MV Barima protesters demand resignations as PPP supporter confronts picket line

(Kaieteur News) – Dozens of grieving relatives, civil society members, and opposition politicians converged on the corner of Fort Street and Wight’s Lane on Tuesday morning, mounting a fiery protest outside the Ministry of Public Works.

The demonstration targeted the office of Minister of Public Works Juan Edghill, as families of the victims of the MV Barima disaster demanded immediate accountability, the salvage of the sunken vessel, and the immediate resignation of himself and Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation Deodat Indar following the loss of over 100 lives.

The atmosphere outside the ministry grew tense for the police early in the day as families of the victims, activists, and the men who have been criminally charged in connection with the vessel, gathered along Wight’s Lane. Demonstrators expressed deep frustration over what they described as a total lack of transparency regarding the government’s efforts to salvage the vessel and the stalled progress of the Commission of Inquiry.