–AG Nandlall says all support being administered through Heart Initiative

ATTORNEY General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall, SC, has urged families and survivors of the MV Barima tragedy to be wary of misinformation about compensation.
He stressed that any eventual agreements will be handled through the independent legal team retained to advise them.
Speaking on his programme, Issues in the News, Nandlall said affected persons should rely on the lawyers assigned to them for guidance on compensation, rather than on claims circulating about the assistance being offered.
The legal team is part of the government’s Heart Initiative. Under the initiative, families and survivors are receiving legal, medical and counselling support.
“Several leading attorneys at law in Guyana of high standing have been retained to deal with legal issues of the persons who are affected,” the Attorney General said.
He said the team is led by former Attorney General of Belize, Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay, and includes other prominent lawyers.
The lawyers have already begun meeting affected persons and their relatives in Region Four and Region One, where most of those affected live.
“They have met with them in Region Four, bringing together many of the persons from the coastal areas, and they have also travelled to Region One, where the bulk of the persons are, and have met with them both at Mabaruma and Port Kaituma,” Nandlall said.
According to the Attorney General, the lawyers have reported significant progress in assisting the affected families.
Nandlall said the legal process is being conducted independently. Affected persons are being told in writing that their participation is voluntary and that they remain free to obtain their own legal advice.
He said the government has deliberately kept its distance from the process to avoid any suggestion that it is influencing the outcome.
“The government is not part of this process, and that is why the President, to avoid allegations about undue influence, coercion, duress, etc…, has assigned this responsibility to a team of independent lawyers,” he said.
The Attorney General explained that the Heart Initiative was set up as a national framework to respond to needs arising from the tragedy. It brings together professionals offering different forms of help to survivors and relatives.
“The Heart Initiative is so constructed, made up of different persons offering different services, therapy, counselling, medical services, legal services,” Nandlall said.
He said the initiative aims to help affected families get through the difficult period after the tragedy and, as far as possible, to help bring them closure.