In an ‘Open Letter to the People of Guyana’ published in Dayclean in 1979, Martin Carter offered a scathing analysis of Guyana under PNC rule that ended with the pregnant question –“Who do we think we are?” It is a telling statement about Guyana’s political life that the same question can be posed to the PPP in 2009 – three decades later.
The recent incident where a youth of 14 had been tortured while in police custody has provided unvarnished evidence of the callous brutality that has become a defining characteristic of governance under the PPP. It is particularly troubling that the torture occurred in the context of an investigation into the murder of a former Vice-Chairman of Region Three.
This episode raises some very troubling concerns about the culture of gratuitous violence that seems to have become a feature of Guyanese life. Whether it is criminal activity by members of the disciplined services on their own account; the excessive use of force by police officers and military personnel in the conduct of their official duties; the activities of individuals like Roger Khan in “defence of the government”; and random and planned acts of violence from other assorted criminals and malcontents, Guyana is now hostage to the failure of the state to perform a basic and essential function for normal life – providing security for the society and its constituent groups and institutions. In effect, the problems originating in the behaviour of individual members of the disciplined services, the inability of the security services to devise an effective strategy for dealing with rising levels of violence whatever the sources, and the failure of the government to impose accountability upon the disciplined services, suggest that the government is, at a minimum, incapable of governing the country.
However, at a more fundamental level, the information that has emerged from the Roger Khan trial raises questions about the role that members of the government have played in fostering the culture of criminal and gratuitous violence that now defines Guyanese life. While the plea deal reached in the Khan case has effectively limited the amount of information available to make a definitive assessment of the relationship between Khan and members of the government, the trial has dealt a crippling blow to the government’s credibility. That credibility problem has been worsened by the fact that David Clarke, the former GDF officer who faces sentencing for drug trafficking in the United States, was supposed to be a witness for the prosecution of Roger Khan. It is not inconceivable that the Roger Khan case, and the plea agreement that resulted in his imprisonment, has resulted in the American acquisition of detailed information about the role of Khan and the security services in the violence that has redefined Guyanese life in recent years. Further, the fact that Khan and Clarke have been prosecuted outside of Guyana has provided concrete evidence that law enforcement in Guyana has been effectively compromised. There are now three questions that have emerged from the Roger Khan trial: (1) What did the Government of Guyana know about Khan and Clarke’s illegal activities? (2) When did the Government learn about their activities? And (3) Has the Government decided to investigate and/or indict both Khan and Clarke in light if the information that has been made public?
The failures of the security services and the government’s lack of effective management of the disciplined services will have an adverse effect upon Guyana’s development. The PPP government’s inability to enforce the rule of law will be a constraint upon the ability to attract legitimate investment for the diversification of the economy.
The Roger Khan has episode validated the wisdom contained within the Guyanese proverb – When you go to a crab dance you must get mud! As the recent Norway-Guyana agreement on preserving Guyana’s forests has made clear, the fund will be managed by a “reputable international financial institution” selected by both governments. It is perhaps a sign of the country’s status that its resources are being slowly but surely placed under international management and oversight. This loss of confidence in the PPP government is not restricted to countries providing aid to Guyana. The recent industrial unrest on the sugar estates involving GAWU suggests that the record of PPP mismanagement of the state and its assets has also begun to create tensions within its political base. These tensions have been exacerbated by the class distinctions within the party that the Jagans were able to manage effectively over the course of their careers. However, the current leadership has shown signs that appeals to racial solidarity at elections have defined the limits of its commitment to the party’s base communities.
The growing crisis of credibility that confronts the PPP is also proving to be a critical factor in the party’s internal debates about the Presidential candidate who will lead the party in the 2011 elections and the role of Bharrat Jagdeo in the future. Jagdeo’s rapid rise to prominence after 1993 was due in considerable measure to his relative youth and the perception that he was ideologically flexible enough to deal with the international agencies that were concerned about the limited talent that the PPP had to govern the country. His tenure as President has done little to reassure international agencies that the shortage of talent within the PPP has been effectively addressed. The Roger Khan and David Clarke plea deals in the United States have opened a window into the workings of the PPP government over the last decade and the reasons for the party’s inability to reverse Guyana’s economic stagnation and its political paralysis.
It is against this background that the torture of the 14-year old has become a symbol of the PPP’s approach to governance. The opposition parties had begun to compile a dossier on human rights violations and extra-judicial killings in Guyana under the PPP as the evidence in the Roger Khan trial became public. The disturbing photograph published in the Kaieteur News of the injuries suffered by the 14-year-old while in police custody is worth more than a thousand words. It has provided powerful evidence that the questions raised by the opposition parties in the dossier need to be investigated.
The dossier will provide the PPP the opportunity to answer Carter’s question: – Who do we think we are?
(This is one of a series of weekly columns from Guyanese in the diaspora and others with an interest in issues related to Guyana and the Caribbean)
