Dear Editor,
So the Police shot and killed a young man who was seeking to celebrate his birthday in Georgetown outside a fish shop.
I have no doubt that the responsible senior police officers (and we do have a number of them) must be disturbed, and like so many of us appalled.
What is of interest, and the matter we must deal with is the statements by the teenagers who were being pursued by the police.
Yes, the fifteen year old was in breach of the law driving a vehicle without a licence, but they all said that they were afraid to be stopped by the police in a dark place.
I have spoken to several persons in several parts of Guyana, particularly to young men, and residents of certain parts of Georgetown and certain villages in Guyana; they all express a concern about the highhanded and brutal behaviour of some members of the police force who, it appears, at the drop of a hat, are willing to execute.
This is a serious situation where people in several communities fear the police, and worse, feel that they will not get justice even though the motto of the police force is to serve and protect the people; this is gross deception and the exact opposite.
This perception among our people can lead to an unsatisfactory state in a country where citizens can soon be compelled to take the administration of justice in their own hands.
The next stage of course, is mayhem, confusion and anarchy.
But what happened to young Belgrave, the young man who had his genitals burnt and the young man, Shaquille Grant, shot to death in Agricola, are merely a representation of what is emerging as an unacceptable pattern of behaviour by some armed members of the police force.
Condign and swift action must be taken. It is clear that the Minister of Home Affairs and the Government are not interested in arresting this behaviour.
Since it is clear that the PPP administration will do nothing to arrest this situation, the Opposition and all decent citizens, irrespective of race, religious persuasion or age should now come together and say; thus far and no further.
My favourite theory in this regard is that, oft times we see the trees around us and fail to see the forest.
The trees are those trigger happy murderers in the police force who see nothing wrong in slaughtering their own blood families who they should be serving and protecting.
The truth of the matter is the forest, an administration that has shown a total disregard in protocol, parliament, decency and morality, and by extension disregard for people and their lives. When an administration could punish the Capital to make a political point, we have a serious problem. When an administration can turn a nelson’s eye to many acts of corruption; when an administration could attempt to set up IMC’s instead of settling the details of the Local Government Reform, we are in trouble.
When an administration could see millions of dollars frittered away on propaganda, citizens must be aware. When an administration could feel that one radio station is good enough in a democracy, we must shed tears.
What we see essentially is that several operatives in the police force are mimicking the attitude of arrogance and bullyism displayed by the Central Government every day of the year – that is the forest we must cut down.
Unless citizens are prepared to say to Mr. Ramotar and his administration we will not sit back and allow this destruction of the pillars of morality, rectitude and protocol upon which a society must be built, we must be prepared to stand up, and I expect that when proposals for things like a vigil and other expressions of protest against these excesses are organized, that those nice people will leave their dining halls, galleries, and night clubs and join us for this decay that is now evident as a spreading cancer that will consume everyone irrespective of race, colour or creed.
Yours faithfully,
Hamilton Green, J.P.
