The People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) yesterday called on the Office of the President to make a statement on the spy equipment which counsel for drug accused Roger Khan said had been bought with the permission of the government.
This Ministry of Home Affairs had issued a statement denying that the government had anything to do with the importation of the electronic surveillance equipment.
According to the Home Ministry statement, the US, like most countries, “has strict export controls on the sale/export of such items.
“In Guyana, such sensitive electronic items could only be procured and imported for the exclusive use of law enforcement agencies,” the statement said.
Further, the ministry said, “Such a request by the law enforcement agencies of Guyana would have to be approved by the relevant authorities before an application is made by the Government of Guyana to the relevant American authorities for approval for the item to be exported to Guyana.
“The Ministry of Home Affairs asserts that it did not authorize the importation of the electronic equipment under question nor did it seek any approval of the US authorities for an export licence for the item
“In the context of the above, the Ministry of Home Affairs has since requested the American authorities to provide it with the records of all such applications made by the Government of Guyana during the period of the operations of the Roger Khan outfit.”
At a press conference yesterday, the PNCR said it never had any doubt that the government had a hand in helping Roger Khan to purchase the equipment in question. The statement, by Khan’s defence counsel, provides independent conformation of what the Party has long known, Congress Place said.
“In any case, the facts which have emerged, from the pre-trial hearing of Roger Khan for several drug related offences, only strengthens the case for an Independent Inquiry into the Phantom Squad which, the American evidence has acknowledged, had been responsible for the deaths of over two hundred (200) of our citizens, under the leadership of Roger Khan”, the PNCR said.