The Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) on Tuesday urged citizens to allow peace and stability to prevail. The call follows a night of protests, looting, and violence in Georgetown and along parts of Guyana’s coast over the death of an 11-year-old girl, Adrianna Younge.
“The Chamber remains concerned about the continued perpetuation of violence in our society and emphasizes that public safety must remain paramount,” the GCCI said in a statement. It urged authorities to enforce measures already implemented to temper unrest and to act proactively to quell efforts aimed at further destabilization.
Younge visited the Double Day Hotel in Tuschen village with her grandmother on April 23, when she disappeared. Hotel management and the police are subjects of widespread suspicion that they conspired to cover up the child’s death. The following morning, Younge’s body was found floating in the hotel pool, where the proprietors had reportedly resisted efforts by the family to search.
Rioters looted the hotel, setting it and the proprietor’s property on fire. Protests and roadblocks followed, with citizens discussing on social media whether Younge was murdered.
Tensions escalated sharply on Monday evening after an autopsy found that Younge had drowned. Two individuals were reported dead from police confrontations with rioters and looters in the capital. In a press conference last night, President Irfaan Ali told the nation that the pathologists, including a U.S. doctor selected by Younge’s family, ruled out “forced drowning”. The family’s lawyer, Darren Wade, said the autopsy found no broken bones nor signs of sexual violence, addressing suspicions that Younge was assaulted.
Responding to the unrest, the government imposed a night-time curfew, including a ban on public gatherings. Many businesses remained closed on Tuesday, and parents kept their children home from school amid safety concerns.
A capital city usually bustling and clogged with traffic as it undergoes an oil-driven economic boom, is now experiencing a quiet not seen since the pandemic era. And the government has set out to clear the streets of debris from last night’s activities.
The government is under increasing pressure to tackle allegations of police corruption and to build public trust. The violent protests have also intensified racial tensions in the country, where Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese make up the majority of the population.
At a late-night press conference, President Ali appealed for calm. Nevertheless, many individuals continue to doubt the police’s credibility and are calling for independent investigators to be appointed to conduct the probe into Younge’s death.
