Confirm him or let him go is the clarion call by some opposition Members of Parliament and leading private sector officials as government continues to prevaricate over the appointment of Henry Greene to the substantive post of Commissioner of Police.
Greene, a lawyer by profession, has been acting in the capacity of Police Commissioner since last year July when Winston Felix demitted office. His tenure at the helm of the force has been marked by the US revocation of both his diplomatic and visitor’s visas and a spate of serious, unsolved crime.
Washington had told Greene that he benefited materially from the drugs trade, which is why it revoked his visas to that country, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon disclosed to this newspaper last year July. It is widely believed that this is the reason why President Bharrat Jagdeo has been dithering on appointing him.
Greene, however, had vehemently denied any connections with the drug trade and in a statement he said that it was obvious that unjustified and improperly motivated attempts were being made to besmirch his good name and character. In his statement which was issued a day after it was revealed that the US Embassy had revoked his visitor’s visa Greene said the revocation was “a painful event for me” but he noted that it is the prerogative of foreign states to grant visas and to also revoke such visas in their own deliberate judgment, subject to the application of their laws. “I want to categorically state that I have never been involved in any way with illegal drug operations either locally or abroad, and I have never associated with any drug dealer,” Greene stressed in his statement. He added, “I have taken steps, and will continue so to do, to ensure the eradication of the drug scourge in this country.”
President Jagdeo said at the time that he found it strange that the US Embassy had revoked the Acting Commissioner’s visas. He said that the administration had asked Washington to provide specifics of what led to the action. The President also asserted back then that if there was evidence of wrongdoing on Greene’s part, government would have no problem in having him step down. On July 21 last year the same day retired Police Commissioner Felix demitted office it was revealed that Greene’s visitor’s visa to the US was revoked. Observers had said then that the withdrawal was likely a move to thwart his appointment to the police force top job. The revocation of the visitor’s visa had come months after his diplomatic visa was also rescinded. He said at the time of the first revocation that he did not know what was behind the sudden move and added that he had no problem with the US government or the embassy. His diplomatic visa was issued in 2002 to attend a course on terrorism on behalf of the Guyana Police Force in Washington. The visa was a five-year one and had not expired when it was revoked. At that point he had noted that his US visitor’s visa was still intact and as such he could still travel to the US, not knowing that the US was coming for that also.
Negative effects
Questioned about the situation regarding the appointment of Greene, Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin said that it is certainly unhealthy for the development of any professional organization to have “actors” performing substantive functions. Corbin said that the situation in the police force is just one example of what has been happening in many sectors of the country. “The negative effects of acting appointments can impact on stability, justice and confidence in the institutions that are there with the responsibility to advance certain functions of the state,” the PNCR leader declared.
Asked whether he has ever raised the issue of Greene’s appointment with the President, Corbin said he has been speaking on the matter as well as other issues on every occasion he meets with Jagdeo. Questioned as to what Jagdeo has been telling him, Corbin shied away from answering, while insisting that he is trying to conform to the norms of a modern democracy by making these matters known. He said if this course fails the dynamics of any situation will generate its own consequences.
On whether he would support Greene becoming the substantive police commissioner, Corbin said that it was not a matter he wished to comment on at the moment, adding that he did not want to be drawn into a discussion on personalities. “I am commenting on the principle of the appointment of a COP, but I do not think it is fair to either him (Greene) or me at this stage to engage in a personality hunt,” the Opposition Leader declared. On whether the issue of personality came up during his talks with the President on the appointment of Greene, Corbin said no, adding that he only discussed personality as it relates to the Chancellor of the Judiciary.
According to Article 211 (1) of the Constitution, the Commissioner of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and Chairperson of the Police Service Commission after the chairperson has consulted with the other members of the commission. At present the Police Service Commission is not fully constituted, although three members were sworn in last week. The life of the previous commission came to an end in March this year several months after Greene was appointed to act.
Let him go
Member of Parliament for the GAP/ROAR alliance, Everall Franklin said that his party is very concerned “since we are in a situation where crime is spiralling and therefore leadership has to take responsibility both at the level of the government and the police force.” “We were wondering whether the non-appointment has to do with the US revoking his visas,” Franklin said, adding that Guyana continues to beg for assistance from the US, the same country which has withdrawn the commissioner’s travel privileges to that country. Franklin said there were many issues stacked against Greene not least the revocation of his visas.
The MP said that the acting commissioner’s handling of the recent allegations made against Senior Superintendent Steve Merai, the controversial shooting to death of Buxtonian Donna Herod, among other issues have weighed heavily against him. Stabroek News was also told recently that Greene was warned by a joint services official about the attack on the commercial banks in Rose Hall last year, but he did nothing. When he was questioned about this subsequently by Stabroek News he declined to comment. Merai had been accused by a businessman who said that the police officer demanded money from him over a drug deal. Greene had announced that an investigation was launched, but he subsequently revealed that they could not move forward with the investigations because the businessman who made the allegations had vanished. Observers believe that the announcement of an investigation was aimed at appeasing citizens, but no work was actually being done. It was pointed out that it was not what the businessman had to say that was important but whether Merai’s story was credible. Merai who was in charge of patrols in Georgetown when the allegations were made was hauled off that duty by Greene and reassigned to coordinate patrols for ministers of government. Franklin asserted that if there are questions about Greene’s character then it would be difficult for the government to confirm him. “But I think the administration should either confirm him or let him go and look for another person,” the GAP/ROAR MP declared. He said it is clear that the issue of Greene’s appointment is not about natural succession, since he is the next in line to Felix. The MP said it was time the police force got a substantive head, noting that the position is too critical for someone to be acting for so long. The MP noted that the non-appointment of Greene would only weaken his own influence on his charges who would no doubt go along with the popular view that the administration does not have confidence in him.
Asked whether his party would support Greene’s c
andidacy, cognizant of the cloud that hangs over him, Franklin said in the absence of the specific details of the allegations levelled against the Acting Police Chief by the US his party would be hard pressed to make a decision. He said, however, the fact that President Jagdeo has shied away from confirming Greene seems to indicate that government is privy to more information which would backfire on them if they were to go ahead and make such an appointment.
Franklin advanced four possible reasons why there continues to be a delay in the appointment: he said that it is either the government does not have confidence in Greene; they are waiting to see if he could perform; they want to control him or they are afraid that the US would sanction them. Asked why the opposition was not asking questions about the issue, Franklin said the issue was raised on numerous occasions, but they never got a proper answer. He believes the reason why the administration has shied away from this is because they do not want to reveal exactly what the US has said. On whether he thinks Greene has performed creditably since he took over from Felix, Franklin said he is not impressed with his performance. The MP said there were a lot of outstanding matters that Greene has failed to bring closure to. He said too that the force continues to rate their success on the number of criminals they kill, pointing out that this skewed view of policing was highlighted recently when Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee surprisingly visited the crime scene where two bandits were killed on Main Street two weeks ago. He said at the scene Rohee lauded the police efforts. “You do not judge success by how many people you kill
