Rohee’s COI testimony deems him grossly incompetent

Nov 09, 2012 Letters

Dear Editor,
I read Nigel Hughes’ letter to the media outlining the evidence, which in his opinion, has emerged from the COI on the Linden killings. I had previously stated that Rohee is negligent if he knew of the protest and failed to ensure that no lethal force would be used.
Hughes stated Rohee testified that on 17th July he met for at least 25 minutes with the Commissioner of Police, Persaud and Hicken, at his office about the protest which was scheduled for the next day. Lethal force was discussed at this meeting. Rohee reportedly said he was given an undertaking that no lethal force would be used during the protest.
Let’s assume Rohee is telling the truth and examine his actions in light of what happened. The fact that the undertaking to the minister was disobeyed means there is gross disrespect for that minister. The fact that the Minister did not sanction any of the policemen (senior of junior) who allegedly disobeyed him tells us he accepts this insubordination and is incapable of ordering and commanding the police force.
Nothing reinforces this point more than Agricola where even after the crippling Linden fallout from killing unarmed civilians, the police killed a citizen in cold blood again. Again, Rohee did nothing. If Rohee is to be believed at the Linden COI, he is severely exposed as a grossly incompetent minister who can be lied to and disobeyed by his own minions without consequence. This is serious business because Rohee is responsible for the safety of the entire country.
If Rohee is to be believed, he is nothing but a weak and impotent caricature who has zero control over the police he is supposed to command. It means the police are controlling him as opposed to him controlling the force.
Thus, with impotent Rohee’s continuation as Home Affairs Minister we will get more Lindens and Agricolas where unchecked police barbarity against unarmed civilians will plunge this country into dark days. We will get more police depravities without consequence.
Under Rohee we are assured of more Agricolas where tens of thousands of commuters are stranded while the frazzled police struggles to contain a handful of fierce protesters and where the police demonstrate an inability to protect the public from robbery, assaults and attacks.
There is a bigger problem, if Rohee is to be believed, that he was disobeyed. There is his failure to reprimand those who disobeyed him. It means the PPP’s inability to control the police leads to the PPP’s inability to fight crime.
For Donald Ramotar and the rest of the PPP’s bigwigs to put their faith in Rohee as the man to lead the police force tells us that the PPP controllers do not care about the people of this country. They are well protected. Their children and homes and belongings are well protected. The rest of us are cannon fodder.
The PPP’s leadership continued pledge to back Rohee is an admission by the PPP that it cannot reform the police. It tells us that we will continue to get a PPP that defends the police force when it uses blunt force and open brutality. While it serves the PPP to have beasts in the police force acting like animals on citizens and failing to defend citizens assaulted right in the sphere they are operating, it does not serve the people of Guyana.
Many within the PPP have no problem with a corrupt police force that extorts the Guyanese public for it is exactly the kind of misconduct they engage in from the highest offices of the land. The police’s failure to defend poor people in this criminal country is not a problem for those who enjoy full protection in their Pradoville palaces.
That the Jagdeo/Ramotar band has full faith in Rohee is testament to how failed is their perspective on this nation and its people. Clement Rohee has been an abject failure.
M. Maxwell

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