Trinidadian for post mortems into three Guyana killings

The Opposition Alliance for Change (AFC) says it has retained the services of a Trinidadian pathologist to witness the post mortems on the bodies of the three protesters shot and killed during last Wednesday’s protests in Linden. He is expected to arrive in the country tomorrow and relatives of the dead have asked that the autopsies be delayed until the Port-of-Spain-based pathologist arrives.

The three bodies were air-lifted out of Linden, bound for the Georgetown mortuary on Friday, bypassing roads that continue to be barricaded by protesting residents of the town. About four people injured in the incident remain warded at a district hospital. Opposition activist David Hinds told the T&T Guardian yesterday there was anger in the community that the helicopters could also have been used to shuttle the injured to more modern facilities in the capital city. The Government has promised a full investigation but the AFC wants international participation in a full-scale enquiry into the killings.

The majority Opposition, A Partnership for National Unity (APNU), however, has sided with the Donald Ramotar administration in its preference for an enquiry,ß comprising nationals only. The protesters were killed after the police opened fire on demonstrators. The police claimed live ammunition was not used.