FINEMAN IS DEAD; LONG LIVE THE FATMAN!

Aug 31, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Politics is now considered a pure science. Yet, as so often in history, we have seen where human agency and pure luck can play a pivotal role in shaping political developments.

A case in point is Guyana. A few days ago, the political career of Bharrat Jagdeo seemed to be on the ropes. Years upon years of security and other failures had taken the sheen off the initial sheen created when he assumed the Presidency.

Guyana had known nothing but problems under his rule, with especially the security situation haunting his terms in office.

His government’s handling of the security crisis was stoutly assailed. He faced the humiliation of three mass massacres taking place within the short period of six months.

His government has also come under serious criticism in other areas. It also was as if his political fortunes were irredeemable.

Yet, in a flash, all of this has been turned around by the neutralization by the security forces of two of Guyana’s most wanted criminals, Rondell Rawlins and Jermaine Charles aka Fine Man and Skinny respectively.

This success has brought great relief to the Guyanese people and has in the process turned around the fledging political fortunes of President Bharrat Jagdeo.

The timing could not have been more perfect. The men were killed just as Carifesta X was winding down, an event which the people of Guyana, under the leadership of President Bharrat Jagdeo, can be proud. The double success will revive his political career. Mother Luck has once again come to the President’s rescue.

This success will also vindicate the changes that he made last year within the security forces. These changes have proven extremely successful even though the changes within the army were widely criticized when they took effect.

The Joint Services have within a short period of time achieved a fantastic degree of success in dismantling the security threat that faced the nation.

The President should not now hesitate in rewarding the security forces. The Commissioner of Police should be immediately promoted along with a pay rise and the same should apply to the Chief of Staff whose rank should be upgraded to a Brigadier. They both deserve it for the great work they have done.

I also urge the Head of State to ensure that this week the entire fifty million dollar reward offered for Rondell Rawlins is paid to the Joint Services.

When that is completed, I hope that there will be serious introspection by the government. One of the things that they should ask themselves is how it is that the new leadership in the Joint Services could have, in such a short period of time, achieved such success in the fight to get the members of the criminal insurgency.

They should ask themselves also why such success was not possible during the term of the old leadership. What was responsible for the change in fortunes? Was it luck or was it human agency?

This column has repeatedly called for an investigation into what went wrong in the past. The government has repeatedly ignored this request.

All Guyanese should now raise their voices and demand that the government investigate the rate of progress by the security forces in the past. We have suffered too much as a nation for this matter to be swept under the carpet.

We need to know why the same level of success that we are now having within the security forces was not achieved in the past. We need to dissect what went wrong in the past so that we do not repeat the same mistakes in the future.

We need also to commit to ensuring that a criminal insurgency, as is presently being dismantled, does not ever resurface again.

The only way this can happen is to ensure that all those who offered support, however minimal to the criminals, are charged and placed before the courts.

There should be no mercy for persons found to have been supporting the criminals. Those that offered such support must face the full force of the law and be jailed for a long time. They must be made an example of.