Dear Editor,
The recent protest and looting of Mon Repos Market vendors must be strongly condemned by every right thinking Guyanese. I have not yet seen any statements by the PNC and eagerly await their official press release disassociating themselves from the dastardly conduct of looters who certainly hail from villages where the PNC is known to garner strong political support. However, the main thrust of my letter has to do with the efficiency, or lack of it, from the Guyana Police Force. I ask the police force to answer the following questions:
1) Was permission granted for this protest? If so when? Did the protesters and their leaders have to file a route and was a specific time frame granted?
2) Is it standard Practice or not for the GPF to monitor movements of protesters to ensure they comply with the laws of Guyana during a peaceful protest?
3) Does the police force think that their intelligence failed them? I would like to see Mr. Hicken’s detailed response.
4) Is there a possibility or not that the GPF officers could have deliberately turned a blind eye fully knowing that the protesters were planning to loot, as from all information available publicly, it seemed this was their intention?
Shouldn’t the Ethnic Relations Commission immediately launch an inquiry into this matter since it will likely further damage race relations between the 2 major racial groups, further making the One Guyana goal of the President even more elusive?
Editor, in regards to the Quindon Bacchus matter that supposedly caused this commotion and looting, there have been statements from former Senior Police Officers, Conway and Slowe, who questioned whether the police officer involved was treated with “Kid”” gloves instead of facing the law if they acted outside of Police Standard Practice. It would be helpful to the public if the Commissioner (Ag) Mr. Hicken can reply definitively to the aforementioned questions.
Sincerely,
Chris Persaud
