Gov’t would provide protection to informants - Harmon

Gov’t would provide protection to informants – Harmon

Jul 27, 2015 News

If people are prepared to provide information that would lead to the capture of criminals and their “intellectual authors”, then Government is prepared to provide protection to them.
This was made clear by Minister of State, Joseph Harmon, in a brief interview with Kaieteur News following a public gathering at the Stabroek Square, Georgetown, late last week.
“We are prepared to provide the kind of protection to persons, who are going to give us the information that will lead to the arrest of criminals, and will lead to the intellectual authors of crime,” affirmed Minister Harmon.
However, while the State Minister said that the government would provide protection, Harmon explained that should evidence reveal that the said informants were part of criminal activity, then they would have to be dealt with by the law as well.
“Persons who were part of the criminal enterprise, that were involved in killing people, murdering people, then they will have to face the music too,” said the Minister.
During the interview, he referred to these persons in possession of information regarding criminal activity as informants or “whistleblowers”. A whistleblower is one who reveals to the public or those in positions of authority the wrongdoings or unlawful activities of an organisation.

Minister of State, Joseph Harmon

The police structure within the Ministry of Public Security, Harmon said, has an arrangement that will see to the protection of such people and would activate those arrangements when needed for those persons.
His statement follows the shocking revelations that self-confessed member of the mid 2000s “death squad” Sean Hinds made early last week. During a highly publicised television interview with a popular news anchor, Hinds admitted that the said squad had received instructions from the headquarters of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
The death squad – of mainly civilians – was responsible for the hunting down and killing of many youths with criminal connections. It was headed by the late Alex Williams who had close links to former Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj.
In the interview, Hinds also implicated persons with connections to the former People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration for their involvement in the death squad.
When questioned whether the government will provide protection to Hinds at his post cabinet briefing Wednesday last, Minister Harmon responded that the former squad member could “take care of himself.”
Hinds made it clear that he is prepared to speak with Minister Harmon, but not to the police, about the work of the death squad that he was an integral part of.
Further, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum said that the self confessed hit man was wanted for a “serious offence” and should turn himself in.
During the Stabroek Square meeting, Minister Harmon told the crowd that he expects that more persons like Hinds will come forward to reveal connections between crime and its intellectual authors. He noted that should more revelations come to light, the public may begin to see more hastily called press conferences to deny linkages to known criminal characters.
“So when all of these known criminal characters reveal their backward linkages to the, as we call them, intellectual authors of the crime, then we will have a different Guyana,” said Harmon.
He continued to say that he believes the country will become a more lawful place once those persons responsible for the killings in the early-mid 2000s as well as the killing of former Minister Satyadeow “Sash” Sawh and political personality Ronald Waddell are brought to justice.
“And they will be brought to justice,” affirmed the State Minister.