8 news
thursdAY, august 9, 2018 | guyanatimesgy.com
Enmore house goes up in flames F Take me out… ire broke out in an unoccupied two-storey house at Lot 184 Beezie, Enmore East Coast Demerara at sometime after 21:00h on Wednesday, and within 20 minutes, had completely engulfed and totally destroyed the entire building. Guyana Times understands that the fire started at the eastern bottom flat of the building, the owners of which are residing overseas. A neighbour, Deoraj Nauth, called “Sir D”, told Guyana Times he was at home watching cricket when he heard a neighbour shouting, “Fire!” and upon looking through his window, he
Flames engulfing the Enmore house
saw the fire in the bottom flat of the house. The man noted that neighbours rushed out and formed a water brigade, but the heat was too much; and by the time the Fire Service arrived -- with no water -- it was too late to save the house. Nauth ruled out the fire being electrical in origin, since there was no electricity connection to the house. He believes the fire might have been the work of an arsonist. “There is no current at the house, and it has been unoccupied for over a year now; so (the fire) seems to be arson,” he told this publication.
Russian guards arrested for assaulting local miners
T
he two Russian guards who were captured on video beating two Guyanese miners near the Quartzstone River in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) have on Wednesday been arrested. In confirming the arrests, the Police have said investigations revealed that the Russians are employed by West Bank Demerara Gold Inc, which is licensed to operate in Guyana; and as Supernumerary Constables, they are authorised to carry firearms. However, they breached the conditions of that authorisation in that, at time of the incident, they were not attired in the uniform prescribed by their employer and approved by the Force’s Administration. This however, was not evident in the video footage which was circulated on social media. At a forum held on Wednesday, Natural Resources Minister Raphael Trotman raised concerns over the fact that foreigners
This miner was allegedly tied up and tortured by the Russian guards
are being granted firearm licences.
Concerns
“I am concerned about foreigners having weapons; licensed weapons. I am told that precepts were issued. A precept is really a kind of permission given by the Police Force to persons to act as security guards and also to carry firearm licenc-
es. I am concerned about that and the number of persons who may have them,” Trotman disclosed. He explained that the interior is known to be “Wild West”, and so the number of guns present there would have a direct bearing on the levels of crime and violence in the area. “It also tells us that people expect or need a greater Police presence, and so I believe Government is looking at that. We recently launched the Corps of Wardens, and that Corps of Wardens will come alongside the Police Force, when necessary, to assist not just with law and order, but of course to ensure that the laws (such as) mining laws, forest laws, wildlife protection laws etcetera, are respected,” the minister added. An official report was on Sunday received by the Police from a miner who claimed that he had been brutalised by a group of Russian guards attached to
Hotelier on $1.5M for shooting Kitty man
E
rwin Bacchus, owner of the Tourist Villa Hotel in Subryanville, Georgetown, was on Wednesday placed on $1.5 million bail by Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan on a manslaughter charge alleging that on August 4, 2018 at Subryanville, he unlawfully killed Jason De Florimonte. His attorneys, Nigel Hughes and Glenn Hanoman, told the magistrate in a bail application that their client was acting in self-defence on the day of the incident. Hughes disclosed that Bacchus had fired two warning shots before shooting De Florimonte, who had armed himself with a knife and rolling pin and had attacked the hotel’s handyman. As conditions of his bail, Bacchus has had to lodge
his passport at the Kitty Police Station, and is also required to report weekly to the same station. The case will continue on August 29. Reports are that on Saturday last, 30-yearold Jason De Florimonte of Lot 96 Fifth Avenue, Subryanville Georgetown was reportedly assaulting his girlfriend, Christine Rambarran, in front of his home at around 01:45h. This caught the attention of a 29-year-old handyman employed by the hotel, who intervened to assist the woman. That intervention reportedly angered De Florimonte, and an argument ensued. Realising that the situation was escalating, the handyman ran into the hotel, with De Florimonte in hot pursuit. Bacchus whipped out his licensed firearm and al-
the gold company. ‘F’ Division (interior locations) Police Commander Kevin Adonis told Guyana Times there is on the miner’s body evidence suggesting he had been beaten and tortured. As such, an investigative team from the Force’s headquarters travelled to Quartzstone, where the incident allegedly occurred, and arrested the two foreign nationals. On April 3, 2018, two employees of Hopkinson Mining Logistics were performing duties on their employer’s concession when they were intercepted by two Russian operatives, who made every attempt to prevent them from doing their work. A security officer of Hopkinson’s recorded the incident with his cellular phone. The video recording showed a Russian guard demanding documentation, challenging the two employees’ right to be on their employer’s claim, and subsequently attempting to block their access. The foreigners were seen beating the men before pulling out a gun.
