Dr. Jagdeo says gov’t will not be part of any movement to promote xenophobia in Guyana

GENERAL Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, has condemned the inhumane treatment of Venezuelan refugees who are coming to Guyana for betterment.

“We are not going to be part of any movement to promote xenophobia in our country,” he said during a press conference at Freedom House on Thursday.
Reflecting on the period when Guyanese fled the nation in droves because of economic constraints, the PPP General Secretary referenced the xenophobia Guyanese faced even from Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member states and his fight to condemn it.
“We have always insisted that people treat our people with dignity and respect,” Dr. Jagdeo related, adding: “You have to treat people with dignity,” as refugees too are entitled to protection of the state.

Deeming the cruel treatment as “totally reprehensible,” Dr. Jagdeo remarked that he saw a video that “made his stomach turn.”
For context, Dr. Jagdeo was referring to the widely-circulated video of two Venezuelans being forced to take off all of their clothes on a street at Peters Hall.
According to the police, 37-year-old Ahmad Ally, from Peters Hall, East Bank Demerara, is presently in police custody assisting detectives with the ongoing investigation regarding the video.

It was said that Ally turned himself in to the Providence Police Station around 13:30hrs, accompanied by his lawyer.
He was arrested and escorted to the Golden Grove Police Station, where he was video-interviewed in the presence of his lawyer.
Ally admitted during the interview that he indeed had a cutlass in his hands, instructed the victims to say that they were thieves and ordered them to take off all of their clothing and walk naked down the street.

The suspect claimed that he never assaulted the victims, nor was he aware of who made the video.
He was confronted with the victims, and they maintained he made the video with a red phone. The suspect had a red phone on his person, which was checked, but no video of the incident was in it. The phone was lodged and will be sent to CID headquarters to check for deleted videos. Ally is still in custody.