Bottles hurled at members of LGBTQ community in New Amsterdam
-victims decline to lodge report with police
Bottles were hurled at members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) community who were present at Stanleytown, New Amsterdam for the Berbice Mash parade on Sunday however the victims did not lodge a report with the police.
Commander of Region Six, Shivpersaud Bacchus yesterday told Stabroek News that the alleged victims and attackers refused to provide statements to the police.
According to Bacchus, no official report was made of the incident. He said police received a phone call about bottles being hurled at the location and after arriving noticed broken bottles on the road. Both sides were invited to the station where he said that they declined to provide police with any statement or information about themselves.
Letter writer, Derrick Cummings yesterday called the incident a “crude, barbaric display of homophobia and coarse language directed at young, enthusiastic Mashramani revelers.” According to him, their only ‘crime’ in the eyes of the perpetrators was a “choice of sexual orientation inconsistent with theirs.”
He said, on Sunday last, “terrorist thuggery was on full display in the vicinity of Lot 39, Stanleytown, New Amsterdam. Bottles were hurled at targets and at least three persons suffered bloodletting injuries and had to be taken to hospital for treatment; others applied first aid measures to their wounds.”
According to Cummings, a licensed firearm holder in the area discharged several rounds in the air to disperse the “menacing gang led by a ‘Mbaku’ wielding a wooden plank protagonist” cornering the persons.
Cummings said that after four community officers retreated from the location, a police patrol eventually arrived and apprehended suspects despite efforts by some members of the community to conceal their whereabouts.
He called upon those who profess to champion guaranteed human rights including that of freedom of association, to “publicly condemn the actions of persons who desecrated the good name of the peaceful people of New Amsterdam; as well as the warm, hospitable residents of Berbice; and to unequivocally say ‘not in my name!’”.