By Paras Ramoutar, IANS
Port of Spain : Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo has said he favours the return of capital punishment in the wake of the massacre of 11 people, including five children, of Indian origin.
Jagdeo Thursday said he supports “hanging any person found guilty of murdering a defenceless, innocent person”.
The South American nation has a population of over 700,000, the majority being Indo-Guyanese whose forefathers were brought here from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar states of India between 1838 and 1917 to work on sugar plantations.
The 11 people were killed last Saturday in Lusignan village, about 15 km from capital Georgetown.
Police believe that fugitive Rondall Rawlins, who belongs to the Buxton community that is dominated by Guyanese Blacks, is behind the murders.
The Buxton community is known as the hotbed for racial strife, killings and protests against the government led by people of Indian origin. Rawlins had last week allegedly threatened mayhem if the Georgetown Criminal Investigations Department (CID) failed to find his pregnant 19-year-old girlfriend, who is missing.
After the massacre, the ethnic Indian community has launched protests, condemning the government for failing to offer them safety and security.
The government Tuesday offered a reward $150,000 for anyone supplying information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of Rawlins, a former soldier of the Guyana Defence Force.
Yesu Persaud, chairman of the Global People of Indian Origin’s (GOPIO) Guyana branch, said: “The indiscriminate wanton act of terrorising and killing 11 people of Indian origin, including five children, in their beds, is a blatant act of crime against humanity and must be condemned by everyone irrespective of ethnic origin in every part of the world.”
President Jagdeo called on the civil society to help curb crime in Guyana.
“We all can complain but you need to do something, not only expect the police to get more aggressive and go after the criminals. At the community level, you have to do your own part and the only way you can do that is if you are trained and equipped,” he said.
Thomas Abraham, chairman of GOPIO International, said: “We call on the government of Guyana to promptly take all necessary steps to quickly bring the murderers to justice, to prevent such acts of violence in the future and to provide safety and security for its citizens.”