Members of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Indigenous organisations and supporters staged a peaceful protest outside the Office of the President on Wednesday, calling for greater accountability and sweeping reforms to Guyana’s river transportation system following the deadly sinking of the MV Barima.
The demonstrators also renewed calls for the vessel to be salvaged, arguing that recovering the wreck is critical to determining the cause of the disaster and providing closure for the families of those who died or remain missing.
Leading the protest, APA Executive Director Jean La Rose said the demonstration was motivated by grief, solidarity and the need to prevent a similar tragedy from happening again.
“From day one, just after the boat sank… we have been concerned because we mourn with the people who have been affected… This tragedy should not have happened. It has happened because our transportation system has been bad and our people are forced to use those bad transportation systems. We want better transportation, better policies, better facilities, and we want the persons who are in charge… should step down from their positions.”
La Rose said the organisation stood with the affected families, noting that children had been orphaned, spouses separated and entire communities devastated by the tragedy.
Committee Member of the Guyanese Organisation of Indigenous People, Colin Klautky, said his organisation would continue pressing for the MV Barima to be salvaged, arguing that investigators and relatives deserved to know the full truth about the disaster.
APA Policy Officer Sharon La Rose, a Region One resident, said the tragedy had exposed longstanding shortcomings in river transportation serving hinterland communities. She called for improved safety standards and renewed demands for Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill to resign.
“We need accountability. We need transparency. We need respect. We need people to be responsible… Mr. Prime Minister… bring that vessel up. That vessel has most of the evidence… Our families need closure. We need to know where our brothers and sisters are.”
She said Guyana has the financial resources and international partnerships needed to recover the vessel and insisted that affected families deserve answers.
A separate protest was also held at Den Amstel on Wednesday, where demonstrators called for the resignations of Public Works Minister Bishop Juan Edghill and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar, and for the murder charges against the MV Barima captain and two others to be dropped.
The protests come as the Government continues search and recovery operations and prepares to launch a Commission of Inquiry into the disaster, which has claimed more than 70 lives and left about 30 people missing. Prime Minister Mark Phillips has said the Government has received several offers from international salvage companies but that any decision on whether to recover the vessel or preserve the site as a memorial will be guided by the wishes of the affected families.
