THAT TOP-LEVEL MEETING!

Aug 16, 2011 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

One of the feature stories of last Sunday’s edition of the Kaieteur News should be of interest to the Ministry of Home Affairs. The story concerned accusations that were allegedly made at a top-level meeting within the Guyana Police Force.
The newspaper reported that certain accusations were made against certain ranks at that meeting. Such reports within the Guyana Police Force are matters of public interest and the Kaieteur News was in its right to report it, just as it was in its right to treat as a matter of public interest a recording which was made years ago, and which was said to involve telephone conversations of a senior police official.
It was therefore astonishing to have read the reaction of the Guyana Police Force to the said article. Instead of denying or confirming the report, a statement from the police took issue with this newspaper for doing what newspapers are supposed to do, bring matters of public interest to the attention of its readers.
The statement accused this newspaper of regurgitating information that originated from a private meeting within the police force. Is this an admission that the regurgitated version accurately captures what was said? After all it could not have been described as regurgitation, unless it reflects what was said, could it?
Regardless of whether the meeting was private or not, the accusations allegedly made at that meeting are of serious concern to the security of this nation, and deal with matters of public concern. This newspaper therefore has done nothing wrong in reporting what was reportedly said at that meeting.
Kaieteur News should not be the issue here. This is a red herring. Kaieteur News is not doing anything that it is not supposed to be doing. It got a scoop and it ran with it because it is a matter of public importance.
The issue is the nature of the accusations that were said to have been made at the meeting. The accusations are extremely serious and how they are dealt with will either lead to greater respect or disrespect for the Guyana Police Force.
The police may have their internal issues about the leaking of information. This is a matter they have to attend to, but they should not simply, given the seriousness of the accusations, adopt the position that they are taking.
The police have made it clear in the statement that they would not divulge or respond to what was said. In short, it was not confirming the contents of the meeting. This also is its right, but it may not be the best approach.
But it is also the duty of the subject ministry, given the seriousness of the allegations which were purportedly made at that meeting, to open an investigation into the matter. This is how professionals should deal with what was reported in the media.
This is not a matter that can be ignored. There were reportedly some serious accusations made, which have bearing on the possible performance of the force, and therefore these allegations need to be investigated thoroughly.
But not only should the Ministry of Home Affairs have an interest in these accusations, which by no stretch of the imagination can be described as private.
The accusations made may not be true, but the only way in which a determination can be made about their truthfulness is for the matter to be investigated impartially, and this is what one expects the Ministry of Home Affairs to do.
No formal complaint has to be filed to the Ministry of Home Affairs. This is a matter in the public domain and the Ministry of Home Affairs is obligated to investigate.
The Police Service Commission should also be interested in having the allegations investigated and should insist on this. The government as whole has an interest.
The seriousness of the allegations made cannot be missed outside of Guyana. And they are not going to be. The foreign embassies are going to do their homework and are going to gather their own information. They are also going to look seriously at how the local authorities deal with this matter.
There can be no harm in a professional approach to this matter. Allegations have been made and these allegations have to be investigated.
If the government refuses to investigate these matters, it will be undermining confidence in the Guyana Police Force. If the Guyana Police Force continues to adopt this position that it will not respond to the charges made, it will not help the situation.

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