Police brutality displayed during Marriott Opening

DEAR EDITOR, I’m writing to condemn the appalling behaviour of the Guyana Police Force on Thursday, April 16th at the opening of the Marriott Hotel. I was one of several peaceful protesters who gathered in the public space outside the Marriott to register our disgust and disapproval at the gross misuse of taxpayer dollars. The police presence at this event was astounding. I’m not sure why such was deemed necessary – after all, serious crime is up in Guyana, according to statistics released from the GPF themselves, so I would have expected the force to be dedicating themselves to dealing with those issues, not wasting time at a hotel ribbon-cutting exercise. Yes, the President and many other politicians and foreigners would be at this event, and yes, some amount of people with opposing viewpoints could be expected, as in any functioning democracy, but the overblown show of force by the police is more symptomatic of repressive societies, not democratic ones. It says a great deal – none of it positive – when the leaders of a country put such huge barriers and large numbers of police between themselves and their citizens; it’s almost as if they’re afraid of the populace. Strange, in a country where people are allegedly doing so well, according to the political advertisements currently being heard. Such fear makes sense though, if you have a history of constantly stealing from and abusing the people and resources of the nation, then you would indeed need to run and hide. The other point I want to make is about the seeming ignorance of the police of Guyana about the very laws of the land that they are supposed to be upholding. Over the course of the morning, the police physically assaulted several of us, peaceful protesters, including the Mayor of Georgetown, MP Ronald Bulkan, and myself. There is documented evidence of several male police officers manhandling me, a female, in clear breach of the GPF’s Standard Operating Procedure. Worse, was the treatment that Mr. Hamilton Green, a man of over eighty years, and the Mayor of the city of Georgetown received. Mr. Green, as Mayor of the capital city, has a mandate to traverse the area for which he is responsible and there are absolutely no grounds on which he should be prevented from doing so. Mr. Green’s age should also be taken into consideration. But the GPF clearly has no compunctions about using brute force on women and elderly persons who were, to reiterate, absolutely no threat; we were all peaceful protesters, had no weapons, and clearly stated our intention not to harm anyone – all we were doing was simply exercising our democratic rights as citizens to freely express ourselves and move about the streets of our nation. But I guess I shouldn’t really complain too much, as I am still alive and free to tell this tale, not dead like the Linden Martyrs or so many others who have suffered at the hands of the GPF over the years. I will end by reminding the members of the GPF, however, as well as all other public servants of the fact that they are indeed servants of we, the Guyanese public, and that their execution of their jobs should never mean the breach of our human and democratic rights as citizens. All citizens of Guyana have the right to freely express their opinions and to enjoy liberty and freedom of movement in their country. All who do so in a peaceful manner should never have to fear or experience violence and intimidation from the authorities. It is, in fact, our duty as citizens to speak out every time we witness obvious violations of our fellow people and the rule of law. The lying, corruption, and theft of taxpayer dollars to build the Marriott hotel is just one example of many violations that have occurred in Guyana over the decades; there are innumerable others. Many have been intimidated and manipulated into silence, and some, like Courtney Crum-Ewing, murdered outright, but the truth will always come out and not all voices can and will be silenced. We must remember that might will never overcome right, and the power of the people, collectively, is always more than that of any other body. Get up, stand up for your rights, my fellow Guyanese! Do not be afraid. This is our country and we have to take it back from those who would destroy it. Sherlina Nageer