propaganda press! freedom in Guyana

By Sharief Khan
GEORGETOWN, Guyana (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead Guyana’s agriculture minister, two siblings and a security guard on Saturday in what the government said was a well-planned attack that may be linked to coming elections.

Assailants stormed the home of Satyadeow Sawh outside the capital Georgetown in the early morning, killing him, a brother and sister visiting from Canada and a security guard, said police spokesman Ivelaw Whittaker.

The killing was the latest in a string of violent attacks that have shaken the South American former British colony, including the recent shooting of a prominent building contractor. The motive was not immediately clear.

But President Bharrat Jagdeo government said in a statement after an emergency cabinet meeting that the murders seemed a “well-planned and executed assassination by a large, heavily-armed gang.”

“This attack may be part of a sinister plan to impact the outcome of the upcoming regional and general elections,” the statement said. Presidential and parliamentary elections were due by August 4 this year but the country’s elections commission has said it would not be able to meet that deadline.

Guyana’s major opposition party, the People’s National Congress Reform, called the killing a “dastardly act.” Sawh’s murder “poses a severe challenge to this nation in political, social and security terms,” it said in a statement.

The government said it may seek law enforcement help from abroad and warned Guyanese “not to be misled and to prevent extremists from hijacking the political agenda of the country.”