Guyana_Chronicle_Epaper_09_11_2020

FRIDAY 11th September, 2020

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Protest abates

No.106119

–– many stranded return home safely under Army escort

–– four detained in connection with murder of Henry cousins to be released –– three arrested for assaulting members of the public 03 PAGE

Reaching out

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud (seated right), consoles Basmattie Singh, grandmother of deceased, Haresh Singh, 17. Also pictured is Prime Minister, Brigadier, Mark Phillips (first from left); Public Works Minister, Deodat Indar (third from left); Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton (second from right) and Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall (first from right) (DPI photo)

End the violence, religious bodies urge

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COVID-19 death toll passes 50 09 PAGE

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Protest abates

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

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–– many stranded return home safely under Army escort –– four detained in connection with murder of Henry cousins to be released –– three arrested for assaulting members of the public

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sakur THE West Coast of Berbice (WCB), which, for the past four days has seen deaths, violence, arson, robberies and intense protest action, is returning to some semblance of normalcy.

The Joint Service ranks from the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Defense Force and the Guyana Fire Service were able to get protesters off the roads and remove the numerous impediments that kept traffic at a standstill over the past four days.

The situation had left hundreds stranded on both sides of WCB. The protests started following the discovery of the mutilated bodies of two teen cousins, Isaiah and Joel Henry of Number Four Village, in the Cotton Tree Backdam, last Sunday afternoon.

Initially, protesters blocked the streets and demanded justice for the Henry boys on Sunday night but, by Monday, the protests turned violent, with persons being attacked as they attempted to pass the blockades in Number Five Village and other areas.

By Monday night, several other West Coast villages joined the protest action and things took a turn for the worse.

Innocent citizens were beaten and robbed at almost all the locations where the protests were being held, and, on Tuesday, trucks and minibuses were burnt, in addition to a house and barber shop. Things took a turn for the worse on Thursday morning when a 17-year-old, Haresh Singh from Number Three Village, was beaten to death, allegedly at the hands of protesters.

Based on the family’s account of the incident, he was heading to the backdam when the incident occurred.

No arrest has been made in regards to this murder up to press time.

CONDEMNATION Chairman of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Volda Lawrence,

things from in the middle of the road, we can do things differently, we can send our message differently,” she said.

Prettipaul Hargobin, 34, also lost his life the same day after he allegedly opened fire

to traverse certain areas in Mahaicony, including a resident who was made to pay to pass her own street.

A US-based Guyanese, her husband and other family members were robbed, beaten and nearly had their

Members of the Joint Services clearing the road of debris

on Wednesday, condemned the murder of Singh. Singh was killed as protests escalated over the murders of Isaiah and Joel Henry.

The former minister said the killings were “gruesome and barbaric” and she was hurt and angry over what has happened.

“I learnt of the death of a 17-year-old, not so long ago and it is claimed that he is associated with the person in custody. I want to offer my sincere condolences to the family. We’re not a people who kill our children, we’re not a people who maim each other, we’re not barbarians, we’re Guyanese,” Lawrence said in a live video posted on Facebook.

She added: “We are hurting each other as a people, we are hurting each other as neighbours and friends and we are turning on each other as though we don’t know each other, and, as a leader, we have to call a spade a spade. We’re asking for justice, we’re also asking for peace. Pull away the

with a shotgun on a group of protesters who had moments ago beaten him. So far, the police have arrested four persons in relation to this incident.

PNC/R member, James Bond, in a Facebook Live also condemned the violence, assault and burning of property.

Meanwhile, the police have stated that, of the seven persons who have been arrested in relation to the murder of the Henry cousins, four were expected to be released on bail with the expiration of the 72-hour detention period. However, they will report to the police on Friday.

Despite the roadways being cleared on Thursday, minimal traffic risked passing through and reports are that vehicles were being stopped and their occupants were being robbed in Mahaicony and other villages in Region Five.

The Guyana Chronicle has also received reports of persons being forced to pay

vehicle torched on Tuesday.

She said that she was thankful that her family made it out alive.

During the “traumatic” incident, she said they were relieved of cash and other valuables, including documents. The family managed to retrieve the documents, and after several hours being stranded in the area, they were assisted out by the Army.

HOME SAFELY The army and the police, on Thursday, provided escort to many stranded commuters who were seeking to return home at various locations. Many later took to social media to express praises to be home safely.

On Thursday, the Home Affairs Ministry issued an advisory asking citizens to be extremely cautious when attempting to traverse hotspots of the protests and to only venture there unless absolutely necessary until advised further.

The Joint Services also

issued a statement indicating that additional resources were deployed to the area to ensure law and order were maintained.

“Based on the assessment of the operations, added resources were deployed to the West Berbice area in furtherance of the maintenance of law and order and facilitation of unhindered flow of traffic in the area.

“Further, despite attacks by protesters on members of the Joint Services, the ranks have been able to clear the stretches of roads that were blocked along West Coast Berbice and East Coast Demerara, which facilitated the free flow of traffic as of today, 10th September, 2020.”

The statement continued: “The heads of Joint Services also wish to inform the public that the police are in receipt of reports and evidence of assault on members of the public, and have since arrested three persons, and will continue in their efforts to arrest and prosecute others who were identified breaking the law.”

REACHED OUT President Irfaan Ali, on Wednesday, announced that he had reached out to the British Government and the Regional Security System (RSS) to visit Guyana and support the Guyana Police Force’s investigative capacity into the recent murders.

The President said he will also explore all systems and protocols available within the United Nations

(UN) system to deal with persons who spread hate and racial strife in speech and in action.

“We need to understand who instigated, what was instigated, and, as a result, I am exploring the commissioning of an International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to look at every aspect of this situation, to look beyond what took place on the ground, to look at the behaviours that came about as a result of statements made.

The CoI is important for us to have a comprehensive understanding as to what took place,” the President said, in taking national interventions to address the West Coast Berbice (WCB) murders and the ensuing unrest.

The President also thanked the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force for their tireless work.

“I am confident that they will bring the situation to order. They have assured me that they will be using all available resources and laws, in keeping with the protocols and guidelines, to ensure that the situation does not escalate. I call upon all Guyanese to refrain from endangering each other’s life, as I assure you that this government will work to bring justice to every single person who has been affected in these circumstances,” the head of state explained.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Russian hackers target US election again – Microsoft (BBC) Hackers with ties to Russia, China and Iran are attempting to spy on people and groups involved with the US 2020 presidential election, Microsoft says.

The Russian group which hacked the 2016 Democratic campaign is again involved in cyber-attacks, said the tech firm.

Microsoft said it was "clear that foreign activity groups have stepped up their efforts" targeting the election.

Both President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden's campaigns are being targeted.

Russian hackers from the Strontium group have targeted more than 200 or-

ganisations, many of which are linked to US political parties - both Republicans and Democrats, Microsoft said in a statement.

"Similar to what we observed in 2016, Strontium is launching campaigns to harvest people's log-in credentials or compromise their accounts, presumably to aid in intelligence gathering or disruption operations," said Tom Burt, a Microsoft vice-president in charge of customer security and trust.

The firm said Chinese hackers had launched attacks targeting individuals connected to Mr Biden's campaign, while Iranian hackers had continued efforts targeting

people associated with the Trump campaign.

Most of the cyber-attacks had not been successful, according to Microsoft. The attacks have also not been launched on groups that handle the voting systems themselves.

"What we've seen is consistent with previous attack patterns that not only target candidates and campaign staffers but also those they consult on key issues," Mr Burt said.

"These activities highlight the need for people and organisations involved in the political process to take advantage of free and lowcost security tools to protect

themselves as we get closer to election day."

Though the director of US counter-intelligence said in August that China favoured Mr Biden, Microsoft reported that Chinese groups had launched attacks on the personal email accounts of people affiliated with the Biden campaign, as well as "at least one prominent individual formerly associated with the Trump Administration".

"Prominent individuals" in the international affairs community, academic institutions and policy organisations were also said to have been targeted by the Chinese hacking group, known as

Zirconium.

The Iranian group known as Phosphorus has unsuccessfully sought to access accounts of White House officials and Mr Trump's campaign staff between May and June of this year.

The report comes a day after a whistleblower at the US Department of Homeland Security alleged he was put under pressure to downplay the threat of Russian interference in the election as it "made the president look bad".

What happened in 2016?

US intelligence agencies concluded in 2016 that Russia was behind an effort to undermine Hillary Clin-

ton's presidential run, with a state-authorised campaign of cyber attacks and fake news stories planted on social media.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation found Russian hackers gained access to Democratic National Committee systems as well as Clinton campaign chair John Podesta's personal email.

They leaked tens of thousands of emails from the campaign.

Facebook later testified that Russian-backed content sent out around the election reached up to 126 million Americans on the platform.

Coronavirus: France sets daily record with almost 10,000 new cases

(BBC) France has recorded almost 10,000 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, marking its highest sin-

gle-day count since the start of the outbreak.

Health authorities reported 9,843 new confirmed

Friday, September 11, 2020 -- 12:00 HRS

Covid-19 cases on Thursday, surpassing the previous daily record by almost 900.

The figures were released on the eve of a key meeting of ministers and health experts about toughening measures.

France has the sev enth-highest Covid-19 death toll in the world.

More than 30,800 people in the country have died of coronavirus.

In the meeting on Friday, officials will discuss introducing new measures to curb the spread of the virus.

The head of the scientific

council advising the government on the pandemic, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, has warned that "tough" decisions may be required.

President Emmanuel Macron said the meeting would give the public a clear idea of what can be expected in the coming weeks.

"We need to be as transparent and clear as possible," he said on Thursday, according to AFP news agency.

"We need to be demanding and realistic without giving in to any kind of panic."

The country earlier this month unveiled a major eco-

nomic stimulus package, aimed at helping to repair the economic damage caused by coronavirus.

Dubbed the "France relaunch", it is aimed at reversing rising unemployment, and includes tax cuts for business.

What is happening elsewhere in Europe?

Other countries in Europe are also seeing increases in coronavirus cases.

The UK's confirmed coronavirus cases rose by more than 2,000 for the fifth consecutive day on Thursday, as England put mainland Portugal back on its quarantine list. England is also preparing to implement new restrictions, banning social gatherings of more than six people.

The number of patients in intensive care units in the country has also been rising in recent days. While hospital figures are still far from

the peaks reached in April, there are concerns over the strain that rising infection rates could put on the health system.

Spain this week became the first country in the European Union to record more than half a million Covid-19 cases, after adding some 100,000 new cases in the past month.

The World Health Organization has warned of a possible resurgence of the disease in Europe in October and November.

A number of countries have re-imposed local lockdowns in their worst-affected regions, and there have been renewed appeals for people to wear face masks and follow social distancing rules.

Students in many countries have been returning to school in recent days, after months out of the classroom because of the pandemic.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Colombia protests: Death of man tasered by police sparks deadly clashes let's take him to the hospital'," Juan David Uribe told Reuters TV. Mr Ordóñez was transferred to a local hospital where doctors declared him dead a short time later.

The cause of his death has not yet been made public, but Mr Ordóñez's sister-inlaw said the family had been told that he had been tasered 12 times. "They told us that a person can endure more or less four," she added.

Police and protesters clashed, leaving scores injured

(BBC) At least seven people have been killed in protests in Colombia as outrage spreads over the death of a man who was pinned to the ground and repeatedly tasered by police in Bogotá.

Video of the incident shows 46-year-old Javier Ordóñez begging the officers to stop and telling them "I am choking".

The officers were arresting him for allegedly breaking social distancing rules by drinking with friends.

He was taken to a police station and later moved to hospital, where he died.

WHAT'S THE LATEST ON THE PROTESTS? At least seven people have died in the protests in the capital, Bogotá, in in nearby Soacha.

Defense Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said five of those who died had been shot. He also offered a reward for information leading to the capture of "the perpetrators of the murders".

Bogotá Mayor Claudia López said 248 people had been injured, of which 58 had received gunshot wounds.

Ms López added that more than 100 police officers had

also been hurt.

She said that no one had ordered police to shoot at protesters, especially not in an indiscriminate way, but that there was evidence that that was what had happened in some areas.

The protests were centred on the neighbourhood of Engativá, where police arrested Mr Ordóñez.

Hundreds of protesters clashed with officers outside the police post where Mr Ordóñez was held. More than 40 such posts, small police stations dotted across the city which often consist of only one room, were attacked and 17 were burnt down.

There were also protests in Soacha, south of Bogotá, in Colombia's second biggest city, Medellín, and in the city of Pereira. More than 70 vehicles were damaged, among them nine public buses, which were set alight.

Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said 1,600 extra police would be deployed to Bogotá to tackle the protests.

WHAT TRIGGERED THE PROTESTS? The protests broke out after video emerged of the

arrest in the early hours of Wednesday of Javier Ordóñez in Engativá.

The video shows Mr Ordóñez pinned to the ground by two police officers in a residential street.

One of the officers repeatedly uses his taser on Mr Ordóñez, who can be heard saying "enough please, enough, no more, please" and "I'm choking".

The officers continue to kneel on Mr Ordóñez and continue to use the taser.

The person who is recording the incident on his phone, can also be heard pleading with the officers.

"He's telling you 'please', we're recording you, don't continue... why do you continue harming him if he's said 'please'?," the man recording the video says.

The last thing the video shows is a third officer arriving.

Mr Ordóñez was taken to a local police post and was already unconscious by the time his friend arrived at the post to ask for him.

"When I arrived, my friend was practically dead, he was not moving. So I began to yell at police and told them, 'please help him,

Flash flooding possible over Central Barbados (NATIONNEWS) The Barbados Meteorological Services issued a flash-flood warning for central districts of Barbados from noon until 6 p.m.

Some part of Central Barbados have already recorded 1 to 2 inches of rainfall and accumulations of 30 to 75mm in

heavy showers are expected as the afternoon progresses.

Residents in low-lying districts are asked to take the usual precautions.

