HUNDREDS turned out Sunday afternoon to support the ‘peace walk’ that was organised by the Bartica Town Council to mark the death anniversary of the 12 persons who were brutally murdered in the infamous “Bartica massacre.”

The hour-long walk, which commenced around 16:30hrs, saw the supporters making their way through the streets of Bartica and culminating in a meeting at the Monument of Hope where a ceremony was held.

Remarks were made by a number of persons including family members, representatives of government agencies, non-governmental organisations, religious bodies and the Regional Democratic Council.

Mayor of Bartica Gifford Marshall told the Guyana Chronicle on Sunday that the walk was exceptional and he was surprised at the number of persons who showed up to support it.
“We named it the `peace walk,’ because on that night of February 17, 2008, Bartica was basically terrorised, so we’ll continue to push a peaceful agenda,” Marshall had said in a previous comment.

Twelve persons lost their lives on that horrifying day. Those who were killed when the marauding gunmen stormed the police station were Lance Corporal Zaheer Zakhir of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo; Constables Shane Fredricks, 35, of 241 Herstelling, East Bank Demerara; and Ron Osborne of 198 Robb Street, Georgetown.

After killing the three policemen and wounding others, the gunmen broke into a ‘strong box’ which housed weapons and ammunition and carted away five rifles, four revolvers and a shotgun, along with a quantity of ammunition. From another ‘strong box’ which they also broke into, they stole $64,450.

Armed with the keys for one of the police jeeps, the now mobile and marauding gunmen moved along First Avenue where they killed security guards Edwin Gilkes, who was on duty at the Banks DIH outlet; Irving Ferreira, who was guarding the CB&R Mining Enterprise; and taxi driver, Dexter Adrian, 37, of 581 Conciliation Street, Tucville and One Mile Potaro, who was on his way to buy gasoline.

And, as they hastily made their escape using the T&HD Stelling, they attacked and killed the crew that was aboard ‘Dave 11’, a vessel belonging to the conglomerate Banks DIH Limited, and on another vessel ‘Little Giant’. Both vessels were moored alongside the T&HD wharf.

The men, Ashraf Ally Khan, of Essequibo Coast; Errol Thomas, 41, of 810 Tuschen Housing Scheme; Deonarine Singh of Wakenaam, Essequibo River; Ronald Gomes of Kuru kururu, Soesdyke-Linden Highway; Baldeo Singh, of 153 Second Street, Montrose, East Coast Demerara; and Abdool Yasseen, 23, of 153 Good Hope, ECD, were at the time resting in their hammocks. They were hauled outside and ordered to lie on the wharf and each shot execution-style in the head.