MV Barima tragedy: “They have exploited people’s grief” – AG condemns Opposition’s conduct

Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister Anil Nandlall has accused the Parliamentary Opposition of exploiting the MV Barima tragedy for political gain, saying its members appear more concerned with blaming the Government than supporting those affected by the incident.

“They have exploited people’s anger, they have exploited people’s trauma, they have exploited people’s pain, they have exploited people’s grief, they have exploited people’s anguish in prosecuting and prostituting their narrow political agenda,” Nandlall contended during his programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday.

In fact, Nandlall referred to their conduct in the National Assembly on Monday, arguing that the session should have been marked by solemnity in light of the tragedy.

“Tell me whether that group that you saw there was concerned about the loss of life, about the grief that people were going through, or whether they were there to prosecute their own political agenda. Some of them were laughing and whining and gyrating and singing and beating a rhythm so they could dance in the National Assembly,” the AG highlighted.

“You would have expected that in the National Assembly, there would have been an aura of sobriety, an aura that reflects a country that is mourning, that is in grief, a country that has never suffered such a disaster in its young independent history. The National Assembly was [on Monday] supposed to be a solemn and sober place [but] it was converted into an indecent vulgar melee with the Opposition mocking at those who are grieving and using their placards and their photographs in the most vulgar display of political vendetta,” he further posited.

According to AG Nandlall, the Opposition appears to be more concerned with attacking the Government than supporting the victims of the MV Barima tragedy.

“They see this as ‘the Government must be held responsible’, and they take great joy in trying to push the blame on the Government; that is all that they are concerned about,” the Attorney General contended.

Moreover, Nandlall condemned the Opposition’s refusal to offer remarks on the tragedy during the Parliamentary session.

During the sitting, Speaker of the National Assembly Manzoor Nadir offered Opposition representatives an opportunity to speak on the tragedy and address the grieving families, but they declined. Leader of the We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) and Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, who has been sanctioned by the United States (US) and indicted, was allocated five minutes to express his views on the tragedy, while Leader of the Opposition Parliamentary group, the Peoples National Congress-led A Partnership for National Unity (PNC-led APNU), Terrence Campbell, was allocated two minutes. However, both declined to use the allotted speaking time to say anything. Instead, the Opposition members pressed on with their protest proceedings in the House.

According to Nandlall, “The PNC has a long history of this type of conduct, and the WIN party is not much different; most of them are from the PNC anyhow.”

Responsibility

To date, 73 persons have been confirmed dead following the ferry’s capsizing, 30 remain unaccounted for, and 76 have survived.

On Monday, three workers attached to the Transport and Harbours Department – the captain, a crew member and the superintendent who was in charge of loading the vessel – were slapped with 72 counts of murder.

Some Opposition members have criticised the decision, but Nandlall maintained that those responsible must be held accountable. He also accused the Opposition of hypocrisy, saying it cannot demand justice while simultaneously condemning the authorities’ actions to ensure accountability.

“They want responsible and accountable actions to be taken. The first set of people whom you have to hold accountable are those who are primarily in charge. If a minibus…crashed and all the passengers are dead, who first are you going to go for if not the driver and the conductor if they survive? You’re going behind somebody else when they had actual conduct, control and possession of the vehicle?” Nandlall reasoned.

“Not on a single occasion, in my recollection, has the PNC ever taken a position on the side of the law enforcement agencies. Even now, 100 persons are believed to be dead, and whose side do they take? Not the victims,” he added.

“If the families of the victims and those who survived and their relatives are in doubt on which side of the divide the Opposition stands, well they shouldn’t be in doubt anymore, because they have chosen a side and that’s why I’m saying [in Parliament], what you saw was political grandstanding, it had nothing to do with the pain and anguish that people are people,” Nandlall further posited.

Charged are 40-year-old Kevin Price, also called “KP”, the boat Captain of Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara (ECD); Rondell Dwayne Roberts, 42, Chief Mate of Grove Public Road, East Bank Demerara (EBD); and Delon Granderson, 33, Goods superintendent of Fellowship, West Coast Demerara (WBD).
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has since explained that its decision to institute murder charges based upon careful consideration of the evidence presented, the relevant principles of law involved, case law authorities from the United Kingdom, Commonwealth jurisdictions, the European Court of Human Rights, and public policy considerations.

CoI

Moreover, the DPP noted that the impending Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the tragedy will not affect the prosecution of the charge, as both proceedings can occur simultaneously.

President Dr Irfaan Ali has announced a five-member international CoI into the circumstances surrounding the capsizing of the MV Barima. Nandlall said no Guyanese was appointed to the panel in order to avoid any perception of bias.

“Not a single Guyanese was selected, and that was deliberately done so that unnecessary allegations of bias and compromise cannot reasonably be made. Of course, attempts are being made to tarnish the good character and sterling reputation of these persons, but those attempts are in vain,” Nandlall asserted.

The five-member CoI will be headed by former Belizean Justice of Appeal and distinguished legal expert Godfrey Phillip Smith, who currently serves as the CARICOM High-Level Representative for Law and Criminal Justice and is the Ad Hoc Justice of Appeal at the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal. It also includes Captain Hamada Fouda, an internationally respected maritime safety specialist with more than 35 years of experience in marine regulation and casualty investigations; Trinidad and Tobago Senior Attorney-at-Law, Nyree Dawn Alfonso, who has represented clients in complex ship arrests, maritime disputes, salvage operations, collisions, marine casualty claims, marine insurance matters and arbitrations; Dr Andrzej Jasionowski, a forensic naval architecture and marine engineering expert, out of Poland, who has specialised since 1995 in the application of advanced numerical techniques for stability, hydrodynamics, oil film lubrication, thermodynamics of liquefied natural gas (LNG) mixtures, ship flooding simulations, probabilistic assessments of time to sink and capsize, holistic risk quantification, and shaft alignment; and decorated Trinidad and Tobago Rear Admiral (RADM) Hayden A Pritchard, who has over 38 years of experience in security and maritime operations, policy development, change management and public and security sector reform.

Local private sector organisations have welcomed the team assembled by President Ali, expressing confidence that its composition inspires trust in the inquiry’s ability to be thorough, independent and credible.

The MV Barima was en route to Port Kaituma, Region One (Barima-Waini) on July 18 with 179 persons onboard, when it capsized and sank off the Essequibo Coast in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).