that he called Mr. Hicken

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Attorneys representing the victims of the Linden unrest are seeking to grill Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, during the Commission of Inquiry.Attorney-at-Law Basil Williams described Rohee as “the main pivot” in assisting the Commission in its investigation into the circumstances behind the July 18 tragedy.Clement Rohee“We expect in accordance with the Terms of Reference issued by the President that the Minister will be here to testify,” Williams told the Commission yesterday.“The Minister is the subject of the Terms of Reference before you. The Ministry is responsible for the policy direction of the Force. So he (Rohee) is instrumental in assisting you in making a determination and recommendations for a more effective functioning police force.“The Minister is the only person who could tell you how he executes his policy functions of the Guyana Police Force. He has to tell you about calls to police officers (on the day of the shooting). He has to tell you about the policy direction for the Force, In terms of how that particular exercise was executed in Linden, about weaponry and ammunition and shields for policemen…“The Minister cannot escape coming here on the basis that other people didn’t give evidence against him; there is evidence against him anyway, that he called Mr. Hicken (former E&F Division Commander) immediately after the shooting on the bridge.“You have seen three senior policemen come to you and each of them gave a contradictory account about how the force is supposed to function. People have been killed. We are trying to avoid our people being killed. So the Minister is a main pivot in assisting you, Sir. I won’t like to know the Minister doesn’t really intend to come to assist this Commission of Inquiry,” Williams asserted.According to the attorney and APNU parliamentarian, he and others had made recommendations to Minister Rohee “about why you have to come with lethal weapons whenever the Guyanese people go on the road to protest…we suggested pepper spray, shields, rubber bullets and the like; and the Minister himself told me that he is taking these things on board, like the water cannon…”According to the Terms of Reference, the Commission should inquire if Minister Rohee gave any general or specific instructions to police to maintain law and order in Linden before, during and after the events of July 18.The Commission is also tasked with identifying what unit was employed at the scene of the protests and its composition; what training was given to the unit in preparation for crowd control; a determination whether the shooting was done by police on the ground, and if so, to determine who gave the order and whether the police had justification for the use of lethal force and inquiry into instructions for the operation.