{"id":10145,"date":"2025-04-30T09:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/?p=10145"},"modified":"2025-04-30T09:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T14:36:08","slug":"a-united-stand-for-justice-peace-and-the-empowerment-of-the-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/?p=10145","title":{"rendered":"A United Stand for Justice, Peace, and the Empowerment of the People"},"content":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
\nApril 30, 2025
\nJOINT<\/strong> STATEMENT<\/strong>
\nA United<\/strong> Stand<\/strong> for<\/strong> Justice<\/strong>, Peace<\/strong>, and<\/strong> the<\/strong> Empowerment<\/strong> of<\/strong> the<\/strong> People<\/strong>
\nA joint statement from the Guyanese Patriots, AFC, ALP, V-PAC, TPM and Concerned Parliamentarians.
\nIn a moment of national crisis, pain and uncertainty, a group of committed Guyanese assembled Tuesday, April 28th, 2025, to address the recent failures of the government, and in particular, the Guyana Police Force. They included leaders from the Alliance For Change (AFC), the Assembly For Liberty & Prosperity Party (ALP), Vigilent For a New Guyana (V-PAC), The People\u2019s Movement and sitting Members of Parliament from the People\u2019s National Congress (PNC) came together in a rare and urgent display of unity.
\nAmong those present were national figures such as Simona Broomes (ALP), Nigel London (TPM), Maya Obradzina-Ryan, Ubraj Narine and other civic leaders\u2014all moved by a shared concern for Guyana\u2019s future and a shared outrage over the killing of 11-year-old Adriana Younge.
\nWe stand united in condemning the excessive use of force against peaceful protesters, the stroking of racial intolerance and racial profiling of Guyanese citizens, and the political exploitation of a nation\u2019s grief. The unrest following Adriana\u2019s death is not just about one tragic loss\u2014it is about a deeper, ongoing injustice. It is about a system that treats poor and working-class youth as disposable.
\nWe are calling for:
\n\u2022 An Impartial investigation led, managed, and conducted by a credible international law enforcement agency with the appropriate forensic capacity under the constitutional auspices of the Guyana Police Force. Scotland Yard, RCMP, or the FBI.
\n\u2022 The immediate removal of the Commissioner of Police pending the outcome of investigations.
\n\u2022 The establishment of an Independent Civilian Oversight Authority to review and investigate allegations of misconduct within the Guyana Police Force.
\n\u2022\u2060 \u2060Respect for the right to peaceful protest, a ceasefire, and an end to the use of deadly force as a first resort.
\n\u2022 That charges be brought against the police officer who shot and killed Keon Fogenay.
\n\u2022\u2060 \u2060Protection and support for innocent citizens and businesses who must not be targeted, vilified, or used as political pawns.
\nWe believe the government is weaponizing fear\u2014using unrest as a political tool to divide Guyanese and manipulate the narrative.
\nBut the people of Guyana are more aware than ever.
\nWe reject that political culture entirely.
\nWe condemn the looting and destruction of private and public property even as we are aware that there were opportunists who infiltrated the peaceful protest.
\nWe also reject the broader system that:
\n\u2022 Shoots first and explains never.
\n\u2022 Criminalizes scrapes instead of cultivating their potential.
\nMany of us were once called scrapes. We know what it\u2019s like to be dismissed, devalued, and used. But we also know what it means to rise. Now is the time to raise Guyana\u2019s youth\u2014not as weapons, but as architects of the nation\u2019s future. We must find ways to help them turn their ideas and creativity into opportunities to contribute meaningfully to society.
\nLet us be clear: we are not calling for an end to protest.
\nWe are calling for a rise in purpose.
\nProtest must continue\u2014peacefully, powerfully, and with clear, united demands that reach beyond this tragedy. Because unless we change the culture, we will only rotate the faces in power while the system remains broken.
\nThis is not a political alliance. This is a united stand for national peace, justice, and transformation.
\nGuyana must rise. And this time, it must rise for all.<\/p>\n

Signed on behalf of:
\nGuyanese Patriots
\nAlliance For Change (AFC)
\nAssembly for Liberty & Prosperity Party (ALP)
\nVigilant For a New Guyana (V-PAC)
\nConcerned Parliamentarians from the People\u2019s National Congress (PNC), The People\u2019s Movement (TPM), Simona Broomes, and other civic leaders.
\n\"May<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 30, 2025 JOINT STATEMENT A United Stand for Justice, Peace, and the Empowerment of the People A joint statement from the Guyanese Patriots, AFC, ALP, V-PAC, TPM and Concerned Parliamentarians. In a moment of national crisis, pain and uncertainty, a group of committed Guyanese assembled Tuesday, April 28th, 2025, to address […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6741,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latestnews"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/WhatsApp-Image-2020-09-30-at-5.04.08-PM.jpeg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4F7T1-2DD","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/afcguyana.com\/afcnew\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}