JAIL THEM!

Sep 05, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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I have long since abandoned the notion that the entire community of Buxton was a victim of the armed gangs that operated from that village. I have accepted, however, that the vast majority of the residents in that community were in no way complicit with the bandits.
However, the regularity with which the bandits found a haven in that area, the persistency of the bandits in seeking shelter in that area, the consistency of the attacks on both civilians and the disciplined services from that area and now the fact that the security forces have video footage of wanted men openly advertising their hardware in full view of sections of the community has led me to the conclusion that collectively, Buxton-Friendship must accept responsibility for the pain and suffering that has been inflicted on the Guyanese people by the renegades that operated from out of that community.
I empathize with the law-abiding citizens of that community but I will equally say that Buxton cannot and should not be treated as victim of the gunmen. It needs to be asked why of the hundreds of communities in Guyana, the gunmen so consistently sought and found cover in Buxton. I refuse to accept that collectively Buxton did enough to rid their community of these devils.
Buxton-Friendship, as a collectivity, needs to regain the respect and confidence of the Guyanese people. It can begin this process, now that the much vaunted gang is seriously eroded, by identifying those persons within its community who offered support, however minimal, to the bandits.
The activities of the armed gangs which sprouted up in the wake of the General and Regional Elections of 2001, and which reached their apogee during the reign of the prison escapees, have caused unimaginable pain to the Guyanese nation. The cost in human life and suffering outdid the period of the sixties when civil strife took hold in Guyana.
The cost to the economy is beyond estimation. Guyana lost investments and other opportunities because persons did not wish to come to do business with us due to the security situation. Our citizens are poorer today and we have to make an extra special effort to recover from that period when fear dominated.
A dark period in our country’s history is about to come to an end. Because of the suffering and cost, both human and financial of that period, we must ensure that never again should such a situation reemerge in Guyana.
This column has identified a number of factors that led to this terrible period in our country’s history. The first of these factors was political irresponsibility which fostered an environment that allowed for political extremists to gain a foothold. The second factor was the exposure political extremists were given by sections of the electronic media. The third was the fact that we had weaknesses in the security responses, for which this column has repeatedly called for a commission of inquiry. Fourthly, I believe that one of the central reasons why the reign of terror continued was because those involved and those supporting and benefitting from the criminal insurgency were being allowed to get away with their evil activities.
This column has always argued that the main cause of the increase in crime is because those involved get away with their unlawful acts. The greatest deterrent to crime is to ensure that those involved do not escape the consequences of their actions. I believe that Buxton-Friendship continuously became a haven for criminals because those who supported the criminals got away with it and got away consistently.
It is now time that people in Guyana understand that if you support criminals that you are vicariously culpable for the actions of those criminals.  I am therefore calling on the Guyana Police Force to exercise zero-tolerance to any person who cavorted with the criminals.
If you were a lover of a criminal and you knew that he was wanted by the law, you should face the consequences. If you were a relative and provided any assistance to a wanted person, you should also face the full force of the law. If you simply went out to buy food and drink for the criminals you must face up to your actions.
What happened in Guyana must never happen again. The only way to ensure this is to stop making those who supported the criminals as victims and start treating them as co-conspirators. All those who aided and abetted the criminals must face jail time.
The final factor that contributed to the mess we found ourselves in was the playing of politics with crime. I therefore urge those who say that they have video footage of politicians cavorting with the criminals, to produce the footage. If this cannot be done, those politicians should resign in disgrace.

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