Dear Editor,
Is the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene for real? The Americans, not Stabroek News or Kaieteur News or any other news agency but the Americans themselves wrote something about Henry Greene. In fact, the American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) allegedly provided the US Embassy with a specifically worded statement which they wanted President Jagdeo to hear about Henry Greene. News agencies have the freedom to publish what the Americans wrote. Henry Greene is the Commissioner of Police of this country, not an ordinary citizen. Anything that the DEA says about Henry Greene should be public information given the role he holds, the role he was considered for at the time, the importance of the office, the role of law enforcement, the grip of criminality that ‘headlocked‘ the country at the time, the fear of the populace about crime, the rampant runaway crime situation, the expectations of the public about the police, the sunken credibility of the police, the common public disgust about corruption within the police force and the fact that a number of ex-policemen were working in the private armies of drug cartels. The President has not denied that the conversation took place. Nor has he denied that the statement from the DEA was provided to him by the US Embassy. No evidence was reportedly provided to President Jagdeo. Mr Greene was appointed. Mr Greene’s visa was revoked by the Americans.
Further, the statement to the President of Guyana came from a source with a long history of fighting drug trafficking, a network that spans continents, a remarkable intelligence system, exceptional information gathering, a history of bringing the most powerful drug traffickers to justice. The DEA is no fly-by-night organisation. It has billions upon billions of US dollars at its disposal. Three of Guyana’s biggest drug traffickers and money launderers in Roger Khan, David Clarke and Peter Morgan were brought to justice by this same DEA. They confessed and did not protest their innocence in a court. Henry Greene should sue the DEA. He should sue the American government, the US Embassy and the US Ambassador. He should sue WikiLeaks. But he should not sue anyone else for reporting on information provided. Mr Greene is entirely correct in defending himself. He is entitled to do so. He has pointed out that the US has not cited any incident or situation which implicates him. The US refused to provide the President with any evidence. But character assassination should be established against the writings of the US Embassy, not against the newspapers publishing those writings.
Yours faithfully,
M Maxwell