Whilst reaffirming his government’s commitment to a thorough and transparent investigation, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo condemned actions which he believes are a clear attempt to divide the country over the death of 11-year-old Adriana Younge.
The general secretary, who also performs the functions of vice president, made these remarks during his weekly press conference on Thursday.
In an incident that shook the country, Younge was found dead in a pool. President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has since indicated that there will be an extensive review of all events surrounding the child’s death.
Describing it as outrageous and disgusting, Dr Jagdeo cautioned against bringing dishonor to Younge’s name by using her death to stir up strife and racial division.
“Look at the callous and disgusting attempt to use this child’s death to mobilize people for a political purpose or to polarize our people along ethnic country. This is a disgusting attempt by the opposition,” he said.
The general secretary chided the opposition for contributing to this attempt at polarization, asserting his view that this was their only strategy to secure support in the upcoming elections.
“They cannot go to the electorate with achievements or plans. They’re not going to talk about jobs for our people in the future or whether you would own a car or a house…they can’t compete on that. This is the only way of getting people to vote for them, going back to the full racism,” he explained.
Dr Jagdeo posited that the government has demonstrated its focus on getting to the bottom of the child’s death and ensuring that anyone maliciously involved faces the full brunt of the law.
“We all were concerned about it as a country…no other child or any other death has been investigated in this manner, like in the autopsy, ever in the history of the country because we wanted to get to the truth,” the general secretary noted.
Earlier today, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced that experienced investigator Leonard McCoshen, who spent considerable years as a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), will be assisting in the ongoing investigation.
Mc Coshen has over 30 years of experience as an investigator, spending 20 of those years attached to the Serious Crimes Branch (SCB) in the Major Crimes Unit of the RCMP.
Younge’s cause of death was given as drowning, according to the autopsy performed by three international pathologists.
The GPF has maintained that the child’s death will be thoroughly and comprehensively investigated. (Department of Public Information)