Dear Editor,
Many thanks for publishing my letter in SN’s issue of Monday, May 21, 2012 (‘A policeman has the power to arrest “any person he has good cause to suspect”‘). I am also particularly grateful for the erudite exposition from the President of the Guyana Bar Association in the editor’s note which, albeit, speaks essentially to the powers of the police, almost exclusive of the rights of particularly disadvantaged sections of the population, a situation which in all fairness the response recognises.
The question is, however, what are the targeted innocents supposed to understand when their human rights are abused by lawmen? Is there a case for intensive education and public awareness programmes which the contending parties must share, with the aim of arriving at a mutual appreciation of their respective rights and obligations?
The response optimistically suggests that the under-class of the society is in default for not appealing to one ‘Caesar’ about the discrimination perpetrated on them by other ‘little Caesars.’ In the end the public is still un-advised as to whether or not there are specific statutory requirements for all cell phone users to carry ‘receipts of ownership’ on their persons, on pain of being prosecuted for ‘illegal possession’!
This is a matter which affects all citizens, large or small, including policemen themselves (particularly those who threaten to confiscate the property of suspects).
Noticeably, however, those who wear ties (and are still mis-addressed as ‘white-collared’) appear to escape this discriminatory scrutiny.
Yours faithfully,
E B John