Teen charged for stealing cleaning supplies
N Dead: Jason De Florimonte
legedly fired several shots in De Florimonte’s direction. De Florimonte was shot, and was subsequently rushed to the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC), where he was pronounced dead on arrival. A post mortem examination conducted on his body has given his cause of death as multiple gunshot wounds.
ineteen-year-old John McKenzie of Leopold Street, Georgetown, an employee of Cheeze Pleaze restaurant, appeared on Wednesday before Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore, charged for stealing a quantity of cleaning supplies from that entity. Unrepresented by legal counsel, the teen denied stealing from the restaurant a gallon of Jeyes Fluid, four bottles of Fabuloso, a pack of sliced cheese, three cans of Fish spray, and other items to the total value of $12,543. The teenager was placed on $15,000 bail, and the case was set to continue on August 16.
Y
…to the ball game! our Eyewitness is pretty excited his home team Amazon Warriors is opening up their season tonight at home!! With Exxon now their official sponsor, he’s reminded of the century-old classic American kid’s song that summarised the excitement of their “ball game” – and ours!! Your Eyewitness, of course, has paraphrased it appropriately for “local conditions”!! “Take me out to the ball game, Take me out with the crowd; Buy me some fried rice and fry chicken, I don't care if I never get back home. Let me scream, scream, scream for the Warriors, If they don't win, it's a shame. ‘Cause I’ll be bowlin’ and battin’ for my team, At the old ball game.” There’s nothing like cricket that defines us as a Caribbean people. And that’s why your Eyewitness thinks even though we just celebrated “Emancipation”, we’ve got to admit there are some things we don’t need to be emancipated from! Cricket being foremost among them!! Those who believe otherwise probably prompted the venerable Marxist cricket writer (and revolutionary theorist!!) CLR James to ask, “What do they know of cricket who only cricket know?” When your Eyewitness went out to the “ball game” as a kid, he saw people who looked like him, spoke like him and WERE like him, grab the game of cricket by the scruff of its neck from the Englishmen who’d invented it! They imbued it with a love of life – nay, a LUST for life – that hadn’t only SURVIVED the plantation horrors but had actually blossomed and bloomed!! He saw heroes like Garfield Sobers excelling in every aspect of the game – bowling, batting and fielding – even as he retained the West Indian swagger with his raised shirt collar!! He saw Rohan Kanhai inventing cricketing “shots” – such as the “falling on his behind hook” – that was nothing short of genius rivalling anything that Shakespeare had conjured up! He saw Hall and Griffith take “fast bowling” to its zenith, forcing the English who’d invented “bodyline bowling” to intimidate Bradman, now whining and whingeing at “pace like fire”!! But the crowning glory of West Indian cricket is the T-20 format – which adopted wholesale the way we’ve always played our “ball game”. Screaming crowds that let the players know their feelings; feasting and drinking in the stands; players vying to hit the ball out of the ground and bowlers intimidating the batters with every trick in the book – with force or guile!! And that’s why your Eyewitness will be downing tools early in the game to make sure he gets to Providence in time to fortify his “spirits” before the first ball is bowled!! Play ball, Warriors!! All the way this year!! …to remember sugar and cricket Among the most fanatical cricketing fans in Guyana are those from the sugar belt. As CLR James pointed out, it was “bitter sugar” that inspired the West Indian to enter the cricket fields to “fight back” against their oppressors – and eventually to achieve dominance. Interestingly, after those sugar workers protested, the sugar planters created cricketing grounds in every sugar estate –probably to take their minds off the horrid conditions. But as an irony of history, it was from those sugar estates – particularly in Berbice – that some of Guyana’s greatest cricketers emerged – Kanhai, Butcher, Kallicharan, Solomon, etc, etc. It’s a bitter irony, however, that in firing over 5700 sugar workers in the last year, the Government has effectively denied those families – over 50,000 persons - from enjoying their beloved game in person. Choosing between food for their children and cricket – even a diehard cricketing fan from the sugar belt has to choose food! Sadly, their children’s cry to “take me out to the ballgame” goes unanswered. …to nepotism Less than a week after the President continued with his unilateralism to appoint an energy csar, the Agri Minister and Cabinet did the same for a new GuySuCo CEO. So who cares if this is a function of a sugar board?? Readers are invited to send their comments by email to eye@guyanatimesgy.com