Region 10 Chairman Sharma Solomon laying out his region's position before the postponement was announced. Also in photo government rep. Dr. Roger Luncheon and APNU's Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine.

Signing of the much anticipated agreement between government and the Region 10 Council to address several demands by Lindeners was aborted on Monday after the regional negotiators tied the accord to an acceptable Terms of Reference for the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the July 18 killing of three protesters.

One of the clauses of the TORs was responsible for Monday's bottleneck. 

Regional Chairman, Sharma Solomon told reporters afterwards that they see an investigation of the role of the political parties in the organisation of that day’s demonstrations as part of the TORs as “irrelevant” and something that could be detrimental to the wider probe.

“We’re dealing with the killing of three persons; it matters not who organise the demonstrations. These demonstrations were legitimate, they were organised in a manner that went with the right approval, we got the police permission, we were being supervised by the police right through the entire event.  

So to bring the demonstrations into the COI’s Terms of Reference takes away from what the 18^th July killing was. What is to stop us from dealing with what caused the demonstration in the first place which takes the matter away from the 18^th July and diminishes the entire essence of what occurred?” he queried.

The COI deal does not form part of the agreement that was to be signed on Monday but Solomon said it would have been difficult to return to Linden without a sealed position on what was to be done about the killings of Allan Lewis, Shemroy Bouyea and Ron Somerset who died in clashes with the police.

Quoting what he said was the “Rohee’s Law” Solomon stated that “nothing is agreed to ‘til all is agreed to.”

Cameras were set and reporters perched expectantly to witness the signing when Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon announced that they would have to return Wednesday afternoon to try to reach agreement and do the subsequent signing.

“We’re undertaking, all things being equal, to reassemble same place 5PM tomorrow Tuesday by which time we feel the outstanding matter of the term in the COI would be addressed to our mutual satisfaction and indeed the signing ceremony could then live up to its fullest intent,” Dr. Luncheon said.  

He told reporters afterwards that the regional officials’ objection to the particular TOR had been made belatedly around Friday noon. The Cabinet Secretary pointed out that the term “had passed muster” earlier and they were somewhat disappointed about the day’s development.

A five-member Commission is to be appointed shortly to probe the circumstances surrounding the July 18 disturbances. The Commissioners are Jamaica’s former Chief Justice Lensley Wolfe; former Jamaican Senator and Senior Counsel K. D Knights; Trinidadian Senior Counsel Dana Seetahal; and Guyanese former Chancellor of the Judiciary Cecil Kennard and former Appellate Judge Claudette Singh.

The government has said it wants the body to begin work by early September with six to eight weeks given as the period for completion.