LINDO CREEK INVESTIGATIONS: SEEKING CLOSURE

Feb 06, 2018 Editorial

It was the announcement the nation was waiting for, especially those who lost love ones in the extra-judicial killings at the turn of the century. In keeping with a commitment made by President Granger while in opposition, the government announced that it would establish a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the spate of murders which occurred between 2000 and 2007.
The goal is to ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice for their barbaric actions. Hundreds of persons, including some police officers have died during the unprecedented crime wave while Bharrat Jagdeo was president. It was the worst crime wave in the history of Guyana.
Among those who died were some high profile officials including the former PPP Minister of Agriculture, Satyadeow ‘Sash Sawh; Leon Fraser, Head of the Police Force’s Target Special Squad on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway; Vibert Inniss, Deputy Head of the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit, in Buxton; and political activist and talk-show host Ron Waddell, to name a few. There were also mass killings in Agricola, Bartica, Lindo Creek, Lusignan and elsewhere. At Eccles, five printing press operators from Kaieteur News were murdered on August 8, 2006.
This month marks the 10^th anniversary when gunmen descended on the village of Lusignan killing 11 persons, including five children, and injuring several others. Not only were persons killed, but many including the United States Embassy Regional Security Officer, Steven Lesniak, were kidnapped as well as a number of water utility workers.
During that period, Guyanese drug lord, Shaheed ‘Roger’ Khan who was convicted and jailed in the United States, was caught with several ex-policemen in a bullet proof vehicle with high-powered guns and sophisticated telephone wiretapping equipment that is only sold with government authorization.
Khan told Kaieteur News that his involvement was to prevent the overthrow of the Bharrat Jagdeo regime. This government believes that the crimes have not been explained and the memories have not been erased.
While in government, former President Bharrat Jagdeo had resisted repeated calls by the opposition to establish a COI. His administration had refused to explain to the nation the hundreds of lives lost including the assassination of its own Minister of Agriculture.
It was alleged that the then Minister of Home Affairs Ronald Gajraj who had been widely accused of facilitating a State-sponsored death squad had turned a blind eye to the crime spree. Even though he insisted that whatever he did was done within the confines of the law, yet he was later cleared of those allegations by a Commission of Inquiry. In reality, there was a minority decision in that inquiry.
Gajraj resigned under intense Western diplomatic pressure and was posted to India as Guyana’s High Commissioner until the defeat of the PPP in the May 2015 general elections.
Now that a Commission of Inquiry into the extra-judicial killing of hundreds of persons during a six-year period is just days away, the opposition leader and other PPP officials are contending that the commission may be tainted by the appointment of the father of a sitting Government Minister.
According to Jagdeo, the PPP has nothing to hide and could provide information to the COI to show that the killings were politically motivated by members of the current government to prevent the joint security forces from pursuing the criminals.
It is clear that the country has been scarred by the violence, which left a lingering legacy of distrust of politicians and the security forces.
Meanwhile monuments have been erected at Bartica, Buxton and Eve Leary in memory of the victims.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News