Yarde flees crowd at GPSU base
By Robert Bazil
SCORES of striking public servants turned violent last night outside the Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) base on Regent and New Garden streets, trying to block union President, Mr. Patrick Yarde and his executives from leaving the building. Some of those who surrounded the building said they were waiting on "he (Yarde)" to come out. Others were shouting, "He can't come out" but he managed to slip out. Shortly after 19:30 hours, several persons in the upper flat of the union hall began streaming out with their faces covered with rags and pieces of their clothing. One woman told the Chronicle that a man went to the gents toilet on the upper floor, pushed open the door, and declared "tear gas in deh". Noxious fumes almost immediately after began gushing out from the washroom. As the fumes hung strong in the air, Yarde and several others were seen trying to figure out what to do. In the street below, members of the crowd raised an alarm that the union leader was leaving the building through the Regent Street entrance. Several persons rushed to block Yarde's exit, shouting obscenities and using threatening language. A number of them surrounded a small mini-bus believed to be waiting to transport the union leader, forcing Yarde's group to retreat. After a few minutes, there was another shout that Yarde was leaving, but this time some members of the crowd claimed that those with him were carrying firearms. More persons rushed to Yarde's group and there appeared to be a confrontation but the party made it to the bus waiting at the Regent Street entrance. Witnesses said some protesters attempted to overturn the vehicle carrying the union officials. Then tyres screeched and the mini-bus took off east along Regent Street, leaving one of its doors behind. A man in a white shirt was observed inside the bus, standing with outstretched arms, as if to block the space created by the missing door. After the bus disappeared, chaos erupted among those outside the union building. Tempers flared and persons were seen reaching for instruments and objects as fights broke out. Suddenly, the mini-bus which had raced away with the Yarde group, sped back down the road into the crowd, and an impact was heard as the vehicle drove away with Police behind. Persons started shouting that someone was hit and people began running in every direction. According to reports, the bus was allegedly driven by a member of the GPSU Executive. Reports said a man was hit and he was taken to hospital in a taxi. Police later said "a man sustained minor injuries from a passing vehicle." Protesters started stoning windows on the union building and one man declared they were heading for Yarde's house. Riot Police were deployed to the area late last night and vehicles were not allowed through streets around the union headquarters. At press time, a small crowd was on Regent Street, near the Botanical Gardens. Yarde is reportedly due to leave the country today. The crowd also stoned the building, breaking glass windows, yesterday morning. 
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