Dear Editor,
As we collectively mourn the deaths of two of our men in uniform and citizens of Guyana there is disdain for the failure of the security services’ method of approach in containing and defusing a situation that caused the death of five Guyanese citizens.
From the outset it was evident that there is no active Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to deal with emergencies in Guyana. The first batch of police personnel that arrived on the scene came without a plan, seemingly directionless and as confused as the onlookers. Subsequently police came out in numbers. Here is where one can safely conclude that all of the police reform programmes coming out of the Ministry of Home Affairs were just hogwash. It was high noon in the city, with uncoordinated shooting from all angles, and one is at a loss to understand what has happened to security in Guyana.
Editor, our Guyana Police Force in the new era of evolving crime situations is adrift in the sea of PPP political ineptitude and mismanagement. Having turned down the British help one would have expected our local political mendicants coming out of the Ministry of Home Affairs would be up to the task of providing reforms that would allow all Guyanese to feel relatively safe.
I pose these questions to the Police Chief and the Minister of Home Affairs:
1. What was the effective plan for the operation? Was there a rapid deployment team and who was the commander on the ground?
2. Was there an on-scene threat risk assessment?
3. In view of the fact that the shooter was barricaded why were sharp shooters not deployed on rooftops with high powered rifles?
4. Why wasn’t there a negotiator with a loud hailer engaging the shooter?
6. If the shooter was relying on cameras to coordinate his responses why was the power not taken off?
7. Could the Minister who speaks highly of a reform plan state what part of the SOP was utilized during this confrontation?
8. Was there an established command centre?
9. Finally, who gave the order for the now deceased policemen to engage without body armour?
Editor, the approaches of the police force under the current Minister of Home Affairs have developed into a comedy of errors, and this is felt in all the ten regions of Guyana. I submit that the reforms must begin within the Ministry of Home Affairs. A professional and qualified individual is needed to salvage the pride of the national police where they can offer quality service to citizens.
The political directorate has spent all from their bag of tricks and ‘kleptocracy.’ We are living in a failed political, social, economic and security environment. The writing is on the wall. Economic and social pressures to feed and fatten a clique only produces violent responses. Visas and passports won’t help the anger, and the bile of the people will be exposed.
Yours faithfully,
Renis Morian, MP