The warning will be discontinued before 6 p.m. if conditions warrant.

WHAT LEAD TO HIS ARREST? Mr Ordóñez, a father of two who was about to graduate as a lawyer, was socialising with friends in his flat on the night of the incident.

His friends say that when they ran out of alcohol, they went out to stock up. They say that on their return they were stopped by police who told them they would be fined for breaking social distancing rules and drinking in the street.

It is not clear how that situation ended in Mr Ordóñez being pinned to the ground and tasered.

The video shows a quiet street and only two other voices can be heard urging the police politely to stop.

WHAT REACTION HAS THERE BEEN? The two police officers have been suspended.

Defence Minister Carlos Holmes Trujillo said there would be an internal investigation into the incident.

The case is also under investigation by the prosecutors' office.

President Iván Duque said there would a "rigorous investigation".

The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, condemned what she called "unacceptable police brutality" but she also urged protesters to refrain from vandalism and violence. "Destroying the city won't put an end to police abuses," the left-wing mayor said.

There has been outrage on social media, where the video of Mr Ordóñez being tasered is being widely shared and the hashtag #ColombiaLivesMatter is trending. Many are compar-

ing what happened to Mr Ordóñez to the case of George Floyd, whose death in police custody in the US led to a wave of protests against police brutality.

What's the track record of the police?

According to Mayor López, there have been 137 complaints of police brutality in Bogotá this year. Ms López has urged the police to investigate all the complaints.

It is not the first time the capital has seen widespread protests against police brutality.

In November, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in memory of Dilan Cruz, a student who died after being hit by a projectile fired by riot police during an anti-government protest.

And in 2011, there was an outcry after a 16-yearold graffiti artist was shot dead by police after spray painting at a bridge. The police officer behind that shooting was sentenced to 37 years in prison in 2016.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Curbing politically-driven violence AS the new Irfaan Ali-led administration strategises on developmental modes and requisite financial viability to restore socio-economic wellbeing in the nation and formulate a national budget that caters for the immediate needs of all Guyanese, including relief packages, within constrained economic circumstances, it is forced to do so under duress of a planned violence-based protest in several locations on the West Coast of Berbice, subsequently spreading to other areas of the country.

This protest action, averred to be a consequence of the murder of Isaiah and Joel Henry, is seemingly encouraged with the intention, as admitted by Joseph Harmon, to make the country ungovernable under a PPP/C Government, which he describes as a fraudulent one.

The eruption of attacks on Indo-Guyanese, leading to looting, destruction of vehicles and homes, and physical assaults ultimately

leading to murder, came after speeches made by PNC leaders Joseph Harmon and David Granger at the homes of the murdered Henry boys.

There, Harmon had deemed the protest a “… struggle against a fraudulent government”. Granger also urging the formation of vigilante groups further inflamed the supporters into a destructive and deadly reaction.

As the violent and destructive attacks escalated, President Irfaan Ali, who restrained the Joint Services from confrontational approaches in the hope that ministerial level dialogue would quell the agitation, which instead was fuelled into hysteria as a direct response to the inciting rhetoric by opposition leaders, issued a press statement which states, inter alia: "I will be reaching out to the British Government and the RSS, which is the Regional Security System to come to Guyana in support of the Guyana Police Force’s investigative capacity.

“I am exploring the commissioning of an International Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to look at every aspect of this situation, to look beyond what took place on the ground, to look at the behaviour that came about as a result of statements made.

I have asked the attorney-general and minister of legal affairs to explore, within the United Nations system, all means available to hold to account, all those who spread race hate and instigate racial strife.”

A press statement by Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn stated, inter alia, that the murder and mutilation of Isaiah and Joel Henry remains a heinous crime that has been condemned all across Guyana. The families of the boys have also denounced the violent attacks being perpetrated in their sons’ name with Minister Benn contending that, “This escalation in violence rests squarely at the doors of these two gentlemen and specific-known political agi-

tators of their ilk!”

The Joint Services are increasing their efforts to restore calm to the affected areas and only emergency and essential travel is recommended through the affected area.

The murders of Chatterpaul Harripaul aka “Roy”, age 34 years, of Block BI Bath Settlement, WCB which occurred about 15:45 hours on September 9, 2020 at Bath Settlement Public Road, WCB; and Naresh Singh, 17, of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice (WCB), who died in separate incidents on Wednesday, has further heightened tensions in an already-divided nation.

However, Gladson Henry, the father of murdered Berbice teen, Isaiah Henry, is urging a stop to the violence. He said, “I am not racist, I still love my Indian brothers and sisters,” as he appealed to the ‘protestors’, while calling for justice for his son’s murder to remain peaceful.

Although the PNC leaders

have deemed the murder of the teens a hate crime, urging the demonstrators to react in accordance, Mr. Gladston Henry reiterated “I am not supporting unmoral protesting… if you want to protest, which is your right, you must do it peacefully and in doing it peacefully we cannot be fighting against one another.

“I am not a racial person. I born in Number Three [Village] and I live among Indian people… we eat together… we sleep together; the majority of my friends is Indian friends and because of how I was moving they give me a nickname, and that nickname is ‘Geerah’ and the meaning of geerah is that they come up with is because geerah have to go in the dhal and the majority of my friends is Indian.”

Wednesday marked four days since protest actions erupted along the West Coast of Berbice and subsequently spread to several parts of the country.

Homage to Jagan’s mother Dear editor, AS we observe Pitri Paksh, the period of paying tribute to the ancestors, I pay homage to Cheddi Jagan’s mother, Bachaoni. Not much attention was focused on the contribution of hardworking women like Jagan’s mother in the plantations, and the important role they played in raising children while labouring in the fields.

She played a significant role in community development.

I was raised in Ankerville, Port Mourant, just three short streets from where the Jagan’s lived; Bachaoni with Cheddi, and the other siblings and their father, Jagan, who had only one name, which was very

common among Indians in India, and places where they were taken as indentured slaves. I used to play bumper-ball cricket right near their home; and behind their yard was a large playground for hard-ball cricket. It was at this ground that I scored my hundred in youth cricket, and decimated an opponent with fast bowling. This was also the ground where famous cricketers during the post- indentureship period played before moving on to the Ankerville and Port Mourant Cricket Grounds, and others nearby. From the ground behind the Jagans, which had no stand or pavilion or stand-pipes, one can see all the fruit trees in the family compound: Genip, mango, sugar apple, sapodilla and cherry,

among others. The old lady was generous in sharing fruits; she also grew lots of vegetables or ‘greens’.

The family would allow players to pass through the yard as a short-cut to the ground. Later, the ground was abandoned and used for rice cultivation. I believe sugar workers now occupy the ground, carving out house-lots as squatters.

I remember the Jagans’ home and the old lady well, because I used to visit occasionally, delivering groceries from my aunt’s store. I was happy to go, because you get a ‘lil frek’ (tip), and she allows you to pick fruits. In those days, if you get a cent or a ‘gil’, you could buy a lot of sweets and or a buns. She had a habit of “ouchaying” (giving

blessings to religious people and Brahmins). As a Kurmi, an agricultural caste, she had enormous respect for higher- caste Brahmins and Kshatriyas. Several had their foreheads or feet touched by her for blessings, as was the custom in those days.

The old lady was never called by name; ‘Aunty Bachaoni’ was inappropriate. I never heard anyone call her as such. Older women were called ‘aji’, ‘nanni’ or ‘mai’. Jagan’s mother was ‘aji’ or ‘nanni’ among the youths, and ‘mai’, or ‘mousie’, or ‘poa’ or ‘didi’ among the older folks. Cheddi and brothers Derek and Oudit, and my father were around the same age, and they knew each other well, as they grew up on

nearby ‘logies’ on the estate. Cheddi’s father and my ‘aja’ knew each other well, and they socialised in Hindi. Oudit and my father worked at the ‘back-dam’ together like kin.

So, referring to Bachaoni as ‘aji’ was most appropriate. She would call the younger ones like us ‘beta’ (son), or ‘beti’ (daughter).

Bachaoni would visit Aunty Bethlyn’s shop near The Cresh in Ankerville beside the main road; it was my job to deliver the ‘goods’.

Bachaoni liked to visit with Aunty Bethlyn, my father’s first cousin, because she spoke Bhojpuri, in which Bachaoni was very fluent. It gave her an opportunity to socialise in her ‘Mother Tongue’.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Violence is never an option

Dear Editor,

THE Guyana Red Cross is deeply concerned by the senseless loss of life, namely that of Joel and Isaiah Henry of West Coast Berbice, and that of Haresh Singh amongst others, and the actions which have led to destruction of property and life.

The Guyana Red Cross offers deepest condolences to the families and relatives of the young men.

This community, and, by extension, the country is in a very fragile state. Taking into

consideration the recent acts of violence, there is great need for urgent, sincere and holistic support for this humanitarian situation.

While violence is pervasive and complex, it is not inevitable. Violence can be prevented, mitigated, and responded to. For this to occur, however, the underlying root causes must be addressed through comprehensive, evidence-based, persistent and coordinated action.

The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) has defined violence as: “The use of force or power, either as

an action or omission in any setting, threatened, perceived or actual against oneself, another person, a group, or a community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in death, physical injury, psychological or emotional harm, mal-development or deprivation.”

Community violence is a type of interpersonal violence that takes place at the community level, (e.g.in urban settings) between people who may or may not know one another. Common forms of community violence include gang violence, violence by

supporters of sports teams, mob attacks and sporadic crime.

Structural violence is related to “non-physical acts or indirect forms of violence that have emerged from historical experiences, and are woven into social, economic and political systems”. Structural violence is “built into the structure of society… and shows up as unequal power, and consequentially as unequal life chances.” Self-directed or interpersonal violence can constitute structural violence, if they are built into societal systems. Examples include

the failure of public systems or other institutions to fulfil their responsibilities without discrimination and violence.

As a member of the IFRC, the Guyana Red Cross believes that a culture of non-violence respects human beings, their well-being and dignity; it honours diversity, non-discrimination, inclusiveness, mutual understanding and dialogue, willingness to serve, cooperation and lasting peace. It is a culture where individuals, institutions and societies refrain from harming others, groups, communities or themselves. It means a

Call to end violence in all its forms Dear editor, ChildLinK and our colleagues in civil society strongly condemn the gruesome murder of Isaiah and Joel Henry of No. 3 Village, West Coast Berbice.

We also condemn the escalation of the protest that has led to the killing of Haresh Singh.

We offer our sincere condolences to the families and relatives of these young men. We call on the Police to conduct a thorough and swift investigation to bring the perpetrators of these heinous murders to accountability by the law. We hope that political leaders of both sides of the divide will work together to console this grieving nation, and lead out in efforts to improve race relations in Guyana.

We recognise that people are angry, concerned, and hurting, and rightfully so. We should all be alarmed that a group of human beings can mete out such barbaric and sadistic cruelty on another human being, even children. We must agree that all our pain and anger must lead to actions that prevent a reoccurrence, as hurting others whilst calling for justice is not justifiable. There must be change at all levels; beginning with our national leaders, and cascading to civil society, and community and faith leaders, and, most

importantly, at the level of families. Changes at the grassroots level will lead to men taking on their roles as protectors in their families and communities, and ensuring law and order. The role of men is not to be murderers.

Many in society equate discipline and correction with violence, convincing children that it is in their best interest that an adult inflicts pain on them to make their lives better.

Guyana, we must recognize that for too long violence continues to be a norm, and is perpetuated across our society. We see violence in homes, in schools, in our markets and other public spaces; in our transportation systems, in our protesting, in our Parliament, and especially in our public political discourse.

Our pain and anger do not justify protest that is inciting or inflicting violence and killing innocent people. Violence is too pervasive in our lives, and if we are to prevent another tragedy from occurring, we need to rethink our views on violence.

Statistics show that it is boys who are more likely to be the victims of physical violence in homes, and therefore are likely to become violent. For example, according to a Childcare and Protection Agency (CPA) 2018 report, of the 1,115 reported cases of physical abuse reported to the CPA, 633 or 56

per cent, were boys. The cruelty meted out to boys is not limited to hitting. In the same report, of the 33 children that were abandoned, 23 were boys. Additionally, of the 2,431 cases of child neglect, more than half, or 1,297, were boys. ChildLinK’s 2016 thematic paper, captioned, An Analysis of the Nature and Extent of Institutionalization of Children in Guyana, found that boys in institutional care were mainly the victims of physical violence (Bess-Bascom, 2016).

Further, over the period 2013 to 2018 there has been a 124 percent increase of the number of reported cases of sexual violence against boys. This is not to say that girls are not victims of violence; we know this all too well. While we acknowledge factors prevalent in our local context, such as racial prejudice, we must not fail to realise that senseless violence against boys is endemic in our society as part of the racial divide. We note AND must acknowledge that there must be some kind of barbaric hatred among some of our people to commit such torture and cruelty against these three young men, and this must change.

ChildLinK joins with all Guyanese in condemning the murder of Isaiah, Joel and Haresh, and the call for justice and peaceful, organised protests.

We join the call for our political leaders to play their role in bridging the divide. We join the call with our colleagues in civil society in advocating for ending violence in all its forms. We appeal to all Guyanese for unity, and we call on all citizens, parents in particular, to recognise that violence is learnt through socialisation at various levels, and as long as we continue to accept violence as a norm in our engagements, our people, our boys, our girls, our women and our men, both young and old, will never be safe.

Yours faithfully, Omattie Madray, Hasani Tinnie, Shaquita Thomas ChildLinK Inc. Dmitri Nicholson – Youth Challenge Guyana Juanita Burrowes - United Bricklayers Annette Jandoo – FACT Dorothy Fraser - Guyana Red Cross Society Leroy Adolphus – SOCDA Akola Thompson - Women’s Wednesdays Guyana Shivanie Rampersaud Founder of Young Pioneers Beverly BraithwaiteChan, SWP, CFLE &Counselor Nicole Cole E. Smith - Guyana Women Miners Organisation

commitment to positive and constructive solutions to problems, tensions and the source of violence. Violence is never an option.

