…Solomon reflects on killing of protesters, ignoring of agreement

By Svetlana Marshall
AFTER wreaking havoc and violating the fundamental human rights of the people of Linden, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration did little or nothing to correct the injustice against Lindeners; this, despite committing to advancing economic growth and development, and liberalising the television station in the town, when it signed the August 2012 Agreement. This is according to former Regional Chairman Sharma Solomon.
It was the August 21, 2012 agreement between the Region 10 Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and the Government of Guyana, that brought an end to a month-long protest in the mining town, which turned violent after ranks of the Guyana Police Force shot and killed three men who were among hundreds of Lindeners peacefully protesting on the Mackenzie-Wismar Bridge on July 18, 2012.

The historic agreement included the establishment of an Economic Committee, a Technical Committee, a Land Selection Committee and a Broadcast Committee responsible for the return of the Linden Television Station to the people of the town. According to the agreement, the Economic Committee was expected to examine the sectors within the region, existing plans and initiatives such as the Linden Economic Advancement Programme (LEAP) and Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) for possible re-introduction. It was also responsible for conducting an analysis of the region’s capacity for food self-sufficiency and thereafter develop a plan for self-sufficiency as part of the Regional Development Plan. Additionally, it was mandated to examine the employment situation of Linden and Region 10 by extension, with the aim of making appropriate recommendations.
Solomon, during an interview on the Guyana Chronicle’s online programme Vantage Point, said though a total of 11 meetings were held after the signing of the agreement, the PPP/C government failed to make good on its commitment to the people of Region 10, though continually pressured.

“Notwithstanding all of those efforts, pressure, time of engagement, nothing came out,” Solomon said, while noting that it was a very frustrating period. Owing to the high level of reluctance displayed by the PPP/C administration, the region, he posited, was prepared to take legal action to ensure that the rights of its people were respected.

LIMITED ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Noting that part of the agreement was intended to have the television station, which was operated and controlled by the National Communications Network (NCN), returned to the people of Linden, Solomon said under the PPP/C administration, residents of Region 10 had limited access to information – an abuse of their constitutional right.
“The Technical Committee, which would have explored how electricity was generated and distributed wasn’t just for Linden. It was so that a template could have been established so that nationally, we could see how we are actually generating and distributing electricity, so that even the people in Georgetown could know if GPL is in essence giving you value for dollar,” he further explained.

In a synopsis, the former regional chairman said the PPP/C administration showed little interest in advancing the August 2012 agreement, and as such the committees made little or no progress.

According to Solomon, it was the A Partnership for National Unity + Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) government, which upon entering office in May 2015, made deliberate efforts to implement components of the August 2012 Agreement.

“That for me is where we see the difference in terms of honouring commitments and not only commitments in an agreement, but commitments that are fundamental to the development of the society,” Solomon, a social activist, said.

Last month, seven years after the 2012 agreement was signed, the Linden Broadcasting Network (LBN) was commissioned with a total of three frequencies, namely: The Learning Channel, a local channel, and NCN. However, earlier in the year, LBN was issued with a television station licence by the Guyana National Broadcasting Authority (GNBA).
Solomon said that while the issuance of the licence may appear insignificant to persons outside of the region, it is very significant because for too long, Linden had restricted access to broadcast information. “Linden was denied that access. An entire population was being fed, deliberately, what was intended to them by the State and that in itself, any citizenry should fight against that. So to have a government now that is prepared to honour those fundamental rights, I think it is commendable,” he said.

REGION 10 HAS BENEFITTED
While acknowledging that there is much more work to be done, Solomon said one cannot deny that Region 10 has benefitted from increased infrastructural development, as he alluded to the initiation of the Linden to Lethem Road Project, the upgrades to the Linden to Kwakwani Road, and the installation of street lights along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, among others. He noted that though the installation of lights along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway was a proposal under the agreement, the then Minister of Public Works, Robeson Benn, had dubbed the project as unnecessary. This was based on his contention that it was a low-volume highway, thereby disregarding the issue of safety. “What we see now is a change. We see a government that is prepared to see an improved Soesdyke-Linden Highway,” Solomon said, as he compared the PPP/C administration with the current APNU+AFC administration.

“Now what do we see? We see these things being addressed. Of course, we would like to see a momentum, but we cannot escape the fact that those things are being addressed,” he iterated, while adding, “those types of economic adjustments bring significant measurements as it relates to people development.”

Reflecting on the 2012 Linden unrest, Solomon, while establishing that the people of Linden had engaged in peaceful protest action in the lead-up to July 18, 2012, said Lindeners had resisted the then government’s attempt to impose steep electricity tariffs on them on the basis that they were never consulted on a matter that would have significantly affected their lives.

“Our Constitution, Article 13, provides for the government to consult and have meaningful engagements with people on decisions that would affect their lives,” he said.
With effect from July 1, 2012, the Donald Ramotar administration had proposed to increase the electricity tariffs via a system of gradualism and selectivity. However, Lindeners in their protest, had made it clear that their economic situation at the time could not bear such an increase.

“To move the electricity rate from one to 1500 or 800 per cent in itself would have impacted people beyond the understanding that they saw life as in a community where economic expansion was lacking for quite some time, social degradation was there. We saw conditions ripening for criminality and teenage pregnancy and so to not consult with the people of the community or any community on the decisions [that] will impact them, I think in itself is a fundamental right of citizens to then question that,” Solomon reasoned.
Solomon noted that ahead of the protest action, the RDC attempted to engage the government on the situation, but to no avail. Representation was also made at the level of Parliament by then Region 10 Member of Parliament Vanessa Kissoon, but the government nonetheless went ahead and announced the increase with effect from July 1. “Lindeners have always said, it is not that we are unwilling to pay, it is that we are unable to pay. So those conditions needed to change and we needed to have a discussion, which was provided for in our constitution to say how do we change those conditions, so people are able to live better and pay any electricity increase,” he explained.

In keeping with their democratic right to protest, Solomon recalled that residents of Linden protested, and though those protests were peaceful, the Guyana Police Force, based on directives given by the government, responded with gunfire.

“We have had several peaceful protests leading up to the 18th July, none were ever violent, none were very disruptive; the State, however, in a matter of hours, was onsite with deadly weapon as outlined in the Commission (of Inquiry). On July 18, it was only the police who were doing the shooting with live rounds,” Solomon stated.

Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea and Allan Lewis, who were among the peaceful protestors, were killed by the police on July 18, 2012. A Commission of Inquiry (CoI), ordered by then President Donald Ramotar had confirmed that the police killed the trio.

“But to think that we would have had several peaceful picketing protesting actions, and the state was there prepared to kill citizens, in itself demonstrates the times we were living in. And I believe that it is important for people to realise what it was; it was just a simple request that we are unable to pay, not that we are unwilling to do so, and if you are prepared to sit with us, discuss how will we get to that point where people can start living as decent, dignified, human beings to provide for themselves, to provide for family, those factors would have better allowed for a government, instead of prepared with deadly weapons, to confront peaceful protestors and issue of whether the bridge was blocked; those issues could have been easily resolved,” Solomon said.

But he said times have changed, noting that Guyanese, under the APNU+AFC administration are allowed to protest without any violent reaction by the State.
“I think we must recognise the changing times that we are living [in]; the changing times that people are able to protest without fear to take on a government that they may have legitimate grievances with and protest, and to take action, and even to confront the Head of State,” Solomon observed.

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