165 civil society groups reject MV Barima COI

(Kaieteur News) – A delegation representing eight civil society organisations delivered a joint statement and petition to President Irfaan Ali at the Office of the President at 2:00 PM on Thursday.

The petition, backed by a broad coalition of 165 civil society organisations and individuals spanning local, regional, and diaspora communities, demands sweeping systemic reforms, high-level resignations, and a fully transparent inquiry following the fatal capsizing of the MV Barima on July 18, 2026.

Framing the catastrophe as one of the most severe maritime disasters in recent regional history, the coalition expressed profound grief while placing the blame squarely on systemic institutional failure. “We firmly believe that the capsizing and sinking of the MV Barima was wholly preventable and is one of the worst maritime disasters to have occurred in Guyana and the Caribbean,” the joint statement declared. “This disaster exposes deep failures in governance, abuse of State power, weak oversight, lack of accountability, intimidation of dissent and exclusion of civil society.”