The Guyana Red Cross appeals to the authorities to have dialogue with a wide cross-section of the community, civil society, and other stakeholders to develop strategies to bring an end to this humanitarian crises, and to work to develop a culture of non-violence.

Yours sincerely, The Guyana Red Cross Society

We pray for the safety and well-being of those affected Dear editor, THE Sanatan Vedic Dharma Pandits’ Sabha, Region Three, condemns the heinous and horrific killing of the Henry boys and Haresh Singh. We extend deepest condolences to the respective families and relatives.

We also pray for the safety and well-being of the hundreds of innocent citizens whose lives have become endangered as a result of the unrest currently occurring in the villages of the deceased.

We plead with all to allow the police to carry out their investigations, and bring all those responsible for these killings to justice. While we all have a right to peaceful protest, the current unrest and behaviour of the protestors: The beating and chopping of innocent citizens; damage to both public and private properties, cannot in any way be justified as peaceful protest. It is downright illegal conduct.

As such, we call on the relevant authorities to ensure the law is enforced, and the society is brought back swiftly to normalcy.

We must be reminded that all of this is happening when we are struggling to curtail the rapid spread of the coronavirus.

Sincerely, Sanatan Vedic Dharma Pandits’ Region Three

End the violence

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

–– religious bodies call for peace, unity, justice for those killed RELIGIOUS bodies in Guyana are saddened by the recent murders which have rocked the nation with anguish, and have called on Guyanese to desist from acts of violence, hate or division, as law enforcement works to bring those responsible to justice.

The Assemblies of God Churches in Guyana are among several Christian denominations which reached out to their membership and the public with the hopes of quelling the tense situation.

“While still numb and angry with the shocking happenings, under the sun, in one of our pleasant, peaceful villages, over the last weekend, we take refuge in the fact that, above the sun, the voices of their blood cry out to God from the ground,” the Church stated.

“May God help our skilful crime sleuths in their investigations, resulting in convictions of those responsible for this heinous act.

As a result of this tragedy, may we, as a nation find the courage to begin a serious

conversation on healing the divisions here, with the view of building shalom communities across this land.”

Meanwhile, the Guyana Congregational Union took note of the hurt faced by the family of the deceased Joel and Isaiah Henry, Orlando Jonas, Haresh Singh and Prittipaul Hargobin as well as Mahendra Ramnarine and many others, who was beaten and injured.

“We appeal to those who are currently involved in, or contemplating, destructive actions, to desist from causing harm to others. The truck driver who sustained injuries to his face should not have been so harmed. These actions are not helpful. When we attack each other in this way we are similarly guilty as those who killed Joel, Isaiah, Orlando and Haresh, and injured Mahendra and the truck driver. Fellow Guyanese, let good sense prevail! Let peace prevail! Let love prevail,” the Union urged.

BE POSITIVE EXAMPLES

Similarly disturbed by the recent happenings is the Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha.

In a message, it called on political leaders to be positive examples for the country and to work to restore peace and

calm.

“While freedom of speech must be respected and protected, racial slurs, hate speech and abusive and inciting statements on so-

cial media must be strongly condemned. We urge the owners of the various social media pages not to tolerate such comments and to report perpetrators to the Ethnic Relations Commission,” the

Hindu Dharmic Sabha stated, adding: “At this tense and volatile time in our beloved country, we must do everything possible to promote peace,

respect and love among all. It is the responsibility of every Guyanese to work together to improve relations and prevent the reoccurrence of such devastating incidents.”

In its message to Guyanese, the Muslim Youth Organisation of Guyana condemned the murders of the teen cousins, Singh and Prettipaul Hargobin, beaten to death after he fired shots at protesters on Thursday. The organisation called on the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to “expeditiously” solve the matters.

DO NO INDULGE IN CRIMINALITY It also advocated: “We further appeal to the protesters not to indulge in any form of criminality such as robbing or beating others. This only harms the noble cause in which you are involved.

We commend the parents of these two young men for their strength and fortitude and pledge to stand with them to ensure justice is serve.”

More pleadings came from the Christian commu-

Homage to Jagan’s ...

Bachaoni was born in Uttar Pradesh, India, and came to Guyana with her mother when she was not even two years old, surviving that treacherous three-month journey aboard the ship in rough seas. Oudit’s wife, Aunty Janey, also shopped at Bethlyn’s, and sometimes I would also deliver her ‘goods’. Janey and Oudit had three daughters: Rita, Doreen, and a younger one.

Aunty Janey was from Belvedere, but had married into the Jagan family. It was a ‘match wedding’, as all marriages were at the time. Bachaoni, Janey, and the girls were very warm, kind, and friendly to

visitors, and to me when I delivered ‘goods’.

Whenever I saw Bachaoni at home, she was always dressed in white; it could be because she was a widow, and in Hindu custom, widows don’t dress in very colourful clothing. She was also a very religious lady; people wore white when worshiping. She had a ‘kutiya’ (small temple for home-worshiping), and was very often seen offering prayers, clad in beautiful, spotless white and ‘orni’. She would also worship regularly at the Port Mourant Shivala Temple. Aunty Janey also patronised the temple. Bachaoni and her daughter-in-law nev-

er missed a major religious service at the Shivala.

When Bachaoni passed away in the early 1970s, it was a huge funeral; the largest, perhaps, on the Corentyne prior to Cheddi’s in 1997.

There was bhajan singing and nightly wake ‘til the completion of the 13-day prayers.

The tents were packed nightly. Oudit performed the rituals, and did the ‘shraad’ or ‘dead wuk’. Mourners came from afar. Many knew Bachaoni because she’d lived in Albion and Port Mourant, and came to pay last respects.

Port Mourant people who’d moved to other locations on the Corentyne between the

1940s and 1960s, came for the funeral rites. Being Jagan’s mother also drew a crowd at the funeral. The old lady was well-known, especially in religious circles, as she patronised every Bhagwat and Ramayana in the area. I don’t think anyone from Ankerville and neighbouring ‘Bound Yard’ and ‘Free Yard’ missed that funeral. Forbes Burnham also came to the funeral, and referred to her as “maa”, an honour of respect. Burnham knew Bachaoni during the early days of the freedom struggle, when he and Cheddi were allies. For the one-year Shraad, when ‘Dhal’ was very scarce during the early

nity through President of the Guyana Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists, Pastor Exton Clarke, who said: “I join with the thousands to condemn this evil, and trust that the architects of such gruesome and inhumane acts will be brought to total justice. As a spiritual leader, I encourage us as a people to reject every manifestation of hatred, prejudice, intolerance, and the blatant disregard for human dignity wherever it raises its ugly head.”

Meanwhile, the Linden Faith Assembly of God Church expressed condolences, called on the Police Force to bring to justice the perpetrators and urged Guyana’s leaders to refrain from speech and actions that are divisive and unhelpful.

A similar call came from Praise Tabernacle Assembly of God Church which said: “We condemn these brutal murders. We must work together as one people, one nation, to ensure this never happens again.”

FROM PAGE

1970s, Burnham redirected dhal from Linden to Uncle Oudit’s home. The dahl was delivered by two of the PM's civil servants, who’d made a special trip from ‘town’. The entire estate of Ankerville and neighbouring villages were invited to the ‘puja’; it was a community affair, with neighbours coming together to make preparation for the final one-year prayer service for the soul of Bachaoni Aji. I do not know if Pitri Puja was performed for Bachaoni or Cheddi’s father. With Janey being a religious woman, she would have insisted that Oudit perform Pitri for them. But after Oudit’s pass-

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ing, there was probably no one around to pay ancestral tribute to Bachaoni and her husband, as all her sons have passed on.

She was an amazing woman, who’d laboured perhaps even harder than her husband. She worked in the ‘backdam’, on the estates, planted a garden, and took care of her children, earning and saving to send Cheddi to Queen’s College and to the USA to become a doctor (dentist) to help the others, as was the custom.

Yours truly, Vishnu Bisram

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

‘Heritage Month’ ‘freebie’ food fair off to a grand start opened this week, and will be held every Wednesday throughout the month, with all foods being free of cost.

Persons who wish to have one or so of the many tasty treats that will be on display can visit the Ministry’s compound on Quamina and Thomas Streets, between 12:00hrs and 13:00hrs to do so.

During the virtual launch of this year’s event, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai promised a packed agenda, which will leave no stone unturned.

She disclosed that the Ministry will be introducing Online marketing, which will allow artists and other creatives to market their craft during the celebrations.

“For the Amerindian art exhibition, we will be putting on a display of the arts and craft and paintings etc. by renowned Amerindian artists; we will also introduce this year Online marketing At Heritage Month’s first ‘drive-thru’ food fair on Wednesday at the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs compound on Quamina and Thomas Streets

FOOD is known to be the most common denominator that brings people together, especially during the celebration of Indigenous Heritage Month. And, under normal circumstances, Guyanese of every ethnicity

would have gathered at the various events slated for the month to grab a bite of various Amerindian delicacies.

Owing to the coronavirus, however, though persons will not be able to enjoy the food they once did in the same

atmosphere, they can still have the treats they usually enjoy during Heritage Month celebrations, by way of a drive-thru special hosted by the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

The event was officially

COVID-19 death toll passes 50 THE dreaded novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has claimed the lives of three persons within the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 51.

This publication was reliably informed that the victims were 32-year-old, Paul Lowe of Providence; a 66-year-old male from Mahaica; and a 65-year-old man, also from Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

While information on the elderly victims was not available, Guyana Chronicle understands that Lowe was a diabetic and developed complications while in institutional isolation for COVID-19.

This publication was reliably informed that doctors did everything possible to save Lowe, but he succumbed on Thursday.

The Ministry of Health expressed condolences to the family of the deceased and promised to make every effort to provide all the necessary support, during this difficult time.

Officials of the ministry have already contacted all relatives and persons to facilitate contact tracing and rapid assistance to everyone who might have been exposed to the victims.

Guyana has so far recorded 1,750 cases of COVID-19 with 51 of those cases being recorded in the past 24 hours.

But 1,088 of those persons have since recovered while 48 persons have lost their lives.

Of the remaining cases, 50 persons are in institutional isolation and 547 are in home isolation, while 14 persons are being treated in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a newly-discovered coronavirus. Most people, who fall sick with COVID-19, will experience mild to moderate symptoms and recover without special treatment.

The WHO had said that 81 per cent of persons who contract COVID-19 will have

mild symptoms while 14 per cent will have severe symptoms and five per cent will need intensive care.

The emergence of asymptomatic cases had prompted authorities to distribute more sample kits across the country, especially to regions where the infection rate is high. Most of the cases have so far been recorded in Regions One (Barima-Waini), Four (Demerara-Mahaica), Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) and Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

“We are sending out more kits, so there will be an increase in sample collection… the testing itself has components… one is sample collection and then there is the processing of samples,” Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony said.

To this end, sample-taking sites have been established across the country, especially in ‘hotspot’ areas.

for craft and other produce for Amerindian villages, so that we will be able to meet some of the demands that we are accustomed to during the month of September,” the Minister noted.

In terms of what she called “the delightful cuisines”, Minister Sukhai had said that the Ministry will also be hosting several cuisine days, where samples of various Amerindian dishes will be made available to the public, and that several educational lectures are also slated for this year’s events, along with a special programme to honour Guyana’s first parliamentarian of Amerindian extract, the late Mr. Steven Campbell.

“We will not forget the first Amerindian parliamentarian as well, Steven Campbell, Minister Sukhai said, adding: “For that event, we will ensure that we provide the Guyanese people with a programme or documentary

that will provide information about this very important and historical individual who led the battles to the rights of our land.”

The minister added that despite the settings being different this year for Amerindian Heritage Month celebrations, no one will be left behind, as the ministry is expecting to provide several Indigenous communities with a platform to display their talents.

“Amerindian villages this year will not be left out; we are planning to ensure that the villages with robust and organised cultural groups will be provided the opportunity to display cultural presentations that will be prerecorded, so that we all can enjoy the shows of the past and the recent years,” Minister Sukhai said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

COVID-19 samples from Region 9 for testing in Brazil

HEALTH MINISTER, Dr. Frank Anthony, on Wednesday, announced that the government is examining sending COVID-19 samples from Region Nine to Brazil for

testing.

“We have been exploring with the Government of Brazil, and in particular the State of Roraima to be able to send our samples from Region Nine, across to Brazil

Dr. Dukhi to assess Reg. 6 health system -- Michael Khan appointed CEO of New Amsterdam Hospital

GUYANA’S lone neurosurgeon, Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi, will lead a high-level team that has been tasked with providing an assessment report of the health sector of Region Six. Dr. Dukhi, along with the high-level team, were expected to be in the region since Monday but was unable to do so because of protests on the West Coast Berbice.

The team is expected to arrive in the region today.

“The President (His Excellency Irfaan Ali) has put together a competent team headed by Dr. Dukhi to have a look at the entire health system within the region, with the view of New Amsterdam Hospital CEO, Michael Khan making recommendations to Cabinet on how we can improve the Berbice regional health system. The President is keen on having this done because of the fact that many people in the region are not working and they depend on the public health system for medical care,” said Regional Chairman, Permaul David Armogan.

Meanwhile, former Chief Executive Officer of the Georgetown Public Dr. Amarnauth Dukhi Hospital Corporation, Michael Khan, will be taking up a similar posting at the New Amsterdam Hospital.

“He brings a wealth of experience and we expect a total transformation of the health systems in the region,” the chairman said.

for them to process them for us” the health minister said on Wednesday.

Dr. Anthony explained that the government hopes to finalise these arrangements in a meeting, on Friday, with the Brazilian authorities.

The move is towards clearing a current stock of backlog as a result of the increased testing across the country, which has been occurring since the PPP/C Government took office.

The Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), Trinidad and Tobago, is al-

ready assisting in this regard.

The minister said that out of the 500 samples that were sent to CARPHA over 400 have returned, and an additional 138 samples were sent last Monday.

Since taking office the government has explored and executed several measures to facilitate testing of the increased number of samples.

The minister highlighted that any health facility can be a site to collect samples for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

He said that the regional

and district hospitals across the country are able to offer this test, as test kits have been made available to the facilities.

In addition to regional and district hospitals, the minister said that they have identified other sites for COVID-19 sample collection (testing) in Region Four.

These sites, the health minister added are at Paradise on the East Coast of Demerara, Herstelling on the East Bank of Demerara and the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation.

Health Minister, Dr. Frank Anthony

‘Trini’ driver remanded to prison –– on ‘causing death’ charge

ONE week after 40-year-old pedalcyclist Navindra Doray was killed in an accident on the Bel Air Public Road, the 25-year-old Trinidadian driver who was at the wheel of the vehicle that did him in was on Thursday remanded to prison for causing his demise.

Akedo Isaiah McPhee of Oronoque Street, Queenstown, Georgetown, who appeared at the Sparendaam Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Melissa Mittelholzer, was not allowed to plead to the charge, but was remanded to prison until September 28.

Particulars of the charge allege that on September 3, 2020, on the Bel Air Public Road, Greater Georgetown, McPhee drove motor pickup GTT 8153 in such a manner as to be considered “dangerous to the public”, thereby causing the death of Navindra Doray.

According to the police, Doray, of Block ‘F’, Sophia, Greater Georgetown, was proceeding west along the southern side of the carriageway, when he was hit by a Tacoma (pickup) being driven by a 25-year-old Trinidadian national going in the same

direction as he, and at a fast rate.

The police had said that as the pickup approached Yokohama Auto Sales, which is on the southern side of the road, the driver proceeded to overtake several vehicles on the inside, which led to his vehicle ‘clipping’ Doray’s bicycle from behind, causing the cyclist to fall and injure himself in the head, as well as about the body.

Doray was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

‘Curlup’, ‘Damo’ get a month’s reprieve –– as PI into Norton St. taxi driver’s murder now set to conclude on Oct. 16, not Sept. 17

THE preliminary inquiry into the murder of Marlon Rodney, also known as ‘George’, who was killed during a dispute in April 2019, is now expected to come to conclude on October 16, 2020, and not on September 17, 2020, as previously reported.

On remand for Rodney’s murder are 26-year-old Osaffo Grundall, called “Curlup”, of Freeman Street, East La Penitence, and

James Fraser, called “Damo”, of Garnett Street, Campbellville.

Particulars of the case allege that between April 25, 2019 and April 30, 2019, the pair murdered Rodney on Norton Street, Lodge.

Come October 16, when they appear before Magistrate Faith McGusty at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, it will be to know whether there is sufficient evidence for them to stand trial at

the High Court, or be freed.

According to reports, Rodney, 35, a known taxi driver of Norton Street, Lodge was in a heated argument with the pair on the day in question, when one of them pulled a gun and fired several rounds at him, hitting him in the leg.

Though Rodney was rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), he would later succumb.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

MYO condemns savage murder of teenage cousins –– appeals against retribution, criminality THE MUSLIM Youth Organisation of Guyana (MYO) has called the murders of teenage cousins Joel and Isaiah Henry a savage act and has appealed to the Guyana Police Force to quickly bring the perpetrators to justice.

In a release to the media, the organisation noted that it is easy to cast accusations to the motive behind the murders, but stated that absolutely nothing justifies them.

“We commend the parents of these two young men for their strength and fortitude and pledge to stand with them to ensure justice is served.”

The Henry cousins were killed and their bodies were mutilated over the weekend in the backdam of Cotton Tree.

Up to Wednesday, seven persons were in police custo-

dy in relation to the killing of Joel,19, and Isaiah,16, both of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice.

Over the last few days, protest actions have intensified throughout the county, with some becoming riotous, which has resulted in brutal and bloody attacks on innocent people, and arson and destruction to private properties and vehicles.

Haresh Singh, 17, purported to be the grandson of one of the men in police custody, was also beaten to death on Wednesday morning and his motorbike was torched.

“We further appeal to the protesters not to indulge in any form of criminality such a robbing or beating others; this only harms the noble cause in which you are involved in,” the release noted.

“We are aware that as Muslims in Guyana, all races

Body of woman ‘fished out’ of Bun Sugar Creek POLICE are investigating the death of a 29-year-old woman whose body was found floating in Bun Sugar Creek, North West District, Region One, on Wednesday.

Dead is Melinda Henry.

Henry and her 59-year-old husband, a mechanic, were in their camp imbibing alcohol on Tuesday night when the man left to speak with his father-in-law.

He then returned to the camp where he observed that his wife was missing. He immediately informed his father-in-law and they began a search for the woman.

About 23:00hrs, they abandoned the search effort after being unable to locate her.

The next day, the husband was proceeding to the Baramita Police Station to make a report, when he was contacted by his father-in-law who informed him that his reputed wife was dead.

The man still made a report, after which a rank from the station accompanied him to the camp where they found the woman’s body floating in the creek.

The body was fished out of the creek and examined by the medic and police who observed bruises on her upper right thigh.

The body was transferred to the Port Kaituma Hospital Mortuary. An investigation has been launched.

stand toe to toe with each other in prayer and not in acrimony and hatred.”

In quoting the Quran, the organisation noted the importance of unity in the eyes of God. “As a Muslim organisation, we adhere to the Quranic dictate from chapter 49 verse 13, ‘O men! Behold, we have created you all out of a male and a female, and have made you into nations and tribes, so that you might come to know one another.

Verily, the noblest of you in the sight of God is the one who is most deeply conscious of Him. Behold, God is all-knowing, all-aware.’”

MYO is also calling on all organisations to collectively condemn the murders.

Porknocker killed by falling rocks TOPPLING rocks allegedly killed a porknocker on Wednesday, while he was working at the edge of a hill at Whitewater Mountain, Konawaruk Backdam.

Dead is Donston John called “Rambo”, 59, of St Francis Mission, Mahaicony River.

Reports indicated that the victim and a 63-year-old porknocker of Kamarang, Region Seven, began working as punters with a three-inch pump and their detectors at the aforementioned location which is owned by a mining company.

Police said the men started to work about 10:00 hours on Wednesday and were joined by two other punters, a 52-year-old porknocker from Samantha Point, Golden Grove, East Bank Demerara and a 49-year-old porknocker of Wakapow, Pomeroon.

Further, while working at the edge of a hill, several big rocks fell on the victim before the others ran for safety.

Subsequently, they returned to the scene and proceeded to dig the pit with spades and retrieved the lifeless body of the victim from a hole around 22:00hrs on Wednesday.

The police were summoned and they escorted the body to Mahdia Regional Hospital where the miner was pronounced dead.

The body is currently at Mahdia Hospital mortuary awaiting autopsy.

Murdered young lady was warned about ex-boyfriend LUNISA PETERS, who was brutally stabbed Wednesday evening at Supenaam Village, Region Two, was warned by her aunt, Meg Matthews, not to open the door when her ex-boyfriend visited. According to her aunt, she (Lunisa) was living in an abusive relationship which had prompted her to move away three months ago.

Lunisa Peters, 24, formerly of Golden Fleece School dam, was allegedly stabbed and beaten by her ex-boyfriend, Nandram Persaud, at Supenaam. The incident occurred around 23:00 hours at Supenaam.

Prompt action by police in G Division led to the arrest, early Thursday morning, of the forty-one-year-old taxi driver. According to Matthews, her niece moved out approximately three months ago and was renting a house at Supenaam.

She said her niece made that decision after suffering from constant abuse by Persaud. She recalled that the suspect had once thrown a

Dead: Lunisa Peters

bottle of pepper sauce in her niece’s face.

The aunt said that, on numerous occasions, her niece told her she wanted to leave Persaud but did not muster enough courage to do so. However, some three months ago, Peters moved to Supenaam, rented a house and asked her to join her.

Matthews consented.

“We didn’t want him (Persaud) to know where we were renting, but one day he passed and saw her on the veranda and after that he kept

11

coming and threatening her,” the tearful aunt said.

The aunt also admitted that Peters had moved on and was communicating with a male friend from overseas.

She said that Wednesday night when the suspect and her niece were having a conversation inside the house, the overseas male friend called and when Peters answered the suspect became jealous and grabbed her by her hair.

“He took her in the bathroom and locked her in there then he took a knife and a rolling pin and began to hit and stab her. When he was done he left and run away. I could not believe my eyes,” the aunt related.

The aunt said she immediately raised an alarm and the police were summoned.

The body of her niece was taken to the Suddie Public Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The body is at the Suddie Hospital Mortuary awaiting post mortem.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Health programmes affected

by COVID-19 to be resuscitated –– as gov’t allocates $51.7B to health sector

By Navendra Seoraj A NUMBER of health programmes, which were affected by either the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) or by “poor” management under the past administration, will be resuscitated by the new People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) government, said Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill while presenting Budget 2020 to the National Assembly on Wednesday.

He lamented that the PPP/C Government inherited a Ministry of Health that was in an “unhealthy state” because the last government neglected some of the most ba-

sic public health programmes.

This, he said, includes the immunisation programme, the HIV/AIDS programme, chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs) programmes and the mental health programme.

“Many hospitals, health centres and health posts across the country are in a state of disrepair, and lack the most basic of equipment.

In addition, there is an acute shortage of drugs and medical supplies across every region, as pharmaceuticals were not procured since 2017.

“These chronic shortages compounded by the mismanagement of the healthcare system, has compromised

the care for thousands of Guyanese,” Minister Edghill lamented.

As an immediate measure of relief, he said Budget 2020 will provide for the purchase of adequate drugs and medical supplies; the purchase of test kits and anti-retrovirals for HIV patients; the repair of the diagnostic imaging capacity of many of the hospitals; and fix many of the infrastructural defects at facilities across the country.

To this end, government has allocated $51.7 billion or 15.7 per cent of the total budget for the health sector, for 2020.

DRUGS AND

MEDICAL SUPPLIES Of this amount, $14.3 billion is budgeted for the procurement of drugs and medical supplies, said Minister Edghill, noting that corrective action to facilitate the procurement of emergency supplies of drugs and medical supplies, to the tune of $3.2 billion, is already underway.

And, a full review of quantification and procurement practices is being undertaken.

Additionally, the state of affairs with regards to NCDs is of concern because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the shortage of essential drugs, many of the employees from the NCDs Unit have been reassigned to COVID-19 response and scheduled training has been deferred.

As of June 30, 2020, only 12 of the 50 planned workplace outreaches for 2020 were undertaken. Additionally, data collection for NCDs reporting has also been challenged due to the emergency public health measures restricting movement.

“We have to resume the planning of progressive health policy measures to contain the onset of NCDs through risk factor reduction,” said Minister Edghill.

The pandemic has also challenged the National AIDS Programme, which only achieved testing for 6,659 persons for January to June, of an annual target of 70,000.

To make matters worse, the country suffered from a “stock out” of the HIV rapid test kits. The National Public Health Reference Laboratory has since restricted HIV testing to critical or emergency cases and priority target groups.

Government has, however, budgeted $143.3 million for HIV-related drugs and medical supplies, and is also seeking Global Fund support to significantly bolster national testing capacities.

LONG-LASTING INSECTICIDAL NETS In the area of malaria con-

trol, government is preparing to undertake another cycle of distribution of long-lasting insecticidal nets with procurement slated to commence this year.

The malaria programme for this year, however, has also faced with the challenge of reduced capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions. Timely data gathering and reporting, has adversely affected the performance of this programme.

The former has suffered from a reduced reporting rate of only 23 per cent for January to mid-June. But government has requested assistance for support in procuring rapid test kits for expanded testing.

“With regard to our immunisation programme, it must be noted that with the onset of the pandemic, it was almost inevitable that we would face challenges, as persons reduced their out-ofthe-house activities.

“As such, we will be working to launch outreach and house-to-house immunisation activities to ensure our vaccination coverage does not significantly decline. We have also budgeted $17 million to commence the construction of a cold storage bond in Region Six to ensure that we are able to maintain a sufficient supply of vaccines in-country,” said Minister Edghill.

Another programme that will focus on outreaches, in light of COVID-19, will be the Family and Primary Health Care Programme. The Programme has prioritised the conduct of mobile family planning and obstetrics outreaches for 2020.

Both are critical, as unplanned pregnancies are expected to increase, given the restrictions to movement due to COVID-19, said Minister Edghill. Expectant mothers are also likely to not make regular clinic visits.

The Guyana Public Hospital Corporation’s (GPHC) maternity block has since been configured to accommodate suspected COVID-19 pregnancies.

“The situation at GPHC requires aggressive attention.

Our only national referral hospital has been suffering from issues of overcrowding and insufficient infection prevention and control standards for quite some time,” said Minister Edghill.

Government has since budgeted $15 million to continue the extension of the accident and emergency and medical outpatient departments.

Additionally, government has budgeted another $20 million to commence the design of a four-storey building to relocate the pharmacy and medical records services, and to create on-call accommodation for medical personnel.

“Overall, we have budgeted $11 billion for GPHC, for 2020, which includes $2.5 billion for drugs and medical supplies. The overall budgeted amount represents $1.4 billion more than was expended for the GPHC in 2019,” said Minister Edghill.

SMART HOSPITAL INITIATIVES “As we fix these immediate needs, the government has already started to look at medium- and long-term projects in the health sector.

These include completing the SMART Hospital initiatives at Diamond, Paramakatoi, Mabaruma, Leonora and Lethem. Funding has been allocated for the redevelopment of the West Demerara, Suddie and Bartica Hospitals,” said the minister.

