GEORGETOWN – Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Managing Director Joel Earl Simpson on Wednesday joined indigenous representatives and civil society activists on the protest line, calling for the resignation of the ministers responsible for Guyana’s maritime sector and urging the launch of an independent international-standard marine casualty investigation into the sinking of the MV Barima.

Speaking during the demonstration organized by the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Simpson described the protest as a legitimate exercise of democratic freedom and said the scale of the tragedy demanded accountability at the highest levels.

“The subject ministers need to do the dignified thing and resign,” Simpson said. “If they don’t resign, the President should fire them.”