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GOVERNMENT DRAGGING ITS FEET ON THE LINDO CREEK INQUIRY
Exactly two weeks ago the news broke that the owner of a mining operation at Lindo Creek had discovered the burnt remains of what, we can now presume, are of his son, brother, and workers in the camp. Today, two weeks later, there is still no official and independent investigation taking place despite the calls by many for such an investigation. Everyone and particularly the families of the victims, remains in limbo as to whether there will be an attempt to find answers to the many questions surrounding the massacre at the camp. Weeks after the discovery was made of the charred skeletons the nation remains in limbo totally ignorant as to what if any progress is being made into identifying the perpetrators of the gruesome massacre at Lindo Creek in the Berbice River area. Yet we are told to wait indefinitely and not to speculate. What the Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force fail to understand is that is the waiting that is fuelling the speculation and it is the speculation that is damning to them.
There is obviously a total breakdown of the security and justice system of Guyana to the point that there are no clues, and always more questions than answers. Information received by the AFC is that for the first quarter of the year alone and in Division A only we have had over 400 armed robberies of which only one-tenth have been solved. There is little wonder why the public’s confidence is low.
The AFC leadership had met with the President to this discuss this single matter and besides being a cordial one the meeting failed to secure the objective of obtaining a commitment from the Head of State to appoint a Presidential Commission of Inquiry within the provisions of the Commission of Inquiry Act, Chapter 19:03. The mysterious circumstances which are demanding of an inquiry include:
- The fact of the location of the camp relative to the reported hide out of “Fineman” Rawlins
- The suspicious remaining behind by a member of the joint services
- Conflicting reports as to whether the passengers of the highjacked mini bus knew of the Lindo Camp incident an from whom
- The security forces statement that they were unaware of the presence of the miners’ camp within their cordon
- The modus operandi of the perpetrators of burning the bodies.
These are but a few of the burning issues that remain obscure to say the least and which cannot be addressed in our opinion unilaterally by the Guyana Police Force.
At the meeting with the President we were made aware that contact has been made by his office to the US Government for the provision of a forensic pathologist and other crime scene investigators. As of Friday last at the meeting with the President he expressed exasperation at the fact that there has been no response to this request, and asked us for assistance in locating such expertise. As a point of interest it has to be noted that for one supposedly government to refuse or to act or to display little alacrity whilst processing the request raises serious questions as to the level of the friendship indeed and suggest that it is not as amiable as being made out. We suggest that President Jagdeo expends some energy on his return from Antigua to shore up his government’s relation ship with Washington. It cannot escape notice as well that even prior to and after disclosing evidence in the Roger Khan trial the US government has failed or refused to share such information with us even after an official request has been made. Could it be that the obstacles have something to do with confidence and integrity or the lack thereof.
On the other hand and following on the heels of the meeting with the President the AFC leadership was in contact with local lawyers and the overseas group the CGID and have been privy to correspondence which discloses that a forensic investigative team is available and ready to travel to Guyana at a moment’s notice. This is a premier forensic team based in the United Kingdom and utilized by the security forces there whose credibility cannot be disputed. We support this effort and call on the government to prove its sincerity and bona fides by financing the arrival and work of this British Team. In keeping with the President’s request to have the AFC assist in identifying a credible forensic pathologist we will be contacting him shortly to advise that such a tem has been identified and should be funded by the Government of Guyana.
The relatives of the eight victims deserve closure and the right to hold funerals and the nation likewise is entitled to know the truth. We cannot wait any longer and in fact will be forced to conclude that if nothing is done that there is a deliberate act to cover up this dastardly act so that the perpetrators are never known.
Already, there has been a cover-up of the torture allegations leveled earlier in the year against the GDF and we just will not allow another cover up of what may very well turn out to be a security operation gone horrifically wrong.
