By Nicole Telford- Today marks the 11th anniversary of the murders of the Linden Martyrs Ron Somerset, Shemroy Bouyea, and Allan Lewis They were shot dead by police on July 18, 2012, during a peaceful protest against a proposed hike in electricity tariffs in Linden, Guyana.
Linden’s mayor-elect Sharma Solomon spoke with Village Voice News during the wreath laying ceremony at Bamia explaining that “ Apart from all the heinous activities of the People’s Progressive Party Civic Government did leading up to and after the murders of the trio was the placement of Guyana Police Force officers all over Linden without name tags attached to their uniforms.” This he noted “was at a time when the Black clothes Police and the PPPC govt Phantom Squad were wreaking havoc across Guyana with shootings and daily murders countrywide.” He added, “We were reliably informed that elements of the phantom squad were preparing to target citizens.”
The mayor-elect explained that “Linden citizens were further terrorised within their communities by a Baghdad-like scenario, The Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Défense Force camped out spraying tear gas and shooting at citizens with no care for babies and youths. July 25 and 28 gunshots were discharged; Randy Telford was shot in the jaw, Ray Wills was shot in the leg; incapacitated to this day, and Alieshaw Barker with pellets in both thighs.”
The memorial service of the three murdered is scheduled for 3 pm today at the ‘July 18 Memorial Site’ in the vicinity of the Wismar/Mackenzie Linden bridge.
