THE POLICE ARE ALLOWING APNU HOOLIGANISM TO CONTINUE
APNU supporters attack PPP Victoria meeting
November 17, 2011
http://www.guyanatimesgy.com/2...pp-victoria-meeting/
A PPP/C supporter was forced to fire two shots in the air to ward off a group of people clad in APNU T-shirts and carrying paraphernalia of the party that disrupted a PPP/C public meeting at Victoria, East Coast Demerara Wednesday night.
During the meeting, several party activists were assaulted and one man was doused with kerosene oil and was about to set ablaze, the PPP/C said in a statement. The meeting was held in front of the Victoria Primary School. The meeting got underway at 18:00h when the disruption began.
PPP member Joseph Hamilton was the first speaker and he began to speak at about 18:15h. There were about 150 persons gathered at the meeting, with the majority of them armed with APNU posters and other placards bearing derogatory and racist remarks regarding Hamilton and the PPP/C, a release from the PPP said.
According to the release, the crowd was shouting very loudly and chanting “Granger” and “PNC”. “The noise level prevented Hamilton from being heard over the microphone and obviously affected his ability to make a proper presentation,” the release added.
According to the PPP during Hamilton’s speech, the disruptive crowd attempted to storm the stage forcing Hamilton to cut his presentation short. APNU party paraphernalia was even hurled at Hamilton during his presentation; and as he made his way to his vehicle, persons continued to hurl missiles at him and his vehicle.
Police had to intervene several times, the PPP said. Guyana Times learnt that the disruptive crowd arrived in two minibuses. The makeup of the disruptive elements were said to be female and young people. Throughout the meeting there was loud chanting by the group.
Meantime, when the second speaker, Anil Nandlall, took to the podium the APNU supporters continued with their disorderly conduct and many occasions threw their placards and posters at Nandlall while he was speaking. On several occasions, during Nandlall’s speech the crowd attempted to grab the podium causing the police to physically intervene by creating a human barricade between the crowd and Nandlall as the crowd continued their chants of “Granger” and “PNC”.
The disruption forced Nandlall to abandon his speech as well. Both Nandlall and Hamilton had to be escorted to their vehicles by PPP supporters to escape attack from the crowd, the release said. With the speakers gone, the disorderly crowd turned their wrath onto the PPP supporters and activists physically assaulting five persons. “They pelt bottles, throw kero on a supporter, all kinds of things,” host of the meeting, Carl Philadelphia, told Guyana Times.
According to the PPP camp, one PPP activist was doused with kerosene oil and the crowd was going to set him on fire. At the same time, another PPP activist was pelted with a bottle that hit him in the face, and a man armed with a baseball bat then charged another PPP activist, however, this activist had a licence firearm and discharged two rounds in the air. It was only then that the crowd receded and the police intervened and took the PPP supporters and activists to the Cove and John Police Station. The matter was reported to the police who have launched an investigation.
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