Harmon calls for cops to be allowed to do work

-but says independent probe needed for justice

While calling on police to do a thorough investigation, Opposition Leader Joseph Harmon yesterday said that an independent investigation would be needed in order to ensure that justice is served in the murders of West Coast Berbice teenagers Isaiah Henry and Joel Henry.

During a visit, Harmon told residents of Region Five and relatives of the slain teens that while they don’t know who the perpetrators are, there are some suspicions. “I call on the police to do a thorough investigation of this matter,” he said, while adding that although he stood by the residents’ protests throughout the region in response to the killings, the residents should allow the police to do their job.

However, Harmon also charged that the investigative arm of the Guyana Police Force has been infiltrated by “known thugs” and as a result he said “we will have to insist that there be an independent investigation and independent forensic work so that the evidence which is acquired nobody can’t hide it and duck it. So we have to be very vigilant but allow the police to do their work.”

Former president David Granger, who also visited the families of the victims yesterday, charged that the problem in the region started since March 6th, when supporters of the PPP/C staged a protest and stoned a school bus with students. “If the PPP had taken action then, this event, this hatred, this attitude, this would not have occurred but they allowed that to pass, nobody tried to explain, nobody tried to apologise,” he asserted.

“Whatever happens on this day, we have to establish some self defence society to protect our children, protect our women and our young people because unless we protect ourselves nobody is going to protect us,” the former president added.

He stressed that they must protect themselves and ensure that “young people of any race are protected from this type of crime. They must be able to go to school and the backdam and live ordinary lives... This is one country and for the last five years we struggled to build social cohesion, we struggled to treat everybody equal; nothing like this ever happened for five years.”

A man then interjected to inform Granger that this was not the first time the suspect was arrested for the murder of someone, to which the former president responded, “Well my brother, I said all lives matter. All lives matter and we must make sure we can protect ourselves and our communities.”

Like Harmon, Granger said that the residents’ response to the murders was correct. “What you all are doing here is the correct response to a crime and the government must protect all citizens, whoever they are, wherever they are, day and night, and it is not happening and that is not happening and if the government does not do its duty to protect our citizens, we must protect ourselves,” he said. “All

Guyanese must be able to walk freely in this country,” he added, while