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Police on Monday evening said that five persons are now in custody as investigation into the slaughter of two boys at Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice intensifies. The individuals were arrested as at 18:00 hrs even as the Major Crimes team deployed from CID headquarters are still on the ground.
Meanwhile, President Irfaan Ali, while indicating that he understands the pain being felt over the brutal murder of two Afro-Guyanese teenage boys, said any demonstration must be done within the confines of the law, and the Guyana Police Force must be given the necessary support to bring those responsible to justice.
The discovery of the mutilated bodies of two cousins – Joel Henry, 19 and Isaiah Henry, 15 – aback the Cotton Tree Village on the West Coast of Berbice on Sunday have sparked a series of fiery protests in No. 3 Village and other neighbouring communities from which the boys live and dwelled. Across the country, Guyanese having been increasingly calling for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. Thus far, three persons are in custody assisting with the investigations. These are the owner of a coconut estate in which the bodies were found and his son along with a handyman.
Justice will be served
In a televised addressed to the nation, President Ali said he has assured the teenagers’ parents that justice will be served. “I assured the parents, the relatives of our commitment in ensuring justice is served and more importantly, I want to ask all Guyanese not to use this moment to divide us or to separate us but for us to be conscious of the implications of statements, comments and posts can have, especially, on social media,” the President said.
He also used the platform to call on members of the community hard hit by the heinous crime to offer necessary support to the police as they conduct their investigation. “Members of the community, I understand your pain, [and] grief. I ask you to allow the Guyana Police Force to complete their work in a professional manner and support them in bringing the perpetrators to justice,” President Ali urged.
He added: “And whatever we do in demonstrating our emotions, I appeal to you to do so in a peaceful manner, to do so in a respectful manner, to do so in a lawful manner, I understand the hurt, I appreciate the feelings, and sentiments, but we must express those in a lawful and respectful manner.”
In an earlier press conference at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) today, the President indicated that through a number of programmes and policies, his Government will try to foster better race relations in the country currently heavily divided along racial lines. However, he said the Government cannot do it alone.
“It is not only an issue for the Government, it is an issue for us collectively as a people. The Government has a responsibility of charting policies and programmes that reflect the needs and aspirations of all our people. In terms of public policy and programming, we have to ensure that our policy and programmes are designed for all the people of our country, and that’s a great responsibility of the government, and that is what you will see reflected in the way we craft our policies,” he said. He noted that the Youth Advisory Council, once operationalized, will play a leading role in fostering racial harmony in Guyana, however, he emphasized that mainstream media have an equally important role to play.
According to him, the various social media platforms in particular Facebook have been the scenes of race baiting and damaging and insensitive remarks bordered on criminality.
“As your President, I want to say we have to address these issues frontally. We have to not only monitor but we have to take strong actions on social media for some of the hateful posts and speeches that are being pursued on social media, some of the assumptions that are damaging and have serious implications. Addressing issues of race relation requires a level of maturity from every stakeholder, it requires a level of responsibility from every stakeholder. So yes, as a Government, we will address the issue through our policy and programmes,” President Ali said.
