Spare no quarters to remove this nastiness of domestic terrorism

Oct 26, 2009 Letters

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Dear Editor,

An enduring criminality stalks the entire Caribbean; the scourge of narco-trafficking, gun running, etc., gains impetus within the context of remote, unpopulated, and porous borders of the Caribbean, including Guyana, providing attractive transshipment routes for these well-prized possessions.

Guyana and all its CARICOM partners present claims of novel and aggressive measures against this deadly affliction.

In Trinidad & Tobago, the killing of 25-year old Guyanese Samuel De Souza at Beetham Gardens a few days ago brings the number of murders this year to 430, tripling the murder rates within three years; and one woman within the security force, encapsulating similar sentiments among a few other persons with whom I spoke, dismissed the Manning Government crime-fighting measures as not working. As a visitor, I see Trinidadians acknowledging the long-lasting crime wave, with almost a symbiotic indifference and disgust at this enduring criminality, while at the same time carry an utter resignation to cope with this evil.

Notwithstanding that Guyana shares a similar burden of crime with its CARICOM partners, ordinary Guyanese do not express the same level of resignation. Indeed, ordinary Guyanese acknowledge the slow-paced results of their Government’s crime-fighting measures; and we also must not be overzealous of our criticisms of these people; ordinary people issue these feelings because of their growing security concerns.

But, simultaneously, let’s not forget, too, the manifest and latent role of some unseemly events, episodes, and people that catapult the birth and growth of this criminality in Guyana; inclusive of domestic terrorism.

Politicians have a lot for which to answer when you think of stoking the fire for the purpose of promoting this unsavory criminality; in this context, recall Korten of the Miami Herald alluding to an Opposition member’s assertion that, ‘’We have a new generation of criminals now who have resolved never to be captured because they don’t believe the system will bring them justice.’’

This kind of remark certainly does not help in the context of enduring domestic terrorism; and, indeed, other politicians weighed in on the crime wave then in 2002-2003 and also now, with sporadic bursts of crime, to augment their own selfish political interests; and these are the politicians who live off politics, rather than live for politics, as I remarked in previous columns.

With tacit political support, we saw what Korten described thus: “…Meanwhile, the escapees’ gang grew, and Rondell Rawlins, nicknamed ‘Fineman’, a local term for skinny, joined. Fliers started appearing announcing the group as an armed resistance out to defend the Afro-Guyanese. One of the escapees even appeared on TV, toting a gun, to press that point…” And so much for public interest in broadcasting!

Indeed, integral to this criminality is domestic terrorism that gains momentum as a strategy for political destabilisation when economic conditions seem to make a turn for the better. But any government has to spare no quarters to remove this nastiness of domestic terrorism.

The Cabinet is not the professional crime-fighting force in Guyana; that is the job for the Guyana Police Force; and as is the case with police forces globally, the Guyana Police Force is the crime-fighting force with the responsibility to protect the citizenry. But the Cabinet and Parliament have a sacred duty to strengthen other parts of the judiciary.

And so within this context, the Government, as part of its comprehensive crime-fighting strategy, now has in place a number of crime-fighting legislation since 2002, among others, thus:

1. The Criminal Law (Offences) (Amendment) Act 2002 that is expected to prevent acts of violence and destruction of property.

2. The Prevention of Crimes (Amendment) Act 2002 that is expected to have Guyanese deportees monitored by the police.

3. The Racial Hostility (Amendment) Act 2002 that increases the punishment for offences effected under the principal law.

4. The Evidence (Amendment) Act 2002 provides for the admissibility of documents generated by the computer as well as other documents inclusive of disc, tape, sound track, or other mechanisms.

5. The Criminal Procedure (Plea Bargaining and Plea Agreement) Bill 2008 makes provisions for a plea bargaining agreement.

6. The Evidence (Amendment) Bill 2008 makes provisions to facilitate the presence of detainees in court for obtaining bail, etc., from the place of detention through audio visual communication.

7. The Interception of the Telecommunication Bill 2008 allows for the “monitoring of transmissions made by fibre optic cable or any other forms of wire line, by wireless telegraphy, voice over internet protocol, internet and all other forms of electromagnetic communication to or from the apparatus comprising the systems”.

8. The Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2008 mandates providers of SIM-cards and cellular phones to document recording and saving information from SIM-cards and mobile cellular phones, including those of their customers.

The Criminal Law (Procedure) (Amendment) Bill 2008, “will formalise the alleged paper committals of accused for High Court trials instead of awaiting the end of a preliminary inquiry (PI).”

Guyana, prior to the Criminal Law (Offences) (Amendment) Act 2002, had no law that carried the death penalty for a terrorist act. The death penalty, again prior to this law, provided for crimes other than those involving terrorism.

This new law mandates the death penalty for a convicted terrorist.

Terrorism includes taking human lives, but is not solely confined to human killings; terrorism incorporates other types of heinous crimes, as indicated in the aforementioned ‘terrorist’ offences.

And ordinary people are happy to learn that the CARICOM crowd today sees the wisdom of a regional crime-fighting force; but these ordinary people want to see some action from that force.

And so, while people look for progress, whether, it is about crime, economics, health, education, etc., from governments, and so they should, let us also understand that progress also emanates from a change in people’s values; not only change in government’s values.

Prem Misir

 

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