GECOM
Today too marks seventeen (17) days since the decision of the Court of Appeal in the matter involving the AFC and GAP-ROAR regarding the equitable distribution of sucutineers’ money. Despite our request to GECOM for a meeting to resolve the issue we have received no answer except an acknowledgement of our letter. The officials of GECOM have to be reminded that they are paid servants of the people and cannot be allowed to show favour and disfavour to selected political parties in Guyana as is obviously the case. We are quite aware that the deadline for registration expires tomorrow July 4 and believe that GECOM deliberately allowed the time to expire before contacting us. In this way there will be no money to be paid over to AFC and GAP-ROAR scrutineers because the exercise would have come to an end. Such a decision was obviously taken by a conniving and calculating mind or minds and only goes to show what we are dealing with when we talk about the ability of GECOM to be credible and trustworthy enough to be able to produce any free, fair and transparent elections. The nation can judge for itself. For the record the AFC wishes to enumerate the past instances in which we believe GECOM’s conduct towards the AFC has been less than honourable.
- Just prior to the August 2006 elections GECOM officials called up scores of persons named on our submitted lists of polling day agents and offered them employment at a higher rate than that being paid by us. Needless to say this had an impact on our ability to monitor the poll and was only ceased after Mr. Trotman directly contacted Dr. Surujbally for him to ensure that this immoral practice ceased.
- Money was received by the Representatives of the Lists of the PPP/C and the PNCR for them to pay their polling day agents. It is our understanding that this arrangement was consummated at the Office of the President in the presence of the Chairman of GECOM and the payments were made by GECOM. Again no other contesting political party was allowed to benefit and we were all led to believe that we were operating on a level playing field in which we were all contestants. Animal Farm all over again.
- On polling day August 26, 2006 hundreds of our Polling Agents only were denied entry at Polling Places on the pretext that they required a fictitious Letter of Appointment. By the time Dr. Surujbally had the situation rectified and the instructions sent down to the Presiding Officers we had lost many valuable hours of scrutiny of the process and in many cases the total inability to observe that the process was free and fair. The damage was done and in an internal review we discovered that at polling places where there was no AFC Polling Agent allowed in that there was a high degree of spoilt ballots which we presume were in fact valid AFC votes.
- Following the elections using GECOM’s Statements of Poll we discovered through a process of simple arithmetic that we had won a parliamentary seat for Region 10. GECOM officials at a meeting held in January, 2007 admitted the mistake and led us to believe that the court will correct the mistake with GECOM’s concurrence. As of today the matter remains unresolved and GECOM’s tone has changed from apology and reasonable explanation to one of acrimony by saying that we have a “pretended claim”.
- Finally, there is the present issue in which once again our just claim to be allowed to share in the payments of scrutineers was disregarded and even a court order was disobeyed.
We have enumerated these instances to show how the relationship between GECOM and the AFC has deteriorated to the point where we now have little confidence in GECOM to capably preside over any future elections in which we are involved. We just don’t believe that we will be given fair and impartial treatment. The AFC will in the very near future be seeking to address this matter with GECOM.
THE GEORGETOWN CITY COUNCIL
The nation’s attention has once again been diverted from Lindo Creek to the sick saga that is the Georgetown City Council by the latest revelations surrounding an audit conducted by the Auditor General’s office. We are in no position to sit in judgment of anyone except that we expect the system to be allowed to work. All citizens must have a sense that in times of trouble or crisis that the system will effectively address the problem regardless of who is involved. Those implicated must be given an opportunity to respond accordingly, and justice must at all times not only be done but be manifestly be seen to be done.
Additionally, the point has to be re-emphasised that the problems at the Georgetown City Council are symptomatic of a wider problem of collapse and malaise which pervades the local government system in Guyana. The system is broken throughout the country and needs urgent renewing. It is in tatters and can only be fixed if and when the decision makers become serious about infusing a deep sense of democracy into the little villages, and towns which are the heart of this nation. The AFC is advocating for a bottom-up approach to governance in which ordinary citizens who don’t have to be a party big wig can organize themselves and decide and control their own affairs, including raising their own taxes, and taking care of their own security needs. Power must be devolved from the executive and legislature into the hands of the people.
When the power is released the people will be happier, content, less corrupt and more inclined to remain to develop this system as against the heavy handed top down approach of democratic centralism presently practiced where every decision has to flow from the Office of the President and people are suffocated and stifled.
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