Dear Editor,
I read in Stabroek News (3rd Nov), Minister Rohee “pointing out that justice may be blind…that it now seems that it has to look in both directions – the side of the murder victim and to the side of the victims claiming torture.”
Minister Robert Persaud referred to the GDF torture where persons were horribly burned too as “roughing up”; on the Health Ministry fire, Minister Rohee stated “those who don’t hear will feel”; he also said “we are too often concerned about the welfare of the perpetrators” and that “Guyanese are more concerned about the goodies arriving in their barrels from overseas, acquiring a house lot and their own home, than the torture of two Buxtonian men allegedly by members of the security forces.”; Police Commissioner Henry Greene asked “if a man throws hot water on you, is that torture?”; our President himself said “I wouldn’t lose any sleep, frankly speaking, about criminals when they kill each other.”
To be clear, I am not using the President’s words to suggest he condones torture. I am using them to illustrate his seeming lack of concern for proper crime solving techniques, and it would appear he views killing as a solution. My point here, Editor, is that with these words from officialdom the performance of the Disciplined Forces in recent years can be understood. Why then should the buck stop at Commander Morrison for the torture of the boy at the Leonora Police Station?
The irony too is that the Ramnauth Bisram murder case is now likely to fall apart. One can therefore only be bewildered at the Home Affairs Minister asking justice to look at both sides, when it is the direct actions of those under him that has ensured an outcome of the pure opposite – injustice to all, justice for none.
The killing of bandits has left Guyana no more secure. As one is killed another takes his place – Blackie, then Andrew Douglas, then Fineman – all gunned down and no questions answered.
We can therefore never be sure of what will reoccur when, as illustrated by yesterday’s events. As noted in my recent interview in the Guyana Review (31st Oct) it was HL Mencken that said there was always a simple solution to any given human problem – neat, plausible and wrong.
Yours faithfully,
Gerhard Ramsaroop