…village captain says ranks threaten to dismantle village gate, checkpoint hut

THE village council at Baramita in the North West District is at odds with the security forces stationed at the village over COVID-19 measures implemented by the council to safeguard residents from the spread of the global pandemic.

At the same time, Minister within the Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Valerie Garrido -Lowe, has urged the village council to meet with the heads of the security forces stationed in the area to iron-out the misunderstanding.

The Joint Services were dispatched recently to Baramita to maintain a security presence after reports surfaced that an influx of Venezuelan nationals led villagers to the suspicion that criminal elements tied to the feared ‘Sinidicato’ gangs were amidst the influx of persons in the area.

On Friday, Toshao of Baramita, Sharmain Rambajue, took to social media platform Facebook to air her concerns over a developing situation as regards the Joint Services ranks stationed in the village, describing their attitude towards to council as “disrespectful” in several regards, including threats by the ranks to dismantle a gate and check-point hut set-up by the village council among its measures to combat the coronavirus.

She recounted that the Village Council met with the Joint Services and formed an agreement on the issue of a supplier of ration and fuel into the community for the ranks.
She said that that a car would deliver the items every two days and the ranks argued that the driver should be allowed to enter the community through a gate, which is located some 7.5 miles from Central Baramita.

Rambajue said that the driver was allowed several times to pass through the gate, but since the villagers are concerned about COVID-19, she suggested that the ranks can utilise the Guyana Defence Force Skyvan to deliver their ration and fuel.

She noted too that the driver of the car was being rude and disrespectful to the persons manning the gate. “I told the captain in command here he (the driver) can no longer pass to come in, someone will have to go and collect the goods from him,” she said.
Since the gate is some distance away from the village central, she suggested that the council will organise transportation so that the officers can get the vegetables and other ration being brought in by the car in question.

Rambajue said that the commanding officer, in an authoritative tone, informed her that the car must past through the gate and she noted that recently, a police officer stationed at the village went to the gate, and opened the gate for the car to pass through. She related that on that occasion, the car spent the entire afternoon and left sometime around 21:00hrs for the gate, to collect more items from another vehicle.

Rambajue said the officer in charge of the police station at Baramita also informed her that only the police and soldiers should be on the roadways after 18:00hrs but she also told him about the vehicles traversing the roadways with goods were also breaching the curfew.
This led to a breakdown in the arrangement since the police were instructing their ranks to open the gate for the driver of the car to pass into the village.

She said she was informed that the officers were planning to place her and a councilor in the lock-ups and according to her, the ranks threatened to “break down the building and break up the entrance gate and they would take control.”
She said the ranks took pictures of the councilors while informing that the commander of the division instructed them to do so.

The village captain said that the officers also noted that the gate must remain open from 18:00 hours until 06:00 hours and that the villagers must not stop any vehicles from entering the village.

She related that a police sergeant stationed in the area also “question the legality of the gate” and the building constructed next to the structure. She said she informed him that it was built with the Presidential grant allocated to the village, while noting that the relevant minister is fully aware of this.

“Now to me this is gross disrespect to an Indigenous leader. We must not stand for our rights, we must forever keep our mouth shut so others can take advantage of us,” she argued.

Rambajue, who is an eloquent speaker of the Carib Language, asked whether the 2006 Amerindian Act has been superseded by the COVID-19 Emergency Measures, as she noted that the village was now more exposed to the COVID-19 given its inability to manage who enters the area.

The Guyana Chronicle was told by a legal official that a village council has no authority to override the national regulation. He noted that the curfew was passed in accordance with the law and passed by the President.

Minister Lowe, who commented on the post made by Rambajue, noted that the government has put in place several measures for the entire country to observe in order to safeguard families and villages from the global pandemic. Noting that she admired Rambajue for her strong leadership, Garrido-Lowe issued calls for all parties involved to work together “of which disrespect has no place.”

Garrido-Lowe said:”I suggest that the Village Council request the heads of the army and police in the village to attend a meeting (observing social distancing of course) to discuss and resolve these concerns. Respect is due on all sides and. I am sorry you were disrespected in your community but I am sure a better understanding could be reached going forward.”

Ministerial Adviser, Mervyn Williams, noted that he discussed the matter with the Community Development Officer (CDO) on Thursday, who brought it to his attention. He said based on Ramjabue’s statement on the matter, his advice to the CDO was not communicated with the Toshao.

Since the first recorded case of the coronavirus in Guyana, several villages across the country have erected gates and other checkpoints at the entrances to their villages to stem the spread of the pandemic. These include the villages in the Rupununi, in the Cuyuni/Mazaruni Region as well as several in Region’s One, Two and Four, such as St Cuthbert’s Mission.