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President visits families of murdered West Berbice teens

President Irfaan Ali [left) meeting with a family member of one of the slain teens today. (Office of the President photo)
President Irfaan Ali (left) meeting with a family member of one of the slain teens today. (Office of the President photo)

President Irfaan Ali today met with the families of the three youths who were recently killed on the West Coast Berbice.

 

A release from the Office of the President today said that he assured the families that everything possible will be done to bring the perpetrators to justice.

The killings last weekend of Isaiah and Joel Henry triggered major unrest along the West Coast Berbice. Haresh Singh was murdered on Wednesday.

A statement from the Office of the President follows:Georgetown, Guyana – (September 11, 2020) His Excellency, President Irfaan Ali, today, met with the families of the West Coast Berbice (WCB) slain teens, Isaiah and Joel Henry and Haresh Singh at their homes, to personally express his condolences and to assure them of his Government’s support in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The Head of state assured the relatives that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that those responsible for the heinous acts are brought to justice and made to answer for their crimes.

“On behalf of the people of Guyana and my own behalf and that of my family and Government, I want to again express my condolences to you and your family,” President Ali said.

 

During his visit with each of the families, the President also pledged to work tirelessly to ensure that the resolution of the investigation is given the highest priority.

“I will work day and night to get to the bottom of what happened to those teens,” President Ali vowed.

He also used the opportunity to urge all residents and community members present to work with the members of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force, who are stationed in the communities, to restore peace and stability.“Safety and security in all of the communities remain a top priority. As you can see, there is more visibility on the ground, more resources on the ground,” the Head of State said.

The President urged the communities to come together and not to allow themselves to be divided. He also asked the residents to cooperate with the Police, who are working to not only conduct their investigations, but to also bring peace to the communities along the WCB corridor. This, he stressed, can be achieved through cooperation and the sharing of critical information, which can assist investigators.

The Head of State reiterated that no forms of criminality will be tolerated.

 

“We cannot tolerate lawlessness and criminality. We have to fix what went wrong and move forward,” President Ali stated.

Meanwhile, the aggrieved relatives all expressed their hope that justice will be served swiftly and that all leads will be pursued. They expressed too, their appreciation for the President’s visit and his commitment to ensuring that all steps are taken towards achieving justice for the boys.

During his visit, President Ali also met with the family of Prittipaul Hargobin from Bath Settlement, who was also killed, to offer his support and condolences.

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With all the critics , the president is up front and doing a fine job. Few days ago the PM and two ministers paid their visits to the families, the parents are begging for peace.

 The violence was all politically inflamed, Harmon is to be blamed.

K

Justice will be swift for slain West Coast Berbice teens, Prittipaul Hargobin – Pres. Ali

Sep 12, 2020 News 0, Source - Kaieteur News Online - https://www.kaieteurnewsonline...l-hargobin-pres-ali/

President Ali yesterday met with the families of the slain West Coast Berbice teens Isaiah and Joel Henry and Haresh Singh along with the family of Prittipaul Hargobin to personally assure them of Government’s firm support in bringing the killers to justice.

https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2020/09/Ali4.jpg

President Ali meets with relatives of Haresh Singh

https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2020/09/Ali3.jpg

President Ali meets with Joel Henry’s mother

https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2020/09/Ali2.jpg

President Ali with the relatives of Pritipaul Hargobin

https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/images/2020/09/Ali1-1.jpg

President Irfaan Ali speaks with the parents of Isaiah Henry

He assured the relatives that no stone will be left unturned to ensure that the perpetrators responsible for the heinous crimes made to answer for their crimes.

“On behalf of the people of Guyana and my own behalf and that of my family and Government, I want to again express my condolences to you and your family,” President Ali said.

He also pledged to work tirelessly to ensure that the resolution of the investigation is given the highest priority. He reiterated, “I will work day and night to get to the bottom of what happened to those teens.”

President Ali also used the opportunity to urge all residents and community members present to work with the members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to restore peace and stability.

“Safety and security in all of the communities remain a top priority. As you can see, there is more visibility on the ground, more resources on the ground,” the Head of State noted.

The President urged the residents to cooperate with the police, who are working to not only conduct their investigations, but to also bring peace to the communities along the WCB corridor. This, he stressed, can be achieved through cooperation and the sharing of critical information, which can assist investigators.

“No forms of criminality will be tolerated,” he added “We cannot tolerate lawlessness and criminality. We have to fix what went wrong and move forward.”

The aggrieved relatives all expressed their hope that justice will be served swiftly and that all leads will be pursued. They expressed too, their appreciation for the President’s visit and his commitment to ensuring that all steps are taken towards achieving justice for the boys.

FM

Prezzy is at the funeral today for the Henry boys.  Vindya has declared today a National day of prayer, she is hosting an event with all the major religious leaders coming together in prayer.  

A sad day for all Guyana. RIP boys.

alena06
@Mitwah posted:

Hat's off to Ali.

What he did here is far better than what Granger and Harmon did. 

Unlike Jagdeo who built large projects for kickbacks.  Ali has a responsibility to deliver on improving ordinary Guyanese living conditions.

As president, Ali has more power than Jagdeo for decisions and not be allowed to be controlled like Ramotar. Improving voters living conditions will give him a second term with little effort. 

But he needs to tell Arya, only one roti for breakfast.   

Tola
@alena06 posted:

Prezzy is at the funeral today for the Henry boys.  Vindya has declared today a National day of prayer, she is hosting an event with all the major religious leaders coming together in prayer.  

