THE call for mass protest and a shut down of the mining community in Linden today by Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon, was addressed by the Head of State Donald Ramotar, yesterday, at a press conference at the Office of the President.Acknowledging the negative economic impacts of such an action, he said, “I think the people of Linden have much better judgment than the Regional Chairman.”
The president stressed too that many of the comments made by Solomon are incorrect.
Ramotar maintained that cooperation is to be a two-way street and pointed out that the current Administration has cooperated with the officials at Linden.
The Linden Chamber of Commerce (LCC) has since rejected calls by the Region 10 (Upper Demerara/Upper Berbice) chairman.
Eighteen months ago, what was intended to be a peaceful demonstration in the mining town of Linden turned deadly as protesters, including the Region 10 Chairman, blocked the MacKenzie/Wismar Bridge, a key access point in the area.
The protest, which left three persons dead and government and private buildings and other properties destroyed by arsonists, saw the town descending into more than a month-long shut down. Many persons could not work; mining in the hinterland ceased and banks and other businesses were closed.
This had placed an even further dent in the community’s economy. But despite these, new calls have now emerged for a similar shut down of the community by the Region 10 Chairman.
Solomon was quoted in sections of the media calling for a shut down of the Linden community on Saturday, January 25.
But his call was met with strong rejection from the LCC, which said a repeat of the July 2012, shut down will further plunder the economy and even chase away investors.
The LCC further stated that it was not consulted about any shut down and that they only learnt of the event through the media.
The Chamber added that it is sad that Solomon would subscribe to such action since nothing substantial came out from the last occurrence.
The LCC noted that a repeat of 2012 could leave the mining town in a worse state.
Meanwhile, some residents of Linden are questioning the position taken by Solomon and urged that he should instead question the effectiveness of such actions and how this would benefit the people and the economic development of the region, drawing on the experiences of the last shut down.