| As protestors vow to continue blocking the Kwakwani/Ituni access road due to its deplorable state for the past 40 years, 16 persons have been arrested.A source from the area told Kaieteur News,Cheap Soccer Jerseys For Sale, yesterday, that about 4:00 am, a truck filled with police ranks arrived at the camp site which was set up at the side of the road during the protest.“I was asleep when all of a sudden I hear a woman scream. When I get up I see these police dragging people out and beating them because they refuse to go,” the man said.Despite efforts to remove the protestors yesterday,Cheap NFL Jerseys,some of them continued to protest in the presence of officers.The source further noted that ranks who were armed with cutlasses and guns began to dismantle the camp; and throwing away food items in the process. The protestor added that food items, tents and other articles were thrown in the van with the arrested persons.“Commander Owen Trotz telling we that if we come back out here and set up tent again he gon throw we in the van and charge we for loitering. It reach the stage where we don’t have a right to protest,Cheap Jerseys Store,” the source said.Another protestor said that the Commander Owen Trotz of the ‘E’ division last Friday held a meeting with the residents and threatened that if they didn’t remove the blockage and allow traffic to move along they were going to be put before the court.“He told us that if we didn’t stop protesting on the road that we would be sent arrest warrants and brought before the court. We want this road do properly; no more patches. It get overbearing now man,” the resident said.The residents said that during the arrests, ranks told them that trucks sent to repair the road were denied access by them and as such they were ordered to remove the protestors. The source added that when they visited the Ituni Police Station where the 16 persons were being held,Cheap Jerseys Online, they were not allowed access and were again threatened with arrest if they returned.A source close to the investigation said that Commander Trotz and some ranks went to the camp site to arrest a man who allegedly assaulted a policeman.While the officers attempted to apprehend the suspect, a number of women then attacked the policemen,Cheap Jerseys Wholesale, including Trotz, who suffered injuries.The source however said that the road has been cleared and traffic is back to normal.Region Ten Chairman, Sharma Solomon, said that a team of regional councillors and a few members of parliament travelled to the area on Monday and held an emergency meeting with the affected residents.He added that persons from neighbouring communities also attended the meeting.The Regional Chairman noted that since the protest began almost a week ago, a letter was written to the Government of Guyana explaining the present state of the road and residents were made aware of this at the meeting.Solomon said that on July 10 at a bilateral meeting with the government, the issue of the road was raised with the representatives but since then nothing has been done.Meanwhile, a release from the police stated that ten men and four women were arrested for being involved in the blocking of the roadway at Ituni, and with the support of machinery from the Ministry of Works the logs used to create the blockage were removed.The police further alleged that a Police Constable was assaulted during efforts to arrest another man. It was also stated that a number of persons used several coconut tree trunks to block the roadway at the Kwakwani Waterfront, but they were subsequently removed.“The Guyana Police Force has shown considerable restraint in this matter and wishes to reiterate its respect for the rights of all citizens to protest peacefully on issues of concern to them.The Force has no objection to persons conducting peaceful protests,Cheap Jerseys From China, but when protests degenerate into unlawful acts infringing on the rights of other citizens, the police will as a consequence have to take the appropriate action”. |
