Armed police removed journalist from RDC 4 meeting

AN ARMED POLICEMAN ACCOMPANIED BY TWO OTHER POLICE RANKS
FORCIBLY REMOVED JOURNALIST RAWLE NELSON THURSDAY while he was
covering the monthly statutory meeting of the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) of
Demerara/Mahaica (Region Four).
Ill-informed RDC members vehemently argued that neither journalists, such as Mr. Nelson, nor
any member of the public has a legal right to attend RDC meetings since such events are
“private”.
Vice Chairman of RDC 4, Mr. Samuel Sandy, reminded Councillors representing the Peoples
Progressive Party Civic and the A Partnership for National Unity, Alliance For Change
(APNU+AFC) coalitions that meetings like those are in the interest of the people who should be
keep abreast of decisions which will affect their lives.
“Councillors, Parliament, RDC and NDC (Neighbourhood Democratic Council) are public
meetings and this young man is correct., what we need to do is to allow the young man to present
his credentials before allowing him to continue,” Sandy counselled Councillors.
But many were irate and were in no mood for rational discourse.
APNU+AFC Councillors, Neilson M c Kenzie and Amarnauth Chinkan, who served the RDC
during the 2015 – 2020 David Granger administration and PPPC newcomers as Regional
Councillors Deoraj Nauth and Glanford Belgrave were unmoved in their unswerving opposition.
Chinkan was enraged and told Councillors that prior permission must be granted to the media
and the public to attend RDC meetings. He said if Nelson was allowed to cover the meeting,
then his articles must, first, be supervised by the RDC’s Public Relations Department, then
vetted by Councillors before it is allowed publication.
For his part, Mc Kenzie said that while he had no issue with Nelson, he remembered him as a
former Public Relations Officer (PRO) for the RDC between 2018 – 2019 who was partisan to
the “other side” (meaning the then opposition PPP/C) when he was executing his duties.
PPPC Councillor, Mr. Belgrave, representing the PPPC threatened to walk out of Thursday’s
RDC statutory meeting in protest if Nelson is allowed to cover the meeting.There was a division among Regional Councillors about Nelson’s presence at the meeting when
Regional Chairman, Mr. Daniel Seeram, and M c Kenzie suggested summoning a law enforcement
official to evict the www.aroundtheregions.com journalist.
The armed rank turned up at the Triumph, East Coast Demerara headquarters of the RDC 4 and
announced to Nelson that he had orders to arrest him because he was “wanted at the station”.
Nelson was escorted to the Beterverwagting Police Station, obliquely opposite the RDC
headquarters, but after some 20 minutes was told he was free to leave.
While Nelson was taken to the police station, RDC officials hurriedly instructed security officials
to lock the gates and deny Nelson entrance to its compound.
“Mr. Nelson, we don’t know what is happening, but upstairs give we the instructions and our
bosses also called to say that you must not enter the compound, a bewildered, but apologetic-
sounding security guard told the journalist when he returned.
Commenting on Thursday embarrassing experience, Nelson maintained: “The public is allowed
to sit in and listen to such meetings as this is the public’s business. To witness the determination
by a few (Councillors) to have me removed, even though I offered to produce evidence that I am
actively involved in the media, is a demonstration that we have people who are in leadership
position but are clueless about their roles. The police actions were also embarrassing and there is
certainly a need for education, sensitisation and information so all parties can better understand
their roles.”
Meanwhile, Mr. Mark Ramotar, Head of the Guyana Police Force’s Public Relations
Department, offered Nelson an unqualified apology for Thursday’s painful event and expressed
profound disappointment in the police’s mishandling of the issue.
Ramotar promised a discussion with the police.