…calls for national reconciliation platform
The Indian Action Committee (IAC) says it has noted Government’s announcement of a series of inquiries into past incidents that have been described as crime spree killings.
Highlighting that the swift establishment of a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the June, 2008, Lindo Creek Massacre displays government’s intention to unearth answers, the IAC says that while inquiries are important for the country, it is of the firm view that it must not be confined to any particular incident or a selected few.
According to the IAC in a released statement, “these inquiries must be expanded to include others which the IAC remains convinced were designed, through maximum casualties or infliction of violence, to instill fear into the hearts and minds of Guyanese, especially those of East Indian descent.”
Moreover, the IAC posited that “eleven innocent, poor, unsuspecting and defenseless residents including five children were slaughtered in the dark of night by heavily armed merciless gunmen. Like all other families who suffered, those in Lusignan would like closure as they remain befuddled over what could have precipitated such a dastardly attack.”
It is within that context that the IAC says it is calling for the commencement of an inquiry into the Lusignan massacre.
The IAC is also calling for an inquiry into what it describes as the “the unprovoked attack on Indo-Guyanese on January 12, 1998, primarily in the City of Georgetown.”
According to the Committee “Many were beaten, stripped and robbed by various gangs in what was believed to be their dissatisfaction over a High Court decision relating to the 1997 election petition. Twenty years after, many are still intimidated and scarred by that sudden unleashing of violence and the subsequent humiliation they were forced to endure.”
The IAC says it is hopeful that, eventually, the findings of these inquiries would form the basis for the establishment of a national reconciliation platform which it is firmly recommending.
The organization is of the view that rather than perpetuating blame and hatred, “the platform could provide a much needed mechanism to aid in healing and the fostering of national harmony.”
It is against this backdrop that the IAC believes the members of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC) should be sworn-in.
According to the IAC, the ERC seems best suited to facilitate such a platform.