Preliminary discussions are also being undertaken to operationalise a national electronic patient information system. In addition, government has received several enquiries from local and international organisations to develop speciality care facilities in Guyana and is also considering the establishment of a medical research institute, as they work to modernise the delivery of healthcare in Guyana.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

‘Bar Council’ roundly condemns murder of teen Berbicians --calls for comprehensive, efficient investigation into their murder, followed by a timely prosecution of the ‘perps’ THE Bar Council of the Bar Association of Guyana on Thursday expressed its deepest condolences and sincere sympathies to the families of the young men who tragically lost their lives in recent incidents which occurred in West Coast Berbice.

“We unreservedly stand with the families, friends and loved ones of Josiah Henry, Isaiah Henry, and Haresh Singh, all now deceased, together with other members of society and organisations in calling for a comprehensive, transparent, impartial and efficient investigation, followed by a timely prosecution, so that the perpetrators who caused the horrific loss of these teenage lives can be brought to justice,” the Council said in a statement.

It went on to say that while empathising with the inconsolable loss and sorrow of the relatives of the young men, its members are compelled to, and must, condemn in the strongest terms, the unlawful actions of other members of society over the past three days, which have caused the loss of life, the incitement of hatred and ill will by persons in our society against our neighbours and other members of society, the unprovoked acts of violence, the malicious destruction of property and the disruption of livelihoods.

“Not only do the condemned actions violate many of our Criminal Laws, but they threaten the foundation of our society and the Rule of Law,” the Council said, adding that Guyana is still a developing democracy; a

IRO decries West Berbice killings THE Inter Religious Organisation of Guyana (IRO) has decried the wanton loss of the lives of Isaiah and Joel Henry and said these heinous acts should never form part of the Guyanese culture.

The IRO, in a statement, also condemned the murders of Haresh Singh and Prittipaul Hargobin, contending that they were all vicious and senseless.

“Fellow Guyanese, these killings and the behaviour that nurture and facilitate them

must stop. As a mostly spiritual nation we believe that, even in anger, we are all children of one God.” “The IROG takes this opportunity to redouble its call for justice for the victims and for engaging in behaviour that would lend to social cohesion and the uplifting of the lives of all Guyanese.”

“We continue to lift our nation up in prayers,” the release concluded.

$644.2M for sanitation interventions in 2020 GOVERNMENT will undertake improving infrastructure for sanitary landfill sites, encouraging recycling and composting, and an overall sum of $644.2M has been allocated for sanitation interventions in 2020.

This is according to Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill, as he presented government’s $329.5B budget to the National Assembly, on Wednesday.

“Mr. Speaker, the PPP/C Government will be pursuing

an aggressive Integrated Sustainable Waste Management (ISWM) programme. Our goal is to cater for the health of our citizens, our animals, and our environment,” Minister Edghill said.

The minister also noted that sums will be expended on spreading awareness to the public on the ISWM best practices and principles.

The strategy aims to provide the roadmap by which the country can reduce and better manage its solid waste.

democracy that is built on the Rule of Law, respect for Human Rights, and regard for our collective human dignity.

“We have come too far as a society to permit ourselves to descend into anarchy, and back to bleak days.

We all owe a collective responsibility to each other to live in peace, and not in pieces,” the Bar Council said, and, in closing, urged all Guyanese to act within the confines of the law to maintain peace and harmony throughout this difficult time.

“We urge members of society and leaders to be responsible in their actions, and respect the Rule of Law in addressing the recent events which have taken place in West Coast Berbice,” the Council said.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

CJIA to acquire sanitisation/ screening towers THE Cheddi Jagan International Airport (CJIA) is set to increase its capabilities to combat COVID-19 with the acquisition of sanitisation tunnels, Public Works Minister Bishop Juan

Edghill has said.

“These [tunnels] are specially set. You pass through it [sic], it tests your temperature and it sanitises your entire body,” Minister Edghill explained.

Championing the major

upgrade that is expected within a few weeks, Minister Edghill said the tunnels will eliminate the need for airport staff to individually sanitise passengers, since the process will be automated and seamless.

A typical sanitisation tunnel (DPI photo)

Raymon Cummings is chairman of NCN board

CABINET has approved the appointment of Raymon Cummings, a former general manager of Freedom Radio, as chairman of the National Communications Network (NCN) Board.

Other members of the Board include Shaleeza Shaw, Tracy Shamshadeen, Peter Ramsaroop, Phyllis Jackson, Michael Gordon, Vanelda Harris and Shaz Ali. The chief executive officer will serve as an ex-officio member. Michella Abraham-Ali is currently serving as the entity’s

New NCN Chairman, Raymon Cummings acting CEO. The board will serve for a period of one year with effect from September 3, 2020.

Reflecting on the experience at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC) where Members of Parliament are individually sanitised to enter the dome, the minister remarked that once funding is available, the ACCC will be modelled after the CJIA with its own sanitisation tower.

On the subject of COVID-19 testing at the airport, Minister Edghill stated that talks are underway with an operator from the private sector to have arriving passengers tested.

According to Minister Edghill, “The private sector operator has indicated that they have their equipment already in the country and it is a matter of working out the modalities. It is going to take about three or four hours to get the test done at the airport, brought to the lab, tested and the result I guess would be transmitted back to the airport electronically.”

Minister Edghill noted that there are ongoing

Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill discussions on a guideline that will dictate the maximum number of arriving passengers that can be in a specified waiting area pending the COVID-19 results from the PCR tests.

Acknowledging that the coronavirus will be around indefinitely, the minister held that the government is committed to ensuring that the airport

is prepared to facilitate its operations during the resumption of commercial flights.

The country’s two main international airports continue to allow limited repatriation, cargo, emergency and other flights which are approved by the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). (DPI)

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

PM hears Singh family receiving constant threats –– calls for an immediate end to the violence

Human Services and Social Security Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud (seated right), consoles Basmattie Singh, grandmother of deceased, Haresh Singh, 17.

Also pictured is Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips (first from left); Public Works Minister, Deodat Indar (third from left); Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton (second from right) and Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall (first from right) (DPI photo)

Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips (centre) interacts with a resident of Bath, Mahaica, during his visit there on Wednesday (DPI photo)

FAMILY members of Harish Singh, 17, who was killed in the backdam of Number Three Village, West Coast Berbice on Wednesday, said they have been receiving threats since the killing of the Henry cousins and have been fearful for their lives ever since.

“Every day they come and threaten us, since Monday. This morning I was taking food for my husband

and when they saw me they started calling out to me and I had to turn back with my car… we can’t even sleep, we have to go to people’s house to sleep… we can’t stay here anymore, we have to go away,” Maymattie Balgobin, an in-law and resident of the home said.

She related her story to Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips, who visited the home of Singh on

Wednesday. The prime minister has called for an immediate end to the violent protests that started on last Sunday.

He was accompanied by a team that comprised Local Government and Regional Development Minister, Nigel Dharamlall; junior Public Works Minister, Deodat Indar; Labour Minister, Joseph Hamilton and Human Services and Social Security

Prime Minister, Brigadier Mark Phillips (centre) comforts Basmattie Singh, grandmother of deceased, Haresh Singh, 17 (DPI photo)

Minister, Dr. Vindhya Persaud.

The members of the delegation met with the grandmother of Haresh Singh, Basmattie Singh; his aunt, Roshnie Singh; sister, Amrita Singh; and other relatives.

During the visit, the delegation also stopped to speak with residents of Bath, who complained of being unable to traverse in or out of the village as a result of block-

ages across the West Coast of Berbice and threats being made against their lives.

Chairman of the Bath/ Woodley Park Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC), Krishna Sewlall, said the protest action across the West Coast Berbice has had an adverse effect on the community.

“This is a heavy cash crop community, a lot of our farmers, they sell at Stabroek

Market and Bourda, and their produce has been stuck in the village for three days, and we’re talking about millions of dollars’ worth,” Sewlall said.

Also present during the outreach were the Commissioner of Police, Nigel Hoppie; Chief-of-Staff of the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier, Godfrey Bess; and Director of Prisons, Gladwin Samuels.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Over 1,000 to attend region’s first virtual O&G summit

Examples of what the virtual set up will look like

By Lisa Hamilton IN four days, Guyana will host the first-ever Caribbean Virtual Oil and Gas Summit (CARIVS) 2020 which will be attended by over 1,000 oil and gas professionals from over 500 regional and global companies.

Ahead of the event, the Guyana Chronicle reached out to Valiant Business Media (Guyana) co-hosts along with VALIANT Business

Media (UK) for the event set for September 15-17, 2020.

CARIVS will allow exhibitors and delegates to meet up virtually to discuss industry developments, find new clients and partners and secure investment. It takes into consideration the collapse of oil prices and disruptions to demand due to COVID-19 and will see presentations from global experts on the future of the industry.

Director of Valiant Busi-

ness Media, Shariq AbdulHai, told the newspaper that at least 10 international investment firms including ERES Capital, The Atlantic Ventures, Smart-One-investments, and Elgin Investments are expected to attend the event. Meanwhile, over 20 companies including oil and gas leaders such as ExxonMobil, Schlumberger, Saipem and SBM offshore will be exhibiting at CARIVS. Small businesses and entrepreneurs, particularly from Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago will form a large part of the overall participation, AbdulHai assured.

Asked how preparations were going, he said: “So far so good. The process has been very smooth. We are in touch with our exhibitors constantly and have a

dedicated technical team that works round the clock alongside our marketing and sales teams to ensure booths are created as per clients’ specifications.”

The virtual reality events are tipped to become the gold-standard of how business will be done in the future. Exhibitors will be able to manage and track each part of their summit including measuring the average time spent by delegates and number of people who visited the booth; online meetings including the total number of business cards exchanged and number of one-on-one chats and the number of attendees grouped by industry, interest type, country and job position.

“All stakeholders will be able to access real-time networking features such as one-to-one live chats and video calls. The virtual platform also has a provision for private pre-arranged meetings for a group of up to six people in the virtual networking lounges and the breakout rooms,” the Director said.

While experts too many to list will be present, those

attending can also expect the keynote address from Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Motley and Honourable Minister of Natural Resources, Vickram Bharrat on behalf of President of Guyana, Dr. Irfaan Ali. Dignitaries from several other Caribbean governments are also expected to attend the event.

CARIVS will primarily be focused on five countries: Guyana, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados and The Bahamas. However, stakeholders from the wider Caribbean region are also expected to join the forum.

Since Guyana’s many successes in the oil and gas arena, many have envisioned developmental potential for the entire region like never before.

AbdulHai said: “We are proud to have become the pioneers of the first virtual oil and gas expo and conference. CARIVS 2020 will be the largest gathering of the oil and gas stakeholders in Caribbean so far this year and with CARIVS we have definitely created a benchmark for the global energy events industry.”

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Elaz Ali Khan is wanted by police

ELAZ ALI KHAN, 30, is wanted by the police for questioning, in relation to robbery committed on Rajmattie Panday, on August 8, 2020, at La Jalousie, West Coast Demerara.

Police said anyone with information that may lead to the arrest of Elaz Ali Khan is asked to contact the police on telephone

50,000 jobs to be created in next five years –– Min. Edghill informs House during budget presentation

Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill

FROM 2017 to 2019, the unemployment rate in Guyana increased from 12.2 percent to 13.4 percent and the new administration aims to reverse this over the next five years through the creation of 50,000 jobs.

This was according to Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill, as he presented government’s $329.5B budget to the National Assembly, on Wednesday.

The minister noted that Guyana’s labour force is in constant flux, but more recently, statistics from the quarterly Labour Force Survey, published by the Bureau of Statistics, reveal a declining labour force participation rate.

Falling from 54.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2017, to 49 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2019, the minister said the creation of a stand-alone Ministry of Labour will place priority focus on design and compliance with labour standards, rules and regulations across all sectors.

He said that the application of rules in the context of managing within a pandemic will also be maintained, in consultation with unions, even as government works to ensure expanded employment opportunities and skills-development of the labour force.

Minister Edghill said sustainable job creation that supports the socio-economic objectives within in a low carbon development trajectory will shape government’s delivery through strong and effective labour administration's services.

The aggressive promotion of decent work, he said, was to ensure that an improved quality of life for workers in both the public and the private sectors was non-negotiable, even with the emergence of a new sector.

“In this new dynamic environment, while welcoming international companies, we will not compromise on compliance with our local laws, occupational health and safety regulations and the basic principles of equal pay for equal work,” the minister said.

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numbers 227-2603, 226-6978, 225-8196, 268-2328, 268-2298/2222, 226-7065, 911 or the nearest police station.

All information will be treated with the strictest confidence.

Khan’s last known address is 2622, Tuschen Housing Scheme, East Bank Essequibo

Wanted: Elaz Ali Khan

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Diversified economy, more jobs, increased income for farmers expected – as gov’t pumps $18.4 billion into agriculture

Kairuni on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, with the capacity to produce 25,000 additional seedlings per year. In addition to NAREI and Hope Estate providing planting materials, farmers will receive training on how to establish their own nurseries.

Minister Edghill assured that government will actively promote crop diversification and create incentives for farmers to invest in non-traditional crops, such as corns and soybeans.

“We will also promote value-added activities as well as the export of produce, to ensure our agriculture sector continues to expand and farmers are able realise higher incomes.

To this end, this budget will introduce tax concessions on investment in agro-processing facilities, cold storage and packaging,” said the minister, adding that the new administration will work to guarantee Guyana’s food security, as well as that of the country’s CARICOM brothers and sisters.

By Navendra Seoraj GOVERNMENT, over the next five years, will be looking to implement measures in the agriculture sector, geared at diversifying the economy, creating more jobs and increasing the income of farmers.

Agriculture accounts for more than 20 per cent of Guyana’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill, who presented Budget 2020 to the National Assembly, said there is a vast ‘unrealised’ potential for this sector.

“However, due to the policies of the previous administration, this could not have been realised.

