It is one year since protestors stormed the Office of the President and later looted and burnt two stores on Regent Street.

The riot came in the midst of a crime wave the likes of which the country has never seen and it is only in the last few weeks that both the political and criminal turmoil has quieted down, albeit with great loss of life.

The government on the occasion of the first anniversary of the storming of the Office of the President has praised the professionalism of the police on that day.

A statement, released by the Government Information Agency (GINA), also expressed gratitude to local groups and individuals, including some leading members of the opposition PNCR, and the international community who condemned the violence.

According to the release, of the lessons learnt from July 3, the most striking was that while the government respects the freedoms of the people to assemble and engage in protest actions, these should be done within the framework of the law.

The government called on citizens not to allow themselves to be misled by elements who seemed bent on sowing seeds of destruction out of narrow self-interest.

It pledged to continue to strengthen the process of constructive engagement with the opposition as a way of building peace, inclusiveness and a cohesive society guided by the rule of law.

July 3, 2002 started with about 300 protestors walking through a steady drizzle as they marched from Victoria, East Coast Demerara (ECD) towards town.

They were led by political activist, Phillip Bynoe, and controversial talk show host, Mark Benschop. Both were later charged with the capital offence of treason for the events that were to follow. Bynoe went into hiding and despite several warrants for his arrest and searches of his Linden home and business premises, there has been no sign of him. Benschop is now a prisoner and after a stormy preliminary inquiry faces a High Court trial.

Once in the city the protestors marched to the Presidential Complex where a group burst through the gates of the complex and rushed into offices on the lower floor.

At the end of the mayhem two of the protestors were dead and several others injured. Soon after, along Regent Street, rioters looted and set fire to the Payless Get More Shopping Centre and Fullworths. Efforts to secure comments from the owners of both stores in recent days were unsuccessful.

All of this was captured by the foreign media, here to cover the Caricom leaders Summit taking place at the National Cultural Centre only a mile away.