April 28-May 3, 2014
Monday 28
President roasts stubborn Opposition for not putting country first
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar has chastised Guyana’s political Opposition for its blatant anti-national and anti-developmental thrust, accusing it of deliberately trying to sabotage the development of the country and the bright future of the Guyanese citizens. He also lamented the fact that the combined Opposition, comprising the APNU and AFC, would not yield to reason or allow better sense to prevail in allowing for the passage of the crucial Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Bill, in order for Guyana to avoid becoming internationally blacklisted.PSC’s Ron Webster loses battle with cancer

CHAIRMAN of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Mr. Ronald Webster, passed away Sunday morning at approximately 03:30 hrs at the Balwant Singh Hospital, after losing a long and arduous battle with cancer. He was 72. Over the past three months, Webster had sought medical treatment at a private institution in Trinidad, and had returned home for further treatment only on April 26. Webster had been Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Caribbean Container Inc; Chairman of the Board of the Kwakwani Utilities Inc; and Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC). Now that Webster is not there, Mr. Ramesh Persaud, Vice-President of the PSC, will act as Chairman until elections are held.

Golden Arrow Airways nearing certification to operate countrywide
GOLDEN Arrow Airways (GAA) has moved closer to certification status to begin domestic flights across Guyana with its demonstration flight to Hampton Court, Essequibo Coast, Timehri, East Bank Demerara and back to Ogle International Airport, East Coast Demerara. The Trislander aircraft is powered by three engines and comfortably seats 17 passengers and operates out of CAMS Hangar at Ogle. It was piloted by Captain Learie Barclay, who took the media and the Certification Officer, Egbert Field, accompanied by the owners on a demonstration flight. The tri-engine Trislander aircraft has the same capacity as the Caravan and can fly on two engines if one fails and it is one of the safest aircraft of its kind and is attached to GAA.

Tuesday 29
Secret ‘surveillance’ files on Rodney presented to COI
FIRST time evidence, previously reported to the Commission’s lead counsel, Glen Hanoman, as non-existent, was presented Monday during day one of hearings of the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. The secret files are “original” documents that contain detailed accounts of surveillance activities of Rodney. The hearings, held at the Supreme Court’s Law Library, High Street, were declared open by Chairman of the COI, Sir Richard Cheltenham, who noted that ‘hearsay’ along with opinions will be taken into evidence during the course of the hearings. The “surveillance files” of the “special branch” of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) were presented as evidence by Head of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Leslie James as part of his testimony.

Non Pariel man strangles wife, hangs self
DOMESTIC violence in a 13-year marriage led to the deaths of 28-year old Nadanie Mohan, also known as Michelle, and 31-year old Vickram Ramdin, also known as Vickie, of 255 Section ‘D’ Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara. The couple got married while Mohan was still 16 but they had been going through an abusive relationship which has been engaging the attention of the courts. The couple was found dead in their home. The man reportedly strangled his wife before hanging himself in the same house which had been locked tight.

Father of three killed in accident at Ogle, ECD
TWENTY-NINE year old Wayne Giddings of Sparendaam Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara, met his demise moments after venturing out to secure a job, leaving his reputed wife and three children at home. The man was riding his pedal cycle along the railway embankment at approximately 08.30 hrs when, in the vicinity of Ogle, he reportedly rode out from behind a minibus that was headed west towards Georgetown and ended up in the path of a car headed east, in the direction from whence he had come. The man reportedly fell and hit his head, apparently triggering the onset of paranoia, which caused him to run up the road until he ended up in another village, just a corner away from where the accident occurred.

Wednesday 30
PNC Gov’t killed Rodney
COORDINATOR of Red Thread Karen De Souza, who was associated with the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) in the 1970’s, said her initial opinion after she learned that party founder, Dr. Walter Rodney was dead was that he had “finally” been killed by the People’s National Congress (PNC) Government. De Souza, the third witness called in the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the circumstances surrounding the death of Rodney, recalled arriving on the scene moments after Rodney was killed (assassinated) in a white car on Friday, June 13, 1980. De Souza referred to the “very serious adversarial posture of the WPA and the PNC”, and “the fact that at more than one of the PNC rallies, Prime Minister Forbes Burnham had been uttering threats about making ‘wills’ and so forth; that people in the worst possible alternative should make their wills and that the steel of the PNC was sharper than any steel that the WPA might have.”

Young mother discharged from hospital with overlooked pad still inserted in her
A SLIMLY built 25-year old woman who gave birth to her first baby at a regional hospital on Easter Monday is lucky to be alive after a sanitary pad, plugged into her presumably to reduce bleeding, remained in her and went unnoticed for seven days. The mother and her baby were discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, and the young wife and her husband were overjoyed to welcome a baby boy into their family; but their euphoria was soon interrupted by the crying need to investigate suspicions that arose as to whether something radical had gone amiss after she began experiencing great discomfort and severe pains.

