LINDEN residents and other sympathizers yesterday paid their final respects to the remains of Shemroy Bouyea, Allan Lewis and Ron Somerset, who were killed on July 18 when a protest against electricity hikes in the mining town turned deadly after police discharged rounds into a crowd of protestors who were allegedly provoking them.
A joint funeral service was held, with speakers from the opposition addressing a large gathering at Square of the Revolution in Georgetown.
The newly-elected leader of the People’s National Congress Reform, Brigadier (retd) David Granger, the country’s official Leader of the Opposition, who is also leader of A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), addressed the thousands who gathered to pay condolences. He reiterated his calls for justice for Linden.
Granger told the gathering that while they are there to celebrate Emancipation, they will, at the same time, come to express solidarity with the families of the three Lindeners.
“This is not a day for politics, not a day to talk about electricity tariffs; it’s a day to talk about human dignity. This is a day to talk about human liberty and to talk about self-respect of the human being,” Granger stated.
He encouraged Linden residents to let the day be one of determination, while emancipating them at the same time.
“Let it be a day that we strive to ensure that the lawful police force protects our lives, and that (we) have a community where we share certain values. Today, the first of August, 2012, we will never forget the three families, never forget the victims (of the police shooting), nor the three Linden martyrs,” he emphasized.
He urged that all Guyanese as a whole look forward to living in a country where the people can be safe, and can benefit from the country’s resources as well.
Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member Moses Nagamootoo said that on the day of national revolution, Guyanese will remember the three martyrs by raising three shirts, as the protestors in Linden had done on the day the men were killed.
“On the day of the shooting, the protesters raised a shirt; and whenever the names of Lewis, Somerset or Bouyea are remembered and are called, we will remember and raise three shirts; and we shall raise three shirts on the day of revolution in Guyana in their names,” Nagamootoo said.
He urged the gathering to mourn with dignity.
Following that short service at the Square of the Revolution, the procession headed to the Kara Kara Bridge on the Linden Highway, where the three were slain.
After a peaceful protest had turned into chaos on July 18th 2012 in the mining town of Linden, those three persons were killed.