Compensation only part of the equation; appropriate actions should prevail

Jul 03, 2022 Letters

---

Dear Editor,

In the aftermath of the mayhem at Mon Repos on Tuesday, 16 persons were charged and one pleaded guilty. He was fined $20, 000, a mere pittance for such a crime, a pat on the wrist as if to say I understand, go on and beat, rob, destroy and loot again when instigated. They say that the punishment should be compatible with the crime. Where is the compatibility here or is it complicity?
As is customary, the police did not respond quickly but very belatedly as if to send a message to do as you want, we don’t approve of this government.

The Police Force is regularly provided with cars, pickup trucks, motorcycles, ATVs, short-wave radios and bicycles, yet many times excuse themselves by saying that they don’t have transportation.
In a divided country like Guyana, the Acting Commissioner and Regional Commanders should be answerable to such inefficiency.

Mobilizing and acting should be priorities in their modus operandi. What about the use of short-wave radios to alert officers to converge at a crime scene? When I lived in Brampton, Canada, one student had a knife in a high school and there was an immediate lock down of the school–no one could have exited or entered. Seven police cars arrived in minutes and officers took charge of the situation. Police who were patrolling got the message on their radios and converged immediately at the school. In Guyana, lack of mobilization and response is perhaps due to racism and covert support of banditry and the opposition politicians.

Monetary compensation for victims is not the remedy; it is being reactive and a consolation in an attempt to appease the victims. What about the trauma and looming fear of a recurrence every time a police officer shoots a Black person (an Indian man was killed recently by the police and there was no rampage.)?
People have to realize that the underlying cause of this behaviour is the loss of the 2020 elections.

Mayhem in Region 5 in September 2020 and at Mon Repos in June 2022 supposedly due to the shooting of Blacks by the police ( Indians were shot and killed too) are the results of orchestrated opposition instigators who work behind the scenes to victimize Indians who are largely responsible for electing a PPPC government. It is revenge for being defeated at the polls, which the PNCR have not accepted, or digested, to this day. This misbehaviour by the PNCR will continue if not controlled and quelled in a timely manner.

Moreover, the Police Force putting one of their own on close then open arrest is unlawful; the officer should have been arrested and placed on remand until trial by the courts. The Magistrate imposing $20,000 fine for violent robbery and vandalism is a travesty of justice and a clear message that what was done was no big deal, the slothful response of the police, who have a history of doing nothing but looking on, when Indians are beaten and robbed should be condemned, are all manifestations of the partisan nature of people entrusted to be guardians of the nation.
It is dereliction and abdication of duties and responsibilities and should be looked into by our leaders, including opposition leaders.

Do not forget the past. In Germany in 1939, previously friendly people turned against their neighbours, disassociated with them and called them ‘dirty Jews”. Young Brownshirts came with hatchets, looting and destroying Jewish businesses…In droves, they carted away whatever they could, the police arrived, not to protect the victims but to direct traffic. The firemen only tried to stop fires from spreading to neighbouring buildings, not to save burning Jewish property and adults, including school teachers, told children to throw rocks at Jews (their friends just days before) and their homes (CRUCIBLE OF TERROR by Max Liebster).

Does that ring a bell? More of the beatings, looting, vandalism and robbery will likely occur in future if the authorities, including the GPF and GDF do not intervene in a timely manner.
Further, having the ‘Black Pudding Man’ holding a Bullhorn and inciting people to “Undermine this government” should be dealt with as seditious and treasonous and dealt with the full force of the law. Additionally, submitting that a man who threatened the President’s life has mental health issues is not good enough. A magistrate should have sent him for further psychiatric evaluation.

How many persons with mental issues have not set fires to buildings and killed other person?
The president will visit, address, order financial compensation and then fly off to a foreign country or location for an engagement, with the tragedy a bygone matter. Meanwhile, the underlying cause is brewing and will erupt again as happened in 2020, 2022 and post elections that the PPPC won in the past.
It is time for those in control to get a grip of the situation and be on top of it.

Sincerely,
Karan Chand

---

---