The President is flagrantly breaking those same laws with his unilateral appointment

Nov 19, 2017 Letters

I would like to have a discussion with you on two matters of importance. My first item surrounds statements made by Dr. Barton Scotland Speaker of The House of Assembly in Guyana. Dr Scotland in his capacity as speaker decries the protest action taken by The Opposition in the parliament chambers. His view is that The PPP/C should not have desecrated the hallowed chambers of parliament with protest action. In his words “The performance by those in The Opposition, was unworthy of The National Assembly and serve to heap disrespect on The Honourable House.” Pretty strong words coming from a man who is quoting from the standing orders or simply put from The constitution of The Republic of Guyana.
So I ask the rhetorical question why quote from the constitution rather refer to some quote by someone else? Isn’t it hypocritical that this same speaker can quote from the constitution or the laws that should govern and guide us when The President is flagrantly breaking those very same laws with his unilateral appointment of Mr Patterson as The GECOM Chairman. This is what The Opposition highlighting, a lack of respect for the law! Then it behooves me to say, Isn’t this an indictment on The Speaker? Yes, it is Mr. Speaker, it is for this just cause that The Opposition held a protest. The PPP/C as well as The People of this fair republic were reminding the autocrats that our country has laws that must be observed, laws that must be adhered to.
So instead of giving a reprimand to Dr Jagdeo and his Party he ought to be speaking to Mr. Granger about breaking the law.
He should be addressing that burning issue of law breaking, but he is cognizant of the fact that with the authoritarian rule of the PNC, any word of condemnation from Scotland would see his immediate removal from office.
And you can see it in his handling of matters coming from the Opposition.
He always takes the down road of an impartial arbiter in all matters of parliament.
His biased and jaundiced views supersede fairness and equity so I am not in the least impressed by his comments. His deliberations in the house are all for public viewing on YouTube, made public so that you can make your own assessment of him.
I now turn my attention to The Guyana Police Force. We are now being informed that the recent slaying of well known businessman Godfrey Scipio was no accidental occurrence or one of robbery, as it was made out to be but one of a planned execution crafted and surgically executed by a seasoned police criminal. The reason for his execution is that he might have been the informant which led to the recent recapture of a wanted criminal.
The message is clear you report on anything illegal and you pay with your life. You speak out against criminals and you are immediately blacklisted by the police. This is the society the so called guardians of the law have reduced our country into. A fearsome and ghastly place to live in.
But what irks me more is the fact that these workings of criminal rogue cops are nothing new.
These crime stories are grounded in the police force for a long time now.
As someone remarked these things come as nothing new – the police are corrupt to the core – that is most of them.
When police can be in cahoots with criminals like this, it then tells you where we are going as a country.
To make the situation even worse, Freddie Kissoon postulated the nonsensical theory of “Urban Guerrilla” “Phantom Squad” which the PNC ran away with pinning the blame on The PPP as the mastermind behind police or Black killings.
They would want us to believe that it is The PPP who were responsible for these atrocities. Another term they loosely peddle is the “extra judicial killings” of the PPP. All Hogwash!
Again we must rely on the valuable information from the public confessions of Sean Hinds who gave shocking testimony as to the operations of a criminal police force. Shocking but true! So, I leave you my readers to do the analysis for yourselves.
Finally I want to refresh our memory of “Kith and Kin” openly spoken of by Hoyte and to which The PNC Party staunchly supports. He repeated it in grave terms “The police and the army are my kith and kin.” Meaning they are owned and controlled by him and his party.
Those words were meant to intimidate and drive fear in the population. Then in like manner I would like them to take responsibility for the actions of “kith and Kin.” Known members of your “kith and kin” are murderers and cold blooded killers, and we are asking you to do something to stem the tide of these killings.
Everything has gone haywire in Guyana from The Police being criminals themselves or sponsors and facilitators of crimes to a speaker making backward and benign statements in The House, it’s all happening here. From the cop coming right down to the common man out there lawlessness prevails. The truth of the matter is lawlessness and confusion seems to be the order of the day. It is also the suggestion that some entity seems to benefit or assumes a position of relevance and importance by its reliance on these grave injustices. The state is held in perpetual paralysis and fear, this is the iron fist of lawlessness and mayhem that has gripped our country. Guyana has become a dangerous place to live in.
Neil Adams

2 thoughts on “The President is flagrantly breaking those same laws with his unilateral appointment”

Kassem_B November 19, 2017 at 1:24 am

Good article
Thanks NA
Dr Nat Khublall November 19, 2017 at 6:52 pm

In addition to the Speaker of Parliament, Dr Scotland, being partial in favour of APNU+AFC members and against the opposition, the writer of the letter alleges serious indictments of the police in Guyana as they themselves are involved in crime or are facilitators of crime.
Dr Scotland rebukes the protest action of the Opposition in Parliament in that the PPP/C desecrated Parliament
with protest action by quoting from the standing orders/Constitution of Guyana. The opposition protest was with regard to the President’s unilateral appointment of Justice James Patterson in contravention of the said Constitution. The Speaker saw the need to act against the opposition but said nothing about the President’s despicable act which could have dire consequences, perhaps in the rigging of general elections. If words in Constitution were relevant in denouncing the opposition protest, Dr Scotland likewise should have used words in the said Constitution to denounce the President’s action. Dr Scotland refrained from doing so to save his own job as Speaker according to the writer., claiming that the Speaker “is cognizant of the fact that with the authoritarian rule of the PNC, any word of condemnation from Scotland would see his immediate removal from office.”
As regards the police involvement in crimes in Guyana, it could have serious consequences not only in terms of visitors to Guyana and the tourist industry but also foreign investments for the growth of the local economy which has been on a downward trend since the present government was catapulted into power in 2015. President Granger about a year ago went to London and gave a talk why Guyanese and others should invest in Guyana. What is taking place in Guyana is certainly inimical to any prospect of foreign investments in Guyana. Safety is a very important issue for consideration. No sane person will invest his hard earned savings abroad over several decades.
It is time for the President and his cabinet to take stock on what is going on in Guyana with regard to the involvement in criminal activities by the police. Their function is to prevent crime. Those who are involved should be investigated and once enough evidence is gathered they should be prosecuted in like manner as other criminals but more severe penalties should be dished out against the police for their breach of trust in maintaining law and order.