President Dr Irfaan Ali has called on Guyanese to respect rule of law and avoid action that will put them in breach of the law.
He made the call during a press conference tonight, as persons took to the streets across the country to loot, block roads with burning debris, destroy public infrastructure, and cause confusion.
The countrywide chaos erupted moments after it was revealed that the autopsy conducted on the body of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge showed that she died as a result of drowning.
President Ali noted that the government would respect citizens’ rights to peacefully protest and demonstrate. “But if persons breach the law, there must be consequences and there will be consequences,” he said.
President Ali noted that unfortunately, the peaceful protests have been hijacked for political purposes. “That is unfortunate that persons would seek to profiteer selfishly on situations like these, hijacking what should be a peaceful process,” he said.
In this regard, he urged persons to desist from such actions.
“You will be prosecuted, stop now,” President Ali said.
Meanwhile, the Head of State reiterated that he is committed to ensuring that everything in relation to the Adrianna Younge case is done in an open and transparent manner.
This, according to President Ali, is why there were three pathologists who conducted the autopsy on the child’s body.
During the press conference, Health Minister Dr Frank Anthony disclosed the credentials of each pathologist.
Among other things, the forensic pathologists were tasked with identifying signs of trauma or injuries to the child’s body, signs of sexual assault, and to determine the cause of death.
According to President Ali, the autopsy ruled out signs of physical and sexual trauma and concluded that she died as a result of drowning.
Due to the state of decomposition of the body, President Ali revealed that the autopsy was unable to provide the exact time of death.
However, he noted that the pathologists ruled out theories of forcible drowning or any other means of killing followed by disposables of the body in water.
Meanwhile, noting that he has asked for a full report on the initial police report that the child was seen entering a car, President Ali noted that it was a civilian in the control centre that provided the inaccurate information.
Nevertheless, the President said the events surrounding this entire situation have opened opportunities for the government to examine and re-examine a number of things including SOPs, laws and regulations governing police and police operations.
In this regard, President Ali said he intends to seek the help of international and regional experts.
These examinations will also cover regulations for public places in relation to security cameras and safety in cases of public pools, with the objective of implementing modern standards.
President Ali added that he will be having public consultation for ideas on how to strengthen systems to support family and children friendly environments.
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