The Working People’s Alliance (WPA) said the party views with much concern the concerted efforts by the government to criminalise protests. The party, in a release, said the criminalisation of protest “is a development that threatens to take the country back to the dark days of colonial rule.”
Referencing last Tuesday, June 28, protest by villagers on the East Coast of Demerara (ECD) demanding justice for 23-year-old Quindon Bacchus of Golden Grove, who died extra judicially on June 10, 2022, the WPA affirmed, “The right to protest wrongdoing in high places is sacred and must be protected at all costs.”
Noting the evolution of society and notable successes by Guyanese to secure basic human rights, such as emancipation from slavery and independence from colonialism, the party reminded that these were consequences of protest and resistance. “Protest and resistance often stand between dictatorship and freedom,” said the WPA
On Monday, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Shalimar Ali-Hack, recommended the Guyana Police Force proceed with charges against three police officers. The DPP recommended charging Lance Corporal Kristoff DeNobrega for the fatal shooting of Bacchus; and charging Lance Corporal Thurston Simon and Sergeant Dameion McLennon for obstructing the course of justice in relation to the murder. When Bacchus was killed the police reportedly said they were carrying out a sting operation for illegal guns in the area.
