Update: 2nd of August, 2020: The political deadlock has been broken as Mr. David Granger finally concedes defeat and President Irfaan Ali is sworn in.
We pray that Guyana never returns to such prehistoric and barbaric days. We pray that democracy always prevails and that the rule of law is followed. If, come 2025, the PPP/C is voted out of office, they must gracefully step down and allow the democratically elected winner to be sworn in.
As Prime Minister of Barbados, Honorable Mia Mottley, put it, “no electoral process is worth a human life.”
Today we honor, Sewdat Hansraj who was only 19 years old when he was killed in Cotton Tree, Berbice in a clash between police and protestors. Yes, we acknowledge that the young man might have attacked police, but bear in mind that at that time, more than half of the country was outraged that their democratic rights were being trampled upon. Adrenaline was pumping through the roof. And we must also acknowledge that if there weren’t a blatant attempt to right the March 2020, elections, this would have never happened.
As we remember Sewdat Hansraj who paid the ultimate price to free Guyana from from the hands of tyranny, let us also commit ourselves to the cause of freedom: that these honored dead shall not have died in vain, and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from Guyana.
7th of May, 2020. Georgetown, Guyana, South America.
At least one person was killed and several reportedly injured in post-elections 2020 riots and civil unrest across Guyana, South America.
The disturbances unsurprisingly took on an ethnic theme as racial slurs were hurled across streets and on social media. Although considerable efforts were made to curb the racial divide among Guyana‘s two main ethnic groups, the supporters of the PPP/C remain largely Indo-Guyanese while those of the APNU/AFC are mostly Afro-Guyanese.
In PPP/C strongholds such as Bushlot and Bath Settlement, large crowds of Indo-Guyanese protestors came in peaceful protest that at times turned violent. In the capital city of Georgetown, the streets were filled with mostly APNU/AFC supporters chanting slogans in support of the PNC/R led coalition.
In Cotton Tree Village along the West Coast of Berbice, Guyana, a man was shot and killed by police during protests. The video footage below shed some light on what happened during the incident which took place on the evening of May 6th.
The exact circumstances leading up to the shooting of 19-years of Sewdat (Devon) Hansraj has not yet been determined by this publication. Ruel Johnson, a popular Guyanese political activist, posted on his Facebook Page:
Devon Hansraj is the name of the young protestor shot and killed at Cotton Tree. He was the nephew of Romeo Nermal, also known as Mystic, the singer of the song ‘Live Like We At De Cricket’. Devon was just 19. Like I said, the casualties of the indecent game being played by both dinosaurs will always be ordinary people.
The popular Guyanese artist, Mystic, in turn posted last evening, May 6th:
RIP to my nephew..killed tonight at Cotten Tree..lost for words at this time… ??…
Another video, posted below, shows a gang of residents hurling swear words and rocks from one side of the village to the other. The reason for the attack is not clear in the video, but it may have been racially and politically fueled.
Another video, posted below, shows a resident of Lusignan Village allegedly shot in the head by the Guyana Police Force. The incident, or the circumstances leading up to it has not yet been verified by this publication.