Over the next five years, starting from Budget 2020, we will implement measures to promote a diversified economy, create more jobs and increase the income of farmers at the same time, through strategic investments, and ease the burden associated with the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Minister Edghill, adding that for these interventions, the agriculture sector was allocated $18.4 billion in 2020.

COVID-19 has affected the demand for and supply of agricultural produce, which, in turn, has significantly reduced the income of farmers.

To provide relief to “struggling farmers”, government has reversed land lease fees, land taxes and drainage and irrigation fees to 2014 rates.

Government has also removed Value Added Tax (VAT) on fertilisers, agro-chemicals and pesticides.

Further, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) in a quest to reduce the cost of inputs and at the same time promote climate-smart agriculture, will expend $15.8 million for the acquisition of shade house materials and sprinkler hoses. NAREI will sell the materials to farmers at cost price, saving farmers over 33 per cent ($5 million).

According to the minister, earnings from this investment will be utilised as a revolving fund for future purchases of required materials for farmers.

“We will continue to promote agricultural diversification with a focus on coconut, and horticulture by engaging NAREI and Hope Coconut Estate. The co-

Brighter days are ahead for farmers, said Minister of Public Infrastructure, Juan Edghill, who presented Budget 2020 to the National Assembly on Wednesday conut industry will be given prominence by promoting expansion in acreages, inter-cropping, utilisation of coconut by-products, and increasing production and productivity,” said Edghill.

In 2020, to increase access and reduce the cost of coconut planting material, government will establish two coconut nurseries, at Charity on the Essequibo Coast and

DRAINAGE AND IRRIGATION A core component in providing an enabling environment for agricultural development is to provide better drainage and irrigation infrastructure.

“Due to the fact that the majority of our population and agriculture activity is concentrated on the low coastal plain, and the increasing incidence of overtopping due to sea-level rise and excess rainfall, heavy expenditure is being made to address the deficiencies in our D&I systems and to manage water in a structured manner,” said Minister Edghill, noting that it is to this end that government budgeted over $9 billion drainage and irrigation infrastructure.

Over 1,200 acres of farmland in West Watooka, Linden will benefit from drainage and irrigation work, in 2020.

Further, the country’s drainage capacity will be bolstered this year with the installation of 12 high-capacity drainage pumps for Regions Two, Three, Four, Five and Six. Additionally, government has committed to commencing plans for the design of pump stations at Cottage, Adventure, and Andrew, as well as the design of farm-to-market roads, with the intention of upgrading the existing mud dam access to farm-to-market access roads.

Two charged with murder of Jonas KRIS Nandalall, 27, of Chesney Village, and Sampson Gangaprashad, 24, of Tain, East Berbice, Corentyne, were jointly charged with the murder of Orlando Michael Jonas, who was killed on September 5 on the Chesney Public Road.

The duo appeared at the New Amsterdam Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where the charge of murder was read to them virtually

by Magistrate Renita Singh.

They were not required to plead to the charge and were represented by Attor-

Sampson Gangaprashad ney Donovan Rangaiah in association with Sanjeev

Datadin and Motie Singh.

According to information received, at approximately 19:35 hours on Saturday, September 5, Jonas of Lot 500, Number One Road, East Berbice, Corentyne and his co-worker Mahendra Ramnarine, 19, both construction workers, were making their way home on bicycles when they turned around and approached two men who were on the opposite side of the road.

An argument started beKris Nandalall tween them and the men and a scuffle ensued during the abdomen and face and a which Jonas was stabbed in bicycle was thrown on him.

Ramnarine was slashed to the face. He moments later rode off and Jonas followed but collapsed a short distance away. He was later picked up by the Police and taken to the Port Mourant Hospital where he succumbed.

The two suspects initially told investigators that Jonas and Ramnarine attempted to rob them; however, in an initial interview with Ramnarine, he denied the allegations.

During the court hearing, the suspects told Magistrate Singh that they were beaten

by the police. Family members of the two accused who were present told reporters that they are convinced that the men are innocent of the crime and were beaten and made to sign the statements admitting guilt to the crime.

Meanwhile, the family of Jonas, on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, staged a protest at the Number One Public Road, calling for justice.

The two accused will return to court on September 29 and the matter was transferred to the Albion Magistrate’s Court.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

‘Is na joke we mekkin’ waiting to kick off

L

OCAL comedian Chris Gopaul, who has been producing the popular ‘Braddar Show’, already has 13 episodes of a new social media show called “Is na joke we mekkin!” but the problem is that he and his team are unable to quite move forward due to lack of sponsorship.

Shut in due to the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), and also unemployed, Chris thought that he can perhaps use his time to promote and develop his shows, but he hit a snag when he realised that he doesn’t have the kind of support needed to pull off these shows.

Should the team manage to get it off the ground, though, Chris told the Buzz that it will feature the “best of the best” locally with persons like Sean Thompson, Michael ‘Credit’ Ignatius, Troy Parboo, Sean Budnah, and Aleena Hoalim, among others.

“We are faced with the dilemma of sponsorship because the major companies are backpedalling basically. They’re saying they cannot afford to do sponsorship, so it leaves us at a real disadvantage,” Chris said.

So far, 13 episodes for the new season have been written and are waiting to be shot.

“COVID hit us really hard. Braddar was in Trinidad only last February and were well received. We got to meet Leary Joseph and other heavy hitters in Trinidad. We were scheduled to do shows in Barbados, Jamaica and the US but because of COVID, we’ve all

Chris Gopaul

The original ‘Braddar’ poster featuring Gopaul and Thompson.

Sean Thompson been inside and unable to do anything.

“Nobody is looking in our direction; not just the comedians, but I am quite certain for the poets, musicians, everybody across the board. Whatever we do, we can do for social media, but in order to get paid, we need some sort of sponsorships,” Chris added.

He also strongly believes that larger companies should do more to help their customers bear their burdens.

“I don’t know how the regular person makes it, especially those whose salaries were cut in half. Why can’t they cut the bills in half to help customers? Even the bank loans.

A popular bank decided to grant you a loan to help you pay a loan. How does that work?

So they’re not really helping you; they’re actually pressuring you.”

Meanwhile, Chris said Braddar intends to be family-friendly, keeping the jokes light.

“This place is really tense right now so it needs some comedy right now. We want to promote Guyana on the international stage.”

Braddar is a comedy show that aired on television that seeks to bring awareness to so-

Michael Ignatius cial issues through comedy. It is “something purely Guyanese” that Chris said addresses serious social issues like abuse, suicide and alcoholism.

Talking about the show’s background, in a previous interview, Chris said Sean Thompson was the one who approached him and suggested that they start up the show.

Gopaul had been planning something similar with Ignatius but never got it started due to busy schedules. Thompson, too, had a similar experience and never got his plans off the ground with Mark ‘Chiney Man’ Kazim.

Thompson is a video editor/videographer who has been working with popular production companies and who has also co-hosted “The Spot Light”, a local talent show. He is also a full-time actor who was a part of plays like Ronald Hollingsworth’s “Watch de Ride”, Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and other plays.

Gopaul, on the other hand, loves the stage and has said that he would do anything to promote local talent in Guyana and on the international scene.

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Adapting to the new norm in a stylish way

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

-Teen making hand painted face masks during COVID-19 pandemic DUE to the coronavirus persons are now required to wear a face masks at all times when going out into public, while many of the

older folks may settle for a plain mask, young people may want to add a little personality to their protective gear.

Sixteen-year-old, Grace Ram, has been using her creative talents to add a little flavour to face masks for persons who want to add their

own personal touch to their protective gear.

The young woman who recently completed the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations noted that having being home for the time, she decided to put her

Grace Ram her family members one of whom is a seamstress and urged her to pursue the small business venture.

“So I went on Google, downloaded a few designs that I know I can do and posted it and persons started to order right away. I was so excited. So the next day I went to town to get my materials and that was how it all started,” she said.

The young woman noted that she borrowed some money from her parents who are very supportive of her initiative to jumpstart her business.

Ram noted that the mask are made from 100 percent cotton material and are comfortable to wear and breathable, additionally, she noted that because she uses fabric paints for her designs, the print or graphic designs she draws tends to last and stay A few of the designs Ram has made for her longer on the fabric.

The young woman noted customers that she has received a number of rave reviews from her small customer base which is a big motivation to keep creating unique designs, “The response has been great so far people like that its comfortable and breathable and the design is neatly done.”

Ram, who is hoping to enroll at the University of Guyana (UG), is eager to one day take her now small business to higher heights and one day own her own country-wide franchise.

However, the young lady noted that she is open to having a career in the arts which will make room for her to express her creative nature and share it with the rest of the world.

“But before that I would take any job that would teach me to become the person that I want to be, for example accountant, even creative A few of Ram’s customers sporting their customised jobs like event planner or interior designer, secretary, masks etc…I have many talents and creative abilities to good use find something to do other I want to put them to use all by making and customizing than watch television all day. together,” she said.

Persons who are interfacemasks through painting.

Also, I enjoy doing art so I “After my exams, I was look at designing masks as ested in having a customat home and I would be a fun leisure activity,” Ram ized face mask can contact Grace Ram on Instagram bored majority of the time. I told the Buzz. had thought of starting to deT h e n o t e d t h a t s h e @ _masks.xoxo or @_ sign masks so that way, I can pitched the idea to a few of gwacey.xoxo.

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Using the makeup artistry to speak out about injustices

Natalia Lekha’s makeup look in protest of the recent brutal West Coast Berbice killings

U

SING the creative arts to express oneself or even speak on social issues has become the new norm. Many artists have been using their talents beyond the limits of their paintbrushes and canvases.

For one makeup artist, Natalia Lekha, she has been using her platform to protest of the recent murders of three Guyanese teens in the West Coast Berbice region.

The young woman noted that the deaths of the young men which are believed to be hate crimes have sparked a much needed conversation to be held among young people in Guyana, however not being very good with words, Lekha joined the conversation and protest with her own language which is makeup.

“When I speak about certain situations, I’m always misunderstood and for some reason this story the Henry. I didn’t want to say anything because I know it would have gone off different and a lot of people would have misunderstood me, so I decided to express myself through art,” she said.

She noted that she created a makeup look which spoke clearly calling for justice for the young men and for racism to be a thing of the past in Guyana.

“Right now we are currently divided by race…if it starts with the youths we understand the situation, now if we come together…if all the [ethnicities] join together to get justice for these young men, it will be great. It can’t just be one particular people protesting it has to be all of us, so that we can have justice for these young men,” she said.

Additionally, the young woman noted that with technology every Guyanese especially young Guyanese should take advantage of the internet and social media to speak out against injustices and motivate others to do the same.

“When you use your platform for the greater good, you are going to motivate other youths who want to have a platform.

You are going to motivate other youths to push themselves, you are also going to better yourself, like for me I continued to better myself in the makeup field and I’m going g to perfect what I do,” she explained.

In explaining the details of her makeup look Lekha noted that she tried to create a replica of the wounds and bruises that were inflicted on the young men while writing the word justice across her lips which she says represents her call for justice to be served for the boys who were not able to speak for themselves.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

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Premier League teams to have ‘No Room For Racism’ badge on shirts (REUTERS) - The Premier League said on Thursday that players and match officials will wear a “No Room For Racism” badge on their shirts for the entirety of the 2020-21 season, replacing the “Black Lives Matter” logo that previously appeared on kits.

The “Black Lives Matter” logo appeared on kits for all the games following the COVID-19 break last season and the league said it will support players who ‘take a knee’ at matches to highlight racial injustice.

“We, our clubs, players and match officials have a long-standing commitment to tackling discrimination,” Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said in a statement here “Players... have a strong voice on this matter, which we saw last season. We have continued to talk and listen to players on this issue and will support them as well as continuing to emphasise the Premier League’s position against racism.

“Discrimination in any form, anywhere is wholly unacceptable and ‘No Room For Racism’ makes our zero-tolerance stance clear.

We’ll not stand still on this important issue and we’ll continue to work with our clubs, players and partners to address all prejudiced behaviour.”

The new Premier League season will begin on Saturday.

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GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Raptors force Game 7, beat TKR trounce Zouks to claim Celtics in 2-OT thriller

OG ANUNOBY nailed a go-ahead 3-pointer with 57.5 seconds left in double overtime as Toronto Raptors held on to beat Boston Celtics 125122 last night to force Game 7 in their Eastern Conference semifinal series near Orlando.

Norman Powell completed a threepoint play for a four-point lead with 38.8 ticks remaining and added two more from the line in the final five seconds as Toronto held off a late Boston push. Six Raptors scored in double figures, led by Kyle Lowry with 33 points.

Powell had 23 and Fred VanVleet 21.

Jaylen Brown had 31 points 16 rebounds to lead Celtics, and Marcus Smart had 23 points 11 rebounds 10 assists in his second career triple-double.

Jayson Tatum (29 points 14 rebounds nine assists) fell an assist short of his

first triple-double. Kemba Walker scored just five points on 2-of-11 shooting.

Game 7 will take place tonight.

The winners will advance to face Miami Heat in the conference finals.

Tatum hit a 3-pointer to get Boston within one with 6.2 seconds left in the second overtime. After Powell’s two free throws, Smart missed a chance at a game-tying triple with 1.5 seconds to go.

Raptors led 106-104 in the first overtime before Lowry fouled Brown with 18.9 seconds remaining. Brown made both free throws and Powell missed a 3-pointer with a second left as the game continued.

Down by seven early in the fourth quarter, Celtics rode a 12-4 spurt to an 89-88 lead. Lowry answered with a pair

from deep, and Raptors led 94-89 with 6:20 remaining.

A Daniel Theis bucket and subsequent dunk tied the game at 98 with 2 minutes left. The score held until overtime, with Walker and Pascal Siakam missing chances at game-winners in the final 4 seconds of regulation.

VanVleet nailed three free throws and a pair of 3-pointers unanswered as Raptors surged ahead 67-62 with 6:58 left in the third quarter. Toronto hadn’t led since 11:01 of the first prior to the stretch. Raptors ended the third up 81-77.