A sad day for all Guyana. RIP boys.

These speaks volumes for Ali. It seems like he is feeling his wings and becoming less dependent on Jagdeo. Great for Vindiya for declaring a National day of prayer. 

Mitwah

President pays respects to Henry cousins

September 13 ,2020

Source

The President paying his respects at the Sandy's funeral parlour. (Office of the President photo)

President Irfaan Ali today called on all of Guyana to reflect on the importance of love, peace and unity as preparations were underway for Isiah and Joel Henry to be laid to rest. The Head of State made this call this morning, as he joined the families to pay his respects, at the Sandy’s Funeral Home, Georgetown. “Today, we should respect the family, have the family in our thoughts and prayers; to support them spiritually and mentally and to use the day for prayer and reflection for these two young men. We should use the day to understand how important, love, peace and unity is for our country,” President Ali said, according to a release from the Office of the President.

Django

RSS team to be dispatched to Guyana shortly to assist with probe – VP Jagdeo

, Source - Guyana Times- https://guyanatimesgy.com/rss-...ith-probe-vp-jagdeo/

WCB murders, aftermath

The Regional Security System (RSS) team will be dispatched to Guyana shortly to assist in the investigation of the murders and unrest that occurred in West Coast Berbice, Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice).

https://guyanatimesgy.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/jagdeo-3.jpg

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo

This was revealed by Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo on Friday evening during an online live forum. He noted that the team will be dispatched to Guyana shortly, to ensure that a transparent investigation is completed. He went on to say that it will put all allegations to rest about coverups or such related claims. Government had sought assistance from the RSS, a defence and security alliance of the eastern Caribbean region, to assist with the recent killings of the Henry cousins along with Singh and Chatterpaul Harripaul which occurred in the subsequent aftermath during a widespread unrest.

“We have already contacted the RSS and they will be sending in a team of people; the regional security group to assist our police with the investigation because we want everybody to know. There’s always a say that there is a coverup. We want this investigation to be done transparently with international help. They will be coming in to assist the police with the investigation,” Jagdeo said.

While the RSS will be working in conjunction with the Guyana Police Force, the Administration has taken a proactive step of contacting the United Nations to identify those who were responsible for fuelling hate and ethnic division among the people. According to Jagdeo, the international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) will look at the series of events holistically and draw much-anticipated answers.

“We are also writing the United Nations because we don’t believe that people who stir up hatred and ethnic fear should go scot-free…Hopefully, the Commission of Inquiry done internationally will look at the killings but they would also look at all the subsequent events thereafter,” Jagdeo said.

RSS Headquarters is located in Barbados and is the Coordinating Secretariat of the Caricom Security Assistance Mechanism. As a result, it has additional responsibilities to the wider Caricom region.

On September 6, the bodies of Isaiah and Joel Henry were found aback Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice (WCB). They had left their Number Three Village, WCB home last Friday to pick coconuts in the backdam but did not return home. Their butchered bodies were found in clumps of bushes partially covered in mud after relatives went in search of them on Sunday.

Post-mortem examinations conducted on Wednesday, show that the teenagers died from haemorrhage and shock. In the case of 16-year-old Isaiah, he sustained a severed spine, between the second and third vertebrae and a number of chop wounds to his head.

On the other hand, 19-year-old Joel had a total of 18 wounds. He too suffered a severed spine between the first and second vertebrae. It is believed that after sustaining wounds to the head, he fell to the ground and then got the wound that severed his spine.

The news of their deaths sparked protests across several villages on the West Coast Berbice corridor, where commuters were beaten and robbed. With blocked roads, some vehicles were also torched.

On September 9, 17-year-old Haresh Singh was found murdered at the Number Three Village backdam. It is suspected that his death was in retaliation for the murders of Isaiah and Joel since he is related to one of the persons initially held by the police.

The Vice President said he followed the events closely, sharing that only “inhuman” persons could’ve participated in such brutal killings. He insisted that the perpetrators must be found to bring justice to the families.

“We have to find the perpetrators. These are not human beings to kill people, youngsters in that manner. I’ve seen and witnessed how a personal tragedy of the parents and grandparents of the individuals who were killed, who only wanted justice for their kids, who only wanted us to apprehend the killers,” the VP insisted.

He also used the platform to condemn actions from elements within the APNU/AFC camp, who sought to politicise the situation and create havoc.

“Their grief and their tragedy were hijacked by a few persons, particularly Harmon and Granger. They sought to make what is a plain brutal, unconscionable murder a political issue, rather than sympathy…I’ve seen how attempting to make this a political issue has caused circumstances to spiral out of control, that caused numerous people to lose property through the burning of their vehicles, beaten up…I’ve seen other leaders of the PNC take a responsible position on this matter.”

Nevertheless, Jagdeo expressed his confidence in President Irfaan Ali ensuring the matter is resolved and the situation is brought back to normalcy.

He asserted, “The President is very capable. I have great confidence in that capability and he has dealt with the situation. Personally, I believe that we have to deal with this matter. Too much grief has been caused to people. Too many people will use incidents like these to try to constantly polarise our people.”

The President visited the bereaved relatives on Friday and spoke extensively with the parents and family of the dead teens. The President had assured the parents and relatives and to an extent, the residents, that he will do everything in his power to make sure justice is served.

Police have revisited the crime scene several times and up to Saturday, five individuals were in Police custody. The Force had initially picked up the owner of the estate where bloodstains were found, his son, coconut vendors and other employees. However, they have been released on station bail. (G12)

FM

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