Lumberyards deny violating Court Order
Stabroek News
March 24, 2004
A lumber truck belonging to Rohit Persaud, owner of the now closed-down Rohit's Lumber Yard, parked in front of the business on Monday.
The Guyana Forestry Commission says the two East Coast Demerara lumber dealers who were ordered by the High Court to cease operations have not been complying. It is a claim the dealers have strenuously denied.
Davo's Lumber Yard located on the Ogle Railway Embankment and Rohit's Lumber Yard at Industry were ordered by the court to cease all keeping, storing and carrying of wood and managing and conducting any business at their locations. The orders were served on both dealers on March 1.
But the GFC says that a visit by its officers on Monday to the lumberyards revealed that business of some kind was still going on.
An official told this newspaper that there was still evidence of lumber being stored at the two businesses and canter trucks and dray carts were seen loading lumber during the past couple of days.
Stabroek News visited the lumberyards on Monday and saw a large truck and a dray cart parked in front of Rohit's, while two dray carts along with some lumber was in front of Davo's. In both yards there is a large quantity of lumber stored.
The forestry official said selling and buying lumber from the dealers at those locations is illegal and in contempt of the court. The officer added that after detecting the dealers' continued operations, ranks at the Sparendaam Police Station were contacted to provide support to forestry officers who were willing to seize the dealers' lumber. The officer said the ranks refused to accompany them and instead advised that they file for an order of contempt of court. This, the forestry official said, would take some time to be done and would give the dealers more time to continue violating the law. He said their operations have been criticised by residents who complained about dust pollution among other things.
Both dealers were granted licences to operate in other areas along the East Coast, but they have refused to take up the spots, saying that business in the areas was bad.
Meanwhile, Deolall Pooran, proprietor of Davo's Lumber Yard, said he was not aware that storing lumber in his yard was in contempt of the Court Order. Pooran said ever since being served with the court order he has closed down his operations and moved to another location at Eccles, East Bank Demerara. He said the lumber seen in the yard is not for sale, but because there is no place for him to store it, it is being kept there. Pooran told this newspaper that now that he understood he could not store lumber in his yard he would try to find another place.
Pooran lamented that the GFC was pressuring him for some reason or the other, noting that following the Court Order he had asked them for time to sell off the remaining lumber but they had refused.
Asked about the lumber in front of his business and the canter truck, Pooran said he had received an order from his Eccles operation to supply lumber to a resident of Success, ECD. He said when he delivered the lumber, no one was home and as such he was forced to carry the lumber to his Ogle home as it was more convenient to store it there until today. Pooran complained that he has been in the business for nine years, providing employment for many persons in the area. "I am very frustrated right now, nothing you can do in this country without a fight down."
Rohit Persaud, proprietor of Rohit's Lumber Yard admitted that horse carts were usually parked around his premises. He said those carts are owned by men looking for work.
Persaud declared that he was not doing business as claimed by GFC, adding that since he got the order he fenced his place and closed down all operations. He did admit that there is lumber stored in his yard, but he does not see that as a breach of the order.
"I don't know of any law which states that someone cannot keep wood in their yard. Suppose I am keeping it to build a house."
Persaud said the truck seen outside the yard belongs to him and it is where it is usually parked every day.
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ROAR tells rally rule of law applies to all
Rise, Organise and Rebuild Guyana (ROAR) on Saturday said that banditry and violence against Indians were also violations of the rule of law.
ROAR made the statement during the Rule of Law rally held on Saturday at the Square of the Revolution. The PNCR, the Justice for All Party (JFAP) and the Working People's Alliance (WPA) were among the political parties and other groups in the march and rally.
Executive member of the party, Amar Panday read a statement that leader Ravi Dev prepared for the rally.
Panday said that ROAR's participation in the march is against the background of overwhelming scepticism since the party feels that ethnically-directed violence is just as bad as the other violations of the Rule of Law.
He said that ROAR accepted the invitation because "we believe that the evidence says that Guyana has reached a low point."
"All of us must either put up or shut up. We are here to rally for the Rule of Law [since] we must govern ourselves by the laws established," he said.
"We have to remove the scales from our eyes...Let's investigate the (February 2002 prison break as well as (Home Affairs Minister Ronald) Gajraj.
Let us all resolve that we must drink of the rains and eat of the crops of the rule of law," he said. He added that there was not such an outpouring of protest as there is now when the East Coast of Demerara had been hit by criminals last year and the year before.
Malcolm de Freitas of The United Force said that the most immediate task is ensuring that Home Affairs Minister Gajraj is removed from office and that all those involved are brought to justice.
Also speaking was Heston Bostwick of the Justice for Jermaine Committee who called for an inquiry into the alleged death-squad killings. He said that since the shooting to death of Jermaine Wilkinson on May 22, 1996 in Albouystown, the committee had held numerous demonstrations and put out press statements and still there has been no justice.