The Celtics rode a 7-0 run early in the second quarter to the game’s first double-digit lead, 36-25. Boston entered the half up 52-48. (Field Level Media)

Tremendous boost for sports in Region Two IT is certainly great news following the passing of the Budget of Government’s commitment towards the development of sports particularly in the rural regions.

This is a massive turnaround especially for the people of Region 2 and, as a sports advocate and coach, I am extremely delighted that a modern multi-purpose facility will be built in Essequibo.

It is far too long that the Region has suffered from the lack of requisite facilities and as a result our athletes were deprived from unleashing their true potential. There was always the collective cry for the dawn of real opportunities, though it appeared to have been done in the wilderness; therefore, our budding sportsmen must now feel that the time has come for their victory.

I envisage that this investment will bear enormous benefits not only for our athletes but also in the promotion of sports and cultural tourism. In this regard, I am suggesting that the Anna Regina Community Centre ground be transformed into such a facility given its size and location; as well as being situated in the Township.

The Essequibo Cricket Board’s Hostel is stationed just next to the ground and therefore will appreciably complement the cricketers’ use of the facility once this is conceptualised.

Sports must now take a quantum leap in Region 2 with the right administrators and technical staff pursuing a common vision. At present, sports is dormant due to underdeveloped

record ...

From back page

in with 22.

With the scoring rate having slowed, Fletcher hit out in frustration and was taken at long off in the 12th over to give Pollard (4-22) his first wicket and the wily slow medium bowler also broke a promising 26-run, fourth-wicket stand between Chase and Najibullah when he got Chase to sky a simple catch to long-on at the end of the 14th over.

Najibullah then carried the fight for Zouks as no one else reached double figures. He struck three fours and a six in an 18-ball knock but eventually holed out on the ropes at square leg off Pollard in the penultimate over to be one of the last five wickets to tumble for just 17 runs off 15 deliveries.

A contest then seemed in the making when Tion Webster (5) skied off-spinner Chase to mid-wicket in the third over and New Zealander Tim Seifert (4) nicked seamer Scott Kuggeleijn behind in the next.

But that was the Zouks’ last sighting of success.

Simmons punched three fours in the sixth over from seamer Kesrick Williams that leaked 14 runs before reaching his half-century off 31 balls in the 12th over by taking 16 runs from another Williams over.

Bravo’s first scoring shot was a six over long-on off Chase in the fifth over but was then content to support Simmons, and his next nine runs required 20 deliveries.

However, he came to life with a couple of sixes off leg-spinner Javelle Glen’s first over which cost 15 runs and then launched left-arm spinner Zahir Khan for two of three sixes in the 17th over which gushed 23 runs, to reach his half-century off 45 balls.

By then TKR needed only 18 runs from the last three overs and Simmons single-handedly took 16 from the 18th from Kuggeleijn, to put one hand on the title.

SCOREBOARD grounds, defunct clubs, committees, associations and even boards, lack of leadership, few qualified coaches within the various disciplines and sports officers that were previously employed by the ministry that sought to promote collaboration between the Region and the clubs.

The Region also suffered badly from being duly represented at the national level; hence there would have been the thought of being discriminated. Given that there was undisputable evidence of stellar performances by our athletes, yet they had to settle for disappointment.

I am convinced as a former cricketer that Dinesh Joseph was one of the finest opening batsmen in the country during his time, yet he was never considered even after being among an elite few to have scored an inter-county century.

And what about Clain Williams who was denied selection after being among the leading run-scorers at the Under-19 cricket trials yet he was not

even considered for the reserve team that participated in the regional tournament at that time.

Williams, now a United States of America citizen went on to represent that country at the senior level. These are only some of the inequities that have stifled our growth and development.

The appointment of the Hon. Charles Ramson Jr as Minister of Sport, given his passion, devotion, youth and practical experience, I believe will enhance the Region’s drive for inclusivity, equitable distribution of resources, including our athletes being exposed internationally and given an opportunity to secure scholarships.

I therefore appeal to the people of Region 2 to embrace the exciting changes and support the policy mechanisms which seek to positively impact and change the lives of our sportsmen as well as the image and prosperity of the Region.

Elroy Stephney

ZOUKS innings R. Cornwall b Ali Khan 8 M. Deyal c DJ Bravo b Fawad Ahmed 29 A. Fletcher c DM Bravo b Pollard 39 R. Chase c Webster b Pollard 22 Najibullah Zadran c Sikandar Raza b Pollard 24 Mohammad Nabi c DM Bravo b Fawad Ahmed 2 D. Sammy lbw b Hosein 8 J. Glen c Simmons b Pollard 9 S. Kuggeleijn not out 2 K. Williams run-out 3 Zahir Khan b Ali Khan 0 Extras: (lb-3, w-5) 8 Total: (all out, 19.1 overs) 154 Fall of wickets: 1-10, 2-77, 3-89, 4-115, 5-117, 6-137, 7-148, 8-149, 9-154.

Bowling: Hosein 4-0-26-1, Ali Khan 3.1-0-25-2, Sikandar Raza 2-0-38-0, Pierre 3-0-20-0, Pollard 4-0-30-4, Fawad Ahmed 3-0-22-2.

TKR innings L. Simmons not out 84 T. Webster c Williams b Chase 5 T. Seifert c wkp. Fletcher b Kuggeleijn 4 DM Bravo not out 58 Extras: (b-1, lb-2, w-3) 6 Total: (2 wkts, 18.1 overs) 157 Fall of wickets: 1-13, 2-19.

Bowling: Kuggeleijn 4-0-30-1, Mohammad Nabi 3-0-16-0, Chase 4-0-13-1, Williams 3.1-0-43-0, Zahir Khan 2-0-28-0, Sammy 1-0-9-0, Glen 1-0-15-0.

Man-of-the-Match: Lendl Simmons Man-of-the-Series: Kieron Pollard

25

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Basil Butcher 87th birthday celebrations

RHTYSC donates to young cricketers and Corriverton Links Football Club LEGENDARY West Indies Test cricketer Basil Butcher AA, who died last year December in the United States of America was, on Wednesday, 3rd of September, remembered by the ten cricket teams of the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC).

Butcher would have celebrated his 87th birth anniversary on Wednesday if he was alive and the teams handed over a quantity of cricket gear, educational materials and football items to members of RHTYSC and theCorriverton Links Football Club in his memory.

Butcher, was an honorary member of the RHTYSC and had worked along with the club to assist dozens of youths with cricket gear during his lifetime.

Butcher, who represented the West Indies in 44 Tests, scoring 3 104 runs at an average of 43.11 was remembered by Club Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster

Some RHTYSC members pose after the presentation of gear in memory of Basil Butcher as a dedicated and hum- educational package that Butcher Trust Fund. Under ble man despite walking included a school bag, ex- the fund, over four million among Kings and Queens. ercise books, pens, pencils, dollars’ worth of items Butcher, was quite pas- rulers, calculators among including cricket gear, edsionate about giving youths other items. Asst Secre- ucational materials, cleanthe opportunity to fulfil tary/CEO Simon Naidu ing detergents, footwear, their potentials because he encouraged the club mem- clocks, bicycles, clothing, felt that poverty should not bers to cherish the donated household utensils, staaffect God given talent. items and to follow in the tionery, electric, fans and The club handed over footsteps of the legendary food hampers have been cricket gear and educa- Butcher, who rose from distributed. tional materials to several humble background to beNaidu, also disclosed of its members as part come one of the great- that the club very shortof the celebrations. The est-ever Test batsmen pro- ly would be handing cricket gear included bat- duced by the County and over cricket gear for ten ting pads, batting gloves, Guyana. youths in Linden, while helmets, wicket-keeping Naidu, stated that the two students would be pads and gloves.

Club had partnered with getting bicycles to assist Several members car- Berbice Cricket Board them in attending school ried home a complete (BCB) to host the Basil regularly.

Sunweb’s Marc Hirschi wins his first Tour stage SWITZERLAND’S Marc Hirschi produced a superb solo break to record his first professional win on stage 12 of the Tour de France.

Hirschi, 22, went clear with 28km remaining of the 218km ride from Chauvigny to Sarran.

The Sunweb rider had led for more than 80km of Sunday’s ninth stage before finishing third.

Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic retained his overall lead on a quiet day in the general classification race.

He finished safely in the main bunch two minutes and 30 seconds behind Hirschi, alongside the defending champion Egan Bernal, to maintain his 21-second advantage over the Colombian.

Hirschi, who is participating in his first Grand Tour, also finished on the podium on stage two, when he was second.

But his acceleration away from Movistar’s Marc Soler, on the final

I’ve been really close. I never thought I could win today,” Hirschi said.

“I went full gas in the last few hundred metres. I can’t describe my feelings. I’m lost for words. I had in my mind the picture of the last two times when I lost. To get my first professional victory at the Tour de France could not be any better.

“In the Pyrenees, I got the confidence for trying to win today otherwise I would have never attacked solo in that climb.

“What I did last week gave me this extra power.”

Meanwhile, Sam Bennett retained the green jersey and has a 66-point lead over seven-time winMarc Hirschi joined Sunweb in ner Peter Sagan as the race heads 2019 back into the mountains. climb of the day up the Suc au May, Today’s 13th stage sees the paved the way for his maiden win riders face seven categorised at the Tour. climbs on the 191.5km route from “It’s unbelievable. Two times, Chatel-Guyon to Puy Mary.

Back to the 70s as Liverpool face Leeds in PL opener

By Simon Evans MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) - Leeds United have waited 16 long years to return to the Premier League and Marcelo Bielsa’s side will get a very clear reminder of what they are now up against when they face champions Liverpool at Anfield in tomorrow’s season opener.

Juergen Klopp’s side dominated the Premier League last season, winning their first domestic league title for 30 years by a massive 18-point margin from Manchester City.

Leeds won the second-tier Championship by 10 points to secure their long-awaited promotion and are entering the top flight on a high, though it is a pity that their fans will still not be able to support their team in person.

While the Yorkshire club have work to do to reestablish themselves in the Premier League, the fixture brings back memories of great clashes between the clubs in the early 1970s when they were among the top teams in the country.

That period included a memorable Charity Shield game in 1974 when Kevin Keegan and Billy Bremner were sent off after punches were thrown at Wembley.

Pressing rather than punching is likely to be the order of the day tomorrow and it will be fascinating to see Jurgen Klopp ’s side Leeds, with their new dominated the Premier Spanish striker RodriLeague last season. go, play their high-energy approach against Klopp’s similarly relentlessly attack.

Analysis by data company Gracenote reveals that this season’s competition will contain the highest number of former league champions for 51 years.

Fifteen clubs in this season’s Premier League have been English top-flight champions in their history. This is the most former winners to compete in an English top-flight season since the same number did so in the 1969-70 campaign.

Two of those former champions, Tottenham Hotspur and Everton, meet on Sunday in North London in a match which pits Jose Mourinho against Carlo Ancelotti.

Spurs are searching for the consistency they so lacked last season while Everton have strengthened impressively in the transfer market with James Rodriguez, Brazilian Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure transforming their midfield.

Chelsea, fourth last season, have been the busiest of all in the transfer market and several of their new faces are set to make their debuts in Monday night’s game at Brighton.

Manchester City and Manchester United, second and third last term, both have bye weeks after being involved in European competition in August.

26

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

Tokyo Olympics will go ahead ‘with or without COVID-19’ - IOC’s Coates SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) - Tokyo’s postponed Olympics will go ahead next year regardless of the novel coronavirus pandemic, International Olympic Committee (IOC) vice-president John Coates told AFP Tuesday, vowing they will be the “Games that conquered COVID-19”.

The Olympics have never been cancelled outside of the world wars and Coates, speaking in a phone interview, was adamant that the Tokyo Games will start on their revised date.

“It will take place with or without COVID. The Games will start on July 23 next year,” said Coates, who heads the IOC’s Coordination Commission for the Tokyo Games.

“The Games were going to be, their theme, the Reconstruction Games after the devastation of the tsunami,”

he said, referring to a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan in 2011.

Now very much these will be the Games that conquered COVID the light at the end of the tunnel.”

In a landmark decision, the 2020 Olympics were postponed because of the global march of the pandemic and they are now set to open on July 23, 2021.

But Japan’s borders are still largely closed to foreign visitors and a vaccine is months or even years away, feeding speculation about whether the Games are feasible at all.

Japanese officials have made clear they would not delay them a second time beyond 2021.

There are signs that public enthusiasm in Japan is waning, after a recent poll found just one in four

IOC vice-president John Coates Japanese want them to go ahead next year, with most backing either another postponement or a cancellation.

MONUMENTAL TASK Coates said the Japanese Government “haven’t

dropped the baton at all” following the postponement, despite the “monumental task” of putting the event back a year.

“Before COVID, (IOC president) Thomas Bach said this is the best-prepared Games we’ve ever seen, the venues were almost all finished, they are now finished, the village is amazing, all the transport arrangements, everything is fine,” he said.

“Now it’s been postponed by one year, that’s presented a monumental task in terms of re-securing all the venues ... something like 43 hotels we had to get out of those contracts and renegotiate for a year later.

“Sponsorships had to be extended a year, broadcast rights.”

With much of that work underway, or accomplished, a task force has been set up to look at the

different scenarios in 2021 - from how border controls will affect the movement of athletes, to whether fans can pack venues and how to keep stadiums safe.

The group, comprising Japanese and IOC officials, met for the first time last week.

“Their job now is to look at all the different countermeasures that will be required for the Games to take place,” said Coates, the longtime president of the Australian Olympic Committee.

“Some countries will have it (COVID-19) under control, some won’t. We’ll have athletes, therefore, coming from places where it’s under control and some where it is not.

“There are 206 teams ... so there’s a massive task being undertaken on the Japanese side.”

