Broad consultations were needed before setting up Prison COI- PPP

General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee says the APNU+AFC Coalition Government should have done more consultation before setting up the Commission of Inquiry into the deadly Camp Street Prison Riot, that left 17 inmates dead.

“What I’m saying,  they should have had broad consultations with persons and organizations who wish to be associated with this matter, just like they did with the Rodney Commission of Inquiry under the previous government…allow all who want to be a part of the Rodney Inquiry, allow them to sit at the bar table,” he noted.

Rohee likened the operations of the government to a still birth, highlighting that under the PPP/C government consultations were held prior to the setting up of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, which came to a premature end when the APNU+AFC government took office.

The report of that Commission’s findings is still to be made public.

The public hearings of the Prison COI began last week with two prisoners testifying, however, President of the Guyana Bar Association, Christopher Ram  submitted an application seeking full participation at the COI.

Ram said it is absolutely necessary for there to be legal representation for relatives of the deceased, staff of the Prison and members of the judiciary , the Guyana Police Force and other stakeholders, noting that without legal representation, the Commission’s work would be “severely handicapped.”

He advised that lawyers from the Association would be providing their services “pro bono.”