President Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday challenged drug trafficker Roger Khan to “speak whatever he knows” about his connections here and who he was fighting for saying that he is not afraid and or worried about anything Khan would reveal.
“Let Khan speak whatever he knows because this so-called informant can’t know what I want. I have publicly said that Khan must say who he was fighting on behalf of…,” Jagdeo said in reference to a statement made by US government informant, Selwyn Vaughn whose explosive testimony in the US trial of Khan’s former attorney Robert Simels has again triggered questions about Khan’s connections to the present administration.
The Head of State declared at a press conference at the Office of the President that his administration has nothing to hide, and that he would welcome what Khan has to say at any time. He said his government saw both the Buxton gang and Khan’s outfit as criminal enterprises, which it was opposed to since “our job is to bring down criminal enterprises”.
Speaking to reporters at the press conference, who he said seemed eager to ask about the revelations in the Simels’ trial, Jagdeo said, “I am here to take your questions. But let me make it clear that this government will never sanction the killing of people or encourage it or work with anyone to do this. In fact, when Roger Khan issued a full page ad saying he was helping the government to fight criminals, I publicly said at that time, ‘ you tell us which government you were helping because it couldn’t be this government,’” Jagdeo declared.
The President said he is not afraid of anything Khan has to say and said that if Khan was allegedly killing criminals in Buxton he could not have been helping his administration.
“Maybe if at the end of the day, if all the criminals were to deal with each other we may have a better society but I am not going to sanction that. This is not government policy… but I wouldn’t lose any sleep, frankly speaking, about criminals when they kill each other,” Jagdeo said.
“I shouldn’t say this as Head of State but I am saying this because that is the truth. I don’t lose any sleep, but when innocent people are killed it bothers me tremendously; people who beg them for their lives and are shot. People who [suffer] hijacking…,” he said continued.
Questioned about US informant Vaughn, Jagdeo said he never knew of him prior to the newspaper reports that are now emerging. He said if the Guyana Police Force had information about Vaughn prior to him leaving for the US then questions about why he was not held and possibly prosecuted should be directed to the police commissioner.
“This is the first time I have ever heard of the name. In fact, this is the first time I have ever heard of this person and they said to me that he is from Plaisance,” Jagdeo said, referring to Vaughn.
Still on Vaughn, Jagdeo said what he found very strange and revealing in the [SN] article was that the informant was part of the gang that executed Ronald Waddell. Jagdeo had a copy of yesterday’s Stabroek News in his possession at the press conference and he referred to the lead story as he addressed questions on Vaughn.
“From now on if you believe all that this informant is saying you have to also believe that he [Waddell] was a member of the Buxton gang and that he was basically in a criminal enterprise. Waddell was a criminal involved in a criminal enterprise. So I am very interested in this,” Jagdeo said.
The President said that a few hostile media houses had tied his government to Waddell’s death because the slain talk-show host was critical of his administration. But he said the revelations from Vaughn have changed all this, adding that Vaughn plainly stated why Waddell was killed.
Criminal investigation
Asked whether his administration should not now initiate a Commission of Inquiry into the activities of the death squad linked to Khan the President said it is likely that a criminal investigation would be done at some point in time. But he rejected the idea of holding an inquiry.
“You don’t need a Commission of Inquiry to go after criminal acts, the police should do that, not a special commission and they should get to the perpetrators and prosecute them. What you need more is investigation and prosecution… because what was alleged [here] are criminal acts,” he said.
Jagdeo repeatedly stated in his response that his government “does not go on the basis of allegations” while asserting that there is nothing for a commission of inquiry to address.
“Already you have allegations that criminals acts were done by several individuals on our territory. These have to be investigated by the CID… once the police get the information they should proceed on it,” he added.
The President said he has pointed out to the police commissioner that the force has an obligation to investigate any breach of the local laws saying that he urged Police Commissioner Henry Greene to write to the US government.
“I said to him you should seek the help of the US government so he wrote to the US government… He said to me after a while that he has received a letter from the ambassador saying they would have to await the conclusion of the case before they extend that help,” he added.
He said also that at some point in time the security forces would be privy to all the evidence that is being led in the US courts.
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