Tokyo 2020 chief Toshi-

ro Muto on Friday repeated that organisers hoped to avoid a Games without spectators - an option that has been mooted given Japan is still limiting audiences at sports events.

While the country is cautiously reopening its economy, with professional baseball, football and sumo resuming in front of limited numbers of fans, the nation continues to see a steady stream of new coronavirus cases.

Japan has already ploughed billions of dollars into the Olympics, with the delay only adding to the cost.

Coates said IOC was doing its part, putting in “something like an extra US$800 million to support the international federations, whose income isn’t happening this year, and national Olympic committees”.

Morgan & Roy fit for first Missing ‘Big Three’ means new kind ODI against Australia of pressure for last four at U.S. Open

ENGLAND captain Eoin Morgan and opener Jason Roy are available for the first one-day international against Australia at Emirates Old Trafford.

Morgan missed the final T20 against Australia on Tuesday with a finger injury, while Roy has missed the past six matches because of a side strain.

The first game in the threematch series is on today at 13:00 BST. “Australia are normally one of the best sides in the world and this time is no different,” Morgan told BBC Sport.

“It has always been a tough contest over the years, as it should be.”

England one-day captain Eoin Morgan Several of England’s World Cup winners have returned to the squad.

Batsmen Joe Root and Chris Woakes were not selected for the T20s, while wicketkeeper Jos Buttler is available

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Answers to yesterday’s quiz:

(1) 6 players (2) Warriors, Tallawahs & Hawksbills

Today’s Quiz:

(1) Who were the Hero CPL 2020 semi-finalists?

(2) When did the Warriors and Tridents play in CPL finals?

Answers in tomorrow’s issue

after missing the final T20 to spend time with his family.

England, who won the T20 series 2-1, have not lost a bilateral ODI series since January 2017.

Morgan hopes England can gain experience of playing on spinning pitches before the next World Cup, which takes place in India in 2023.

“Old Trafford tends to take a lot more turn than anywhere else in the country,” he said.

“It is probably the weakest part of our game - playing on slow, stoppy wickets where the ball turns.”

England lost to Australia in the World Cup group stages in 2019 but thrashed them in the semi-finals.

They also dominated during Australia’s previous ODI tour in 2018, securing a series whitewash and making a record 481-6 at Trent Bridge.

Australia captain Aaron Finch said: “They’ve had the wood on us in the recent past, no doubt, and that’s fine - we’re not looking behind us.

“Any time you play England you can’t play at 90%.

You have to bat 100% to beat them. We’re excited for that challenge.”

All three matches in the series are part of the Cricket Super League, which counts towards qualification for the 2023 World Cup. (BBC Sport)

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - The perennial challenge for the men’s field at any Grand Slam has been taking down one of the dominant ‘Big Three’, but for those left at this year’s U.S. Open, it is about tamping down the pressure of playing a semi-final shorn of tennis’ titans.

The aggressive, nothingto-lose mentality a player might adopt as he gazes across the net at Rafa Nadal, Roger Federer or world number one Novak Djokovic no longer applies at Flushing Meadows.

With Nadal and Federer both skipping the tournament, Djokovic’s sensational exit on Sunday after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball opened up the field for a younger cohort of players.

Germany’s Alexander Zverev faces Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta and Austrian Dominic Thiem takes on Russia’s Daniil Medvedev in their respective last-four encounters with all seeking to secure a maiden Grand Slam singles title.

“The Novak news shocked us all, and obviously for us younger guys, we see that as a massive opportunity, but we have to put our head down and just do our job and focus on ourselves,” said fifth-seed Zverev, who plays Carreno Busta on Friday.

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal pose for photographers ahead of their “Match in Africa” exhibition tennis match in Cape Town.

Second seed Thiem, who was beaten by world number one Djokovic in this year’s Australian Open final, and third seed Medvedev, who lost to Nadal in last year’s U.S. Open decider, will look to tame the jitters that come with added expectation when they face off today.

“I don’t think any of the players have been in this situation often. Maybe Dominic (Thiem) and Daniil (Medvedev) more often,” said Canadian 12th seed Denis Shapovalov, whose own bid for a first Grand Slam title ended at the hands of Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals.

“There’s a lot of dark

horses out there. It’s anybody’s slam. It’s very exciting for tennis. It’s definitely causing a lot of nervous matches,” he added.

Thiem said he is not underestimating the challenges presented by the remaining competitors.

“There is no Roger, Rafa or Novak but there is Daniil, Sascha (Zverev) and Pablo now. They are three amazing players. Every single one of us deserves the first major title. Everyone will give it all and that’s all that is on the mind,” said Thiem.

“Once we step on the court the other three (Big Three) are forgotten anyway.”

27

GUYANA CHRONICLE Friday, September 11, 2020

‘Racism is real’, Sammy urges governing bodies to do better

By Amlan Chakraborty NEW DELHI, India (Reuters) - Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy has urged cricket’s governing bodies to treat racism more seriously and pay it the same attention they give to upholding the integrity of the game.

Athletes across the world have spoken out about racism in sport as part of the Black Lives Matter protests after the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25.

Sammy, who led West Indies to two Twenty20 World Cup titles, has been at the forefront of the movement in cricket and wants those who run the game to do more.

“We’ve made the recommendations. You know racism is real. It is not something that we can hide,” Sammy told Reuters from

Trinidad, where he is playing in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).

“So I urge them (to give racism) the same emphasis they put on protecting the integrity of the game. Why not protect the integrity of human beings?

“If you’re able to raise awareness in the game, where every person, every human being is treated equally, regardless of the colour of their skin, I think that is the way the world should be.”

Sammy, who led the St Lucia Zouks in the CPL final against Trinbago Knight Riders later yesterday, travels around the world with his former West Indies team mate Chris Gayle to play in numerous domestic tournaments as Twenty20 freelancers.

Both have complained about facing racial abuse in the past.

West Indies captain Darren Sammy walks off the field after his dismissal v England in World Twenty20 cricket tournament final - Kolkata, India 03/04/2016. (REUTERS/Adnan Abidi) Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was slapped with a four-match ban last year for a racist re-

Record-setting Gayle closing in on 1 000 T20 sixes

Kings XI batsman Chris Gayle

WEST Indies T20 star Chris Gayle could become the first batsman to hit 1 000 T20 sixes if his uncanny obsession for clearing the boundary rope continues in the upcoming IPL season.

Currently, the 40-year-old big hitter has tallied a total of 978 sixes in T20 cricket so far. If he can add another 22 to his 326 IPL sixes, the batsman will repeat the all-too-familiar habit of writing his name in the T20 cricket record books.

Gayle will be odds-on favourite to achieve the feat as well. In 11 seasons of IPL cricket to date, he has never failed to hit 22 sixes. Last season he cleared the boundary rope 34 times and 27 times in the previous season. Should he reach the tally

it would only add to an already impressive resumé racked up for the format.

Gayle has scored the most runs in T20 cricket (13 296), has the highest score (175), most sixes in an innings (18), and the fastest 100. He has also hit the most fours with 1 026.

The West Indian is currently in training camp in Dubai, where he is preparing to face the new IPL season with Kings XI Punjab. The batsman had been scheduled to take part in the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League (CPL) for beaten finalists, St Lucia Zouks, but pulled out of the competition due to personal reasons.

(Sportsmax)

mark aimed at South Africa all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo, while England’s Black fast bowler Jofra Archer

was abused on social media.

England joined West Indies in wearing ‘Black Lives Matter’ logos on their shirts during their recent Test series and also took the knee as part of the protests against racism.

“It’s amazing to see the lack of conversation in the cricket circle from certain parts of the world when it comes to social injustice and racism and all these things,” Sammy added.

“Yes, we saw West Indies play England, so it was bound to happen, the show, the support for Black Lives Matter. But what about the other boards? What about the other territories? I have not heard a statement from a few of the other boards.

“If you do care about the integrity of the game and don’t take a stance against racism, or social injustice against people of colour, then to me you’re really not doing

your job.”

Sammy caused a stir when he made an allegation of racism against his former Sunrisers Hyderabad team mates over a Hindi nickname he was given when he was part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise from 2013 to 2014.

West Indies later accepted a former team mate’s explanation and now hopes the issue can be used to educate players about racism.

“My focus now is to educate people on certain slurs that is inappropriate to people of colour,” added Sammy, who felt his T20-related travel had helped him better understand the culture and different backgrounds of players across the world.

“That’s where I will always use my voice to advocate change for the better.”

‘Racism is real’, Sammy urges cricket to do better

Sports associations, federations echo calls for peace, unity THE National sports federations and associations yesterday made a call for Guyana to unite and condemn the senseless killings that took place on the West Coast of Berbice.

The presidents of the Athletics Association of Guyana, Aubrey Hutson; Guyana Boxing Association; Guyana Football Federation (GFF); Guyana Squash Association (GSA); Guyana Golf Association; Guyana Hockey Association; Guyana Basketball Federation; Guyana Badminton Association; Guyana Mixed Martial Arts Federation; Guyana Tennis Association and Guyana Table Tennis Association affixed their signatures to the joint press release.

The Federations said that they are deeply troubled by the gruesome and violent nature of these murders and extended their condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased.

They also called on the Law Enforcement authorities to conduct a thorough and swift investigation into these killings and to hold accountable those who are responsible.

In the statement, the Federations reasoned, that all Guyanese, regardless of ethnicity, religious or political affiliation, should exercise restraint by not indulging in any form of inciteful, violent or retaliatory behaviour.

Meanwhile, David Fernandes, president of the Guyana Squash Association (GSA), said he’s happy to be on record, with the other sports associations an1d federations, making a loud call for peace and unity, while stating that sport has an important part to play in the process.

Fernandes told Chronicle Sport that GSA is honoured to be part of the group of associations that would have issued the statement, while adding that “in Guyana, sports bind us together as a nation”.

“We can’t survive in Guyana without each other, regardless of what race or ethnicity you may think you belong to. In the end, we as Guyanese have to work and live together in harmony. We should never allow things like this to break us apart,” Fernandes said. (Rawle Toney)

TKR celebrate winning the Hero CPL title against St Lucia Zouks at Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, San Fernando yesterday. (Photo by Randy Brooks - CPL T20/ CPL T20 via Getty Images)

TKR trounce Zouks to claim record fourth CPL title … complete historic unbeaten campaign

TAROUBA, Trinidad (CMC) – Trinbago Knight Riders (TKR) clinched a record fourth Caribbean Premier League (CPL) title in imperious fashion when they made light work of St Lucia Zouks by eight wickets in yesterday’s final, to complete a historic unbeaten campaign in the franchise tournament.

Inspired by captain Kieron Pollard’s four-wicket haul, TKR withstood an early

David Fernandes - GSA president

onslaught to restrict Zouks to 154 all out with five balls left in the innings, with Andre Fletcher top-scoring with a classy 39 off 27 deliveries.

The target proved inadequate for star-studded TKR as opener Lendl Simmons blasted an unbeaten 84 from 49 deliveries with eight fours and four sixes and Darren Bravo, 58 not out off 47 balls with two fours and half-dozen sixes, to fire their

Sports associations, federations echo calls for peace, unity See story on page 27

side to victory with 11 balls remaining at the Brian Lara Stadium.

Zouks had early momentum when they reduced TKR to 19 for two in the fourth over but hopes of a maiden CPL title were then dashed as Simmons and Bravo combined in a third-wicket record stand of 138.

The triumph, before empty stands due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, added to previous conquests in 2015, 2017 and 2018, and Pollard said it had atoned for last year’s disappointment of bowing out at the semi-final stage.

“It is a great, great feeling. We have worked really really hard for this,” said the 33-year-old who was voted Man-of-the-Series.

“Last year when we sat in that dressing room after that semi-final against Barbados, you could have seen the disappointment in the guys. We retained the core of our team and decided to have a different plan and we had some rigorous conversations.

“Right through the tournament, the guys just stuck to it – each and every time, each and every game wanting to improve as individuals and wanting to be the best that they can be and I think this one is really special because it was a total, total team effort.”

A downcast Zouks skipper Darren Sammy, meanwhile, conceded TKR had been too experienced for his untested unit, especially after they found themselves short of a really competitive total.

“We thought we were about 15 to 20 runs short from the start that we had, plus we didn’t completely (bat out our overs) and when you’re playing a side like TKR

you have to at least make sure you make full use of your overs,” Sammy explained.

“But we still felt we had enough when we put that amount of pressure (on) in the first six overs but these guys have been playing together for a while and their experience showed.

“Bravo and Simmons have played so much cricket together, and they held their nerve, absorbed some pressure then they put it back on us.”

Sent in, Zouks dominated the power-play when they raced to 60 for one at the end of that period, with Fletcher undertaking the bulk of the scoring in a knock decorated with four fours and two sixes.

When Rahkeem Cornwall lost his middle stump to an Ali Khan (2-25) yorker in the second over for eight, Fletcher arrived to put on 67 for the second wicket with lefthander Mark Deyal who struck 29 from 27 balls with three fours and a six.

Fletcher looked in fine touch, smashing off-spinner Sikandar Raza for back-to-back sixes on either side of the wicket in the fourth over before twice uncorking sizzling extra cover drives in the sixth over from Ali Khan.

Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed (2-22) broke the stand in the ninth over when Deyal edged a cut to Dwayne Bravo at slip off the keeper’s gloves, as Zouks reached the half-way stage at 79 for two.

But thereafter, TKR controlled the game as Zouks managed only 75 runs from the last 10 overs, with Afgan left-hander Najibullah Zadran getting 24 and West Indies all-rounder Roston Chase chipping See page 24

Premier League teams to have ‘No Room For Racism’ badge on shirts Printed and Published by Guyana National Newspapers Limi ted, Lama Avenue, Bel Air Park, Georgetown. Telephone 2 2 6- 3243-9 (General); Editorial: 2 2 7- 5204, 2 2 7- 5216. Fax:2 2 7- 5208

See story on page 23

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020