The government used its majority in the National Assembly last night to approve the passage of a motion that commends the joint services for bringing an end to the reign of Rondel ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and his gang, and which pushes for initiatives that supports the security forces.
The House was clearly divided on the motion, which was moved by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.
Twenty members abstained and 22 voted in favour. In recognizing the efforts of the joint services, the motion communicates praises for the demolition of Rawlins’ gang and clears way for the administration to offer suitable tokens of appreciation.
Opposition members, while commending the work of the joint services, rejected the motion on the premise that it is celebratory in the face of a continued murderous onslaught in the country, and that it creates an impression that people are secure following the deaths of Rawlins and Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles on August 28 during a joint services operation. They argued that accountability and transparency are what the joint services needs as opposed to a motion that seeks to offer them payments among other things.
Opposition Leader Robert Corbin referred to the motion as “political gamesmanship” saying that the government has no genuine concern for the security situation in the country. He said it was an insult to the house for the government to move such a motion when no commission of inquiry was conducted to determine the role of all involved in the killings that had plagued the nation within recent years, particularly the massacres at Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek. He added that government can demonstrate that it is behind the joint services by raising salaries and improving working conditions while instituting measures for greater accountability.
Rohee hailed it as a “red letter” motion saying it comes at time when the nation is rid of the murderous Rawlins and his gang which had perpetrated a string of atrocities in the land with a tally of some fifty deaths hanging over their heads.
He cited the Lusignan, Bartica and Lindo Creek massacres as dark moments in the country’s history that Rawlins and his gang were linked to. He also said that the gang went to the extreme of beheading an Agricola resident a few years ago.
AFC MP Raphael Trotman, in opposing the motion, argued that the act of engaging in payments to the joint services, given the circumstances, can result in officers turning into bounty hunters who set out to hunt and kill people like animals.
But government said that the country faced testing times for years while Rawlins and his gang were operating and that a sense of relief was felt throughout the land after their deaths, adding that it is important to congratulate the joint services for a job well done but not yet complete.
Donald Ramotar said a situation had erupted in the country like never before seen during the reign of the gang, adding that the Joint Services had to confront criminals of a certain kind; criminals who he said held the village of Buxton hostage as they executed various heinous crimes. He said the gunmen even targeted police officers stating that more officers died during that period than ever before in recent memory.
The motion also allows for the national assembly to pay particular attention to conducting activities and programmes that are designed to foster greater public confidence, and support for the men women in the joint services.