Teenager ends life after parents rebuke his default on debt payment
NINETEEN-year old Kevin Holligan of Samaroo Dam, Pouderoyen, West Bank Demerara was found hanging from a tree in his parents’ back yard. He is said to have been an employee of Banks DIH Limited who had lived with his parents and had reportedly borrowed an undisclosed sum of money from his mother. He had presumably been unable to repay her, defaulting on his promise to repay.
The Guyana Chronicle was informed that Holligan had eventually repaid a portion of the money after he had been chided by his mother, but the balance had not been forthcoming. After his default had been rebuked on another occasion by both parents, Holligan apparently became annoyed, or frustrated, or both.

Thursday May 1
Basil Williams upbraided for baseless objections
THE Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI) took PNC Chairman Basil Williams to task for his repeated objections about hearsay evidence being admitted. Williams, who sits on the legal team representing the Party’s interest in the COI into the 1980 death of Dr. Rodney, charged that Guyanese laws have been suspended to facilitate the COI and that, “anything goes in this Commission.” But Commissioner Seenath Jairam said he personally took umbrage at this statement as it reflects very badly on the commissioners. “I think you have not thought through this statement. We have not suspended the laws. We are bound by the laws. You are making a very serious statement. I don’t think you are being fair to us. Speaking for myself, I have not suspended the Laws of Guyana. So I want to make that clear to you,” Jairam told Williams, following one of his repeated objections. Sir Richard Cheltenham, warned Williams not to doubt the commissioners’ capacity to determine relevance and other commissioner Jacqueline Samuels-Brown urged Williams to be specific when he raise objections and criticise.

Gov’t revokes work permit of LEAD project head
THE work permit and extension of stay of International Republican Institute (IRI) resident Country Director, Glenn Bradbury, were revoked by Government, according to Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon. He explained that the revocation of the documents were based on the conclusion that the “immigration laws of Guyana have been offended” by Bradbury and his actions in Guyana.
15-year-old shot in mouth by Cadet Officer
CRIMINAL charges are expected to be laid shortly against a police cadet officer from ‘C’ Division who reportedly shot a lad in East La Penitence in the mouth, following allegations that the teen had robbed the cop’s sister. This was confirmed by the Police High Command who visited the mother of the injured teenager to offer the force’s deepest regrets at the unfortunate incident. Fifteen-year-old Alex Griffith of East La Penitence was accused by the sister of the cadet officer of robbing her while she was walking through the area. The incident occurred just after 21.00 hrs on Wednesday evening. Griffith is at present at the Georgetown Public Hospital nursing a gunshot wound to his mouth while the cadet officer is under close arrest.

15-year old cyclist killed by minibus at Yarrowkabra
A SOESDYKE lad died on the spot at about 18:45 hrs, while allegedly riding his bicycle on the wrong side of the road without any lights, after he was struck by a speeding Georgetown/Timehri minibus at Yarrowkabra, Linden/Soesdyke Highway. Fifteen-year-old Robin Hernandez of Soesdyke, East Bank Demerara who was hit by the route 42 minibus was pitched a few feet away from point of impact, landing in the corner. A Yarrowkabra resident told the Guyana Chronicle that all she heard was “something mash a hard brakes and the glass start bruck up.”

Two Chinese nationals shot during robbery bid
TWO Chinese nationals were shot during an attempted robbery at about 19:45 hrs just after they had finished their daily sales in front of their business place on Robb Street. The duo identified as Shai Zing, 44, and Lin Tang, 29, were relaxing along with their other colleagues when the two men approached them but they did not pay any heed. However, after it seemed that the men were being ignored by the business owners, one of them armed with a gun discharged a round which struck Zing on his buttocks, while another round hit Tang to his right foot. The other colleagues who were with the business owners then put up a resistance and the bandits fled in a waiting motor vehicle.

Saturday May 3
Guyana poised to shine at inaugural Festival come August
THE inaugural Guyana Festival – Sound, Soul and Taste — was launched at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal. For the very first time, the fusion of the six different cultures that make up the Guyanese social tapestry will be brought together, reflecting a true melting pot that reflects the Guyanese identity. This event is slated to take place at the Guyana National Stadium, Providence, from August 8-10, 2014. President Donald Ramotar said at the launch: “I must congratulate the minister and his team on this project. This is demonstrating to the world at large how beautiful it is to live in a multi- ethnic and multi-cultural society. Those who ruled us before tried to make us forget our traditions and culture; but the fact is that we have maintained our music, our dance and our food, and all this is testimony to the resilience of the Guyanese people”.

Teen on grandmother’s errand on armed robbery charge
LISTON Marcus of Lot 15 CC John Fernandez Squatting Area, Georgetown appeared before Chief Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry, charged with robbery under arms and discharging a loaded firearm. He pleaded not guilty to the offences, one of which said that on April 29, at West Ruimveldt, Georgetown, being armed with a gun, he robbed Calvin Daniel of one gold band valued $600,000.
Particulars of the other charge are that, on the same day, at West Ruimveldt, he discharged a loaded firearm at Kurt Brown with intention to maim, disfigure, or cause Brown harm. Police Prosecutor Michael Grant said that at around 19:30 hrs. on the day in question, the victim was at Cool Square bar when he was approached by the defendant, who with a gun relieved him of the article. Marcus denied the allegation and said his grandmother had sent him to purchase a loaf of bread when a group of men accused him of committing a robbery and gave him a thrashing. He was refused bail and the case was put off to May 23.