They essentially admitted that they failed on security

Aug 29, 2011 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Did you know that the PPP government crawled to the Americans after the killing of Sash Sawh, got down on its knees and admitted it was clueless and completely at a loss with respect to dealing with crime in Guyana? Yes, a government that loves to cuss down the same United States of America at every turn. Wikileaks cables from the US embassy in Guyana revealed this.
The US has always offered to fight crime in Guyana provided it can fight drugs. The PPP has always refused. According to the cable, the PPP requested help from the USA with finding some AK-47s, solving Sawh’s murder and asked for equipment to build an elite force. The request was weak, cosmetic, a pretence and a complete and utter joke.
The Americans, British and Canadians had already given millions of US dollars to the PPP for various policing initiatives. The PPP had known all along that these governments would not get involved in Guyana beyond what they already do unless they can target drug cartels. Luncheon’s request did not specify help in attacking the drug cartels.
The PPP took the war on drugs off the table. The country was burning, its people terrified and business grinding to a halt and the PPP wanted help finding some weapons, solving a crime and free equipment. The request was hollow.
It did not ask for help finding, capturing, deporting and prosecuting criminals whether escaped convicts or drug kingpins. The request itself exposes that the PPP was never really serious about protecting and securing Guyanese. The request was a complete and utter joke.
There was no specific request for help in fighting the root of the problem: drugs, the drug trade, drug trafficking, drug kingpins and drug cartels.
After Sawh was killed, the US Embassy sat down, assessed the information floating around and came up with four theories for Sawh’s killing. One theory points to an anti-government criminal gang.
Another points to revenge for Ronald Waddell’s killing. Two more theories point to Sawh’s fallout from suspected links to a suspected money launderer and another to Sawh angering the drug lords. Guyana’s investigation was at a dead end in 2006 when Jagdeo approached the Americans.
The PPP government did not know who killed Sawh. The PPP tried to blame the anti-government gang. Two of the theories pointed to the possible involvement of the drug cartels. Yet, the PPP never saw it fit to ask the Americans for help fighting drug cartels that were suspected of murdering Sawh. The Americans, Canadians and British will not get involved if drugs are taken off the table.
You cannot expect a man to support you if you do nothing to stop those who try to poison his children with drugs. It was simple. Four theories existed.
The logical response would have been to get the players in all four theories from the drug lords to the suspected money launderers to the criminal gangs to the anti-government gangs. Get them all and get to the truth. The PPP never did.
The year 2006 presented a wonderful opportunity to the PPP to eradicate the country of criminals of all kinds, including drug cartels and criminal gangs. They did not.
By taking the war on drugs off the table, it enabled the drug trade to flourish and enabled drug trafficking crime fighters with full page ads to emerge. The PPP is not serious and was never serious on crime.
Because to be serious on crime, you have to be serious on drugs. It is the biggest scourge in this country. The PPP has never been serious on drugs. Thus, the PPP will never be serious on crime in Guyana. From drug kingpins to jailbreak thugs, this country has been caught in one set of killings after
another since the PPP came to office.
When criminals can masquerade so freely and make a mockery of a nation, silence can only be deemed consent. After all, it is the duty of government to fight crime of any and every kind. No government should ever allow criminals to fight criminals in the name of law enforcement.
According to the leaked cable, the failed PPP government of Jagdeo admitted that the Guyanese public was fed up with their performance on security and they were looking for a response “that captures the public’s imagination.” Now, there are admissions of failure. But this one takes the cake. The cake shop mis-managers took the cake with this one.
They essentially admitted that they failed on security. By running to the Americans, British and Canadians, they admitted those people knew more about securing and protecting Guyanese than the comedic PPP.
But they seemingly don’t want these same people to come into Guyana and help crush criminal gangs and the drug trade. The PPP simply does not have a clue on crime and security.
They never cared to know how to secure Guyanese. The gravest threat to our democracy has been the PPP’s failure on crime and security.
The PPP cannot tell people to acquire the trappings of wealth while doing nothing of substance to stop those who freely target Guyanese who have slaved their entire lives to get those same trappings of wealth.
A man tries to build a nice house after saving for years and years and he becomes an easy target in this PPP crime paradise.
As long as the PPP continues to fail on crime and security, any attempt by ordinary Guyanese to better their existence makes them immediate targets to the growing number of criminals.
We must ask ourselves this simple question: how many of the criminals in the past 19 years of PPP rule who have terrorized and murdered Guyanese from the drug kingpins to ‘Fineman’ to the Jailbreak Gang were involved in or linked to the drug trade at some point?
Ask yourself this question and that PPP 19-year legacy of crime becomes clearer. A vote for the PPP is a vote for crime and insecurity. The PNC will deliver no better. Ensure you buy those iron bars for your home and lock yourself in that cage the PPP has made you create in your own home.
For the time will soon come when they want you to emerge from your homemade cage to mark your X for them. The PPP don’t deserve the security of the Guyanese vote.
The crime of apathy and uselessness they have committed while dealing with crime and insecurity in Guyana is too hard to bear.
M. Maxwell

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