The two most dangerous moments in Guyana in 2008

Jan 04, 2009 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

Media operatives who investigated the Buxton-based crime wave between 2002 and 2004 would have encountered his name.

His association stretches from the dubious men in the night like Axel Williams through to squads the media have dubbed the extra-judicial forces or phantom groups to the main kingpins in the narcotic trade. This man was said to have been associating with these types.

With information on him being a public secret, one is surprised that the US Embassy has not shown extreme anger to his appointment to one of the most sensitive and crucially important positions in Guyana. The combined Parliamentary Opposition should have asked the US Embassy to intervene.

It is not that we are close to becoming a banana republic; we have gone in that direction since 2002 and now we have become such with this particular appointment.

There could only be one explanation; definitely one explanation; no others exist. This man will protect senior political actors who are deeply involved in activities that should interest the US Embassy.

There could be no more tangible proof of how far the state in Guyana has degenerated and has become criminalized than the elevation of this person. Obviously, Professor Clive Thomas’s theory of the criminalized state will gain currency as the analyses on this man’s shocking installation in a strategic position become more talked about. This was surely one of Guyana’s worst moments in 2008.

The second most dangerous episode in 2008 is the ongoing scandal at the airport. Innocent, decent persons check in their luggage only to find out that when they reach their destination in Ontario, Miami, New York and Trinidad, there are narcotics planted in their suitcases.

It was the darkest corner in this country in 2008 that should scare every citizen, including foreigners, leaving our airport. So far no one has been arrested even though there are surveillance cameras that look at the transactions that take place from the moment the suitcase is put on the counter to be checked until it is placed onto the conveyor and taken to the bowels of the aircraft.

These cameras are either conveniently turned off or are tampered with, because even a blurred image would reveal an outline of the person putting the narcotics inside the luggage.

There has been no arrest so far. It is stretching the imagination to know that several innocent passengers were deceived and not even on one occasion, were the cameras able to come up with an identification.

The obvious interpretation is that powerful players may be using the luggage system at the airport to send narcotics to other countries.

What was distressing is that the opposition parties and civil society have not demanded answers from the government on what is a terrifying turn in the narcotics trade here.

The frightening dimension of this insane descent into state lawlessness is that the Customs officers at the foreign airports may not accept the denial of the Guyanese passengers.

Guyanese found with narcotics at international airports are automatically branded as guilty. This country is stereotyped as a major transshipment point for drugs entering the UK, Canada and the USA.

How many decent persons went to jail because of this conspiracy? In one case last year, an elderly woman in her late seventies became the latest victim.

Cocaine being put in your luggage at the airport is not a thing anyone of us has control over. It can be your elderly mother, your teenager daughter, your sick relative travelling overseas for medical treatment.

You may never see your spouse again. Your young child may come out of a Miami jail long after you are dead. This was the most horrendous story of 2008. We are all potential victims.

My deep feeling about this is that it is a conspiracy involving state actors and drug barons with extensive connection with state security.

We should not wait until there is the establishment of a DEA office here. We should not wait until the Americans put pressure on the people involved in administering what Professor Clive Thomas referred to as “the criminalized state.” The Guyanese people have become disturbingly apathetic and resigned.

In his wish for the New Year as requested by the Stabroek News, Khemraj Ramjattan cited the desire to see his fellow citizens “stop exhibiting such massive indifference.” The Guyanese people have failed to see the disaster waiting for many of us with this airport drug conspiracy. If there is anything in 2008 that should galvanize us into protesting it is this cocaine business at the airport.

I agree that fundamental political problems need an exigent response in the coming weeks of this new year. Stopping this cocaine monster at the airport should be one of them.