COI, British Gov’t to assist with Berbice murders, UN to address racial strife

Georgetown: President Irfaan Ali announced that he reached out to the British Government and the Regional Security System (RSS) to visit Guyana in support of the Guyana Police Force’s investigative capacity into the recent murders.

President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali

The Head of State said he will also explore all systems and protocols available within the United Nations (UN) system itself to deal with persons who spread hate and racial strife in speech and in action.

“We need to understand who instigated, what was instigated and as a result, I am exploring the commissioning of an International Commission of Inquiry (COI) to look at every aspect of this situation, to look beyond what took place on the ground, to look at the behaviours that came about as a result of statements made. The COI is important for us to have a comprehensive understanding as to what took place,” the President said in taking national interventions to address the West Coast Berbice (WCB) murders and the ensuing unrest.

The President thanked the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force for the tireless work that they have been doing.

“I am confident that they will bring the situation to order. They have assured me that they will be using all available resources and laws, in keeping with the protocols and guidelines, to ensure that the situation does not escalate. I call upon all Guyanese to refrain from endangering each other’s life, as I assure you that this Government will work to bring justice to every single person who has been affected in these circumstances,” the Head of State explained.

The President said that the authorities must get to the bottom of this and whatever support is needed, he will reach towards that support.

He reflected that the events surrounding these horrific and barbaric acts of murder and the criminality that saw the loss of property, that saw even the loss of lives, people being chopped, robbed and brutally assaulted, require a more comprehensive and holistic review and as such, we need to get to the bottom of this.

“I have asked the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs to explore, within the United Nations system, all means available to hold to account, all those who spread race hate and instigate racial strife,” the President added.

The Commander in Chief said that the time has come for government to deal with this issue very frontally.

“The time has come for us to deal with it very seriously and no one must believe that they can use situations like these for any political gain. There is no gain whether politically, socially, economically, morally or culturally. There is no gain that you can get out of this. The only persons who lose are the families who are suffering, the people who received and who were inflicted with blows and loss of property and the country; the credibility and image of our country suffers greatly,” the President explained.

Underscoring that Guyana must not leave these things unanswered, Dr. Ali he cannot leave them unanswered and as President, he decided to proceed with these steps, in addition to what is going on, to bring swiftly all those who were part of these horrific acts, to justice.