President Bharrat Jagdeo has denied that a new intelligence body being set up would be used to spy on opponents, while criticising politicians for only finding fault with the country.
Jagdeo was responding to the criticisms of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), which has given voice to concerns about the government’s decision to establish a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), questioning whether it would concentrate its efforts on spying on the citizenry, including the political opponents of the government.
During his remarks at the annual police officers conference, Jagdeo lambasted the party for its criticisms and stressed that his government is creating an intelligence agency that will support the police force in their fight against crime. He pointed out that the formation of such an intelligence unit is a normal happening in other countries. “[But] I opened the papers today and I see a defunct political party, the WPA–I don’t know if it exists anymore–saying that we are creating an intelligence agency to spy on citizens and political opponents,” he said. “Let me make it clear: we don’t need to spy on political opponents; if I want to find information I will just get somebody to go to the rum shop and they would give me all the information I need on political opponents,” he added.
The President said many persons, who want the police force to be effective and would “cuss” when they make mistakes, are the same persons who criticise when the government attempts to make changes for improvement. “…When it is time to give you the tools so that you can operate effectively, they see a jumbie behind every bush, because they are accustomed all their lives to see jumbies, they have never done anything or never manage anything so that is all they do every day,” Jagdeo said.
According to the President, the agency is not intended to spy on anyone; rather, it would have the best operatives who will garner particular electronic intelligence, using high-tech surveillance methods.
He said the police would have all of the information and images and the force would be able to analyse it and then create a criminal intelligence not only to solve crime but also to prevent it. “We don’t have any desire to spy on political opponents or ordinary citizens,” the President said pointing out that the tools now being brought to the police force have already been provided to law enforcement agencies in the developed world.
He added that fortunately for those agencies, they do not have to contend with persons who complain about everything “under the sun, they don’t see anything positive in this land…
“And they get one call from a particular ambassador and they are running over paying homage over there, I don’t pay homage to people, just to one cause–the Guyanese cause–so let me make that clear,” the head of state said.
The WPA recently warned, in a statement, against any attempt to force the Guyana Defence Force in a new direction, in violation of the constitution.
The President at the recent army officers’ conference had said that the traditional focus of the army would have to change to ensure better use of the country’s resources.
