand at Lusignan Prison since October 30, when Magistrate Abigail Gibbs refused him bail on a cybercrime charge concerning the alleged unauthorised disclosure of surveillance footage of the October 12 shooting in Kitty. He has pleaded not guilty and is challenging the refusal of bail in the High Court. He was previously granted bail on separate firearm, ammunition and justice-related charges arising from the shooting.
On Wednesday, WIN MPs Dawn Hastings-Williams and Natasha Singh submitted a proposed adjournment motion to Speaker Manzoor Nadir seeking lawful arrangements for Mohamed to carry out his parliamentary and constitutional duties while detained. The Guyana Trades Union Congress had also called for him to be allowed to participate in the sitting in person or virtually.
Former APNU housing minister Ronald Bulkan told Kiskadee Watch that he had joined the protest in solidarity with WIN supporters. Looking at the barricades, he recalled footage of President Irfaan Ali, before the 2020 elections, standing behind similar barriers and describing them as barriers to democracy.
“Here we are today, six years later, and under an administration that he heads Guyanese citizens cannot enjoy their constitutional right to demonstrate peacefully,” Bulkan said.
Bulkan described Mohamed’s detention as unjust and said the conditions he had reported at Lusignan Prison amounted to cruel and degrading treatment. Mohamed has complained of continuous lighting, poor ventilation and prolonged confinement. The Guyana Prison Service has rejected allegations that he is being subjected to inhumane treatment.
Bulkan said he believed surveillance footage of the Kitty shooting contradicted the police account. The Director of Public Prosecutions’ Chambers said on Monday that the circulated footage formed part of the prosecution’s evidence and warned against drawing conclusions from excerpts without considering witness statements and other evidence before the court.
Veteran trade unionist Norris Witter said the issues raised at the protest concerned Guyanese across political affiliations. “This issue goes to the heart of constitutional rule,” he said, adding that it also concerned citizens’ rights, good governance and respect for the rule of law. Witter called for charges against Narine, saying the gunfire endangered the occupants of the vehicle and others nearby.
WIN Region Ten councillor Leola Narine said she had joined the protest to exercise her democratic rights. She said she had been removed as assistant regional executive officer and demoted with immediate effect, a decision she attributed to her friendship with the Mohamed family. She urged public servants to exercise their right to support the political party of their choice.
Relatives of those who died or remain missing after the Barima sank on July 18 have held weekly protests calling for the ferry to be raised to recover missing loved ones and preserve evidence. BK International was awarded a $1.034 billion salvage contract on October 6. The published award record gave no deadline for mobilisation or recovery. The ferry’s captain, chief mate and goods superintendent face murder charges arising from the sinking.
Discussion