The
government is in the dark—as usual. After the Brama episode on October 28, in
which seven criminals were killed, the police and government said, as required by
protocol, that the “police” engaged and killed these men. Of course, the people
had their own vibes; they knew that it was Brama’s “associates” who did the
cleaning up. The killings were too clinical in nature, each marked with obvious
precision that the locals simply could not have managed without some error. But
the police took the credit to avoid a barrage of criticism from the opposition.
They knew that the opposition would criticize anyway, so it was best to reduce
the level of justifiable criticism. Let them speculate.
The people knew that it would not
be long before the monster in Buxton (yes, Buxton), raise its head again. It
did so even before it decided to take a 2-3 weeks rest when an Indian man (Motilall also known as “Jinga”), was
snatched and later killed in retaliation for the slaying of the seven a few days
earlier. Jinga’s family turned up with the ransom money, only to be mocked by
the kidnappers. Revenge (that involved racial taunting) was one message being
sent out; the other that this was far from over.
During the 2-3 weeks in which
there was a marked hiatus from the heavy crime traffic we had seen pre-Oct 28,
someone was doing their own laundry because three criminals, at least one in
bulletproof vests, were found executed. Then, an armed robbery by armed gunmen
occurred in Coldigen—nothing odd about this—except that when the police chased
them, these gunmen found shelter in Buxton where a dozen armed men came to
provide protection. In another incident, a gunplay in Buxton involving gunmen
harbored in Buxton and other “gunmen” on a pickup, led to the shooting of a
soldier.
Who were these men on the pick
up? Who killed the three men including the notorious
fisherman-turned-“inspector,” Mr. Premkumar Sukraj? Was it a special group from within the ranks of the police, a
group of regular citizens who now decide to gang up and fight back, or the
people of Brama taking out these bad boys? Most people think it is the latter.
By November 27, the government, that is, Dr. Roger Luncheon, announced that it
was investigating the existence of this “phantom” group, which was exercising
free will and passage among us. Or, was this mere protocol from the government
again? One thing was sure, the police and the government were in the dark.
The police, already overworked
and overwhelmed, were not giving up totally. October 28 gave them some
much-needed inspiration. In early November, one wanted criminal was killed,
although the cost was high; a civilian (Ms. Williams) was killed during the
shootout. The police, rightfully, accepted the blame. Two weeks later, Mr.
Romel Reman, another wanted man who was involved in the murder of policeman
Leyland as he bought ice cream, was injured in a police raid. He escaped, while
his accomplice was killed.
Still, the signs are showing that
the hardcore criminals have taken up from where they left off on October 28.
One can only speculate, but it would not be unreasonable to suggest that the
so-called “sophisticated leaders” of the Black militant program have been busy,
despite being furious over the recent exposure received, and the deaths of
their loyal workers. Truth is, to paraphrase Mr. Hoyte in his speech in Buxton
recently, if you kill one Rasta, another will take its place.
The people are bracing for
Christmas; the business community is still deciding whether to stock up or not
(some good are “perishable’). Many business people will take a chance now that
they feel crime has abated a bit. But this is no guarantee; they know it and so
does the consuming public. There are, at least, some 200 criminal-deportees
walking around as the population relaxes into the holiday season. We already
have attempted hijackings and failed kidnap attempts recently. The question is, if the police have not done
as much cleaning up as it claimed it has, and the government is still fumbling
around in the dark, should people think this “madness” is over?
To think it is, is to be
downright silly. Just as it would be silly to think that the crime crisis began
on Mashramani Day and ended on October 28. True, that period brought crime to
the forefront, pushing out all the other debates (e.g., marginalization and
power sharing etc.), silencing even the traditional leadership of the PNC/R.
This period resulted in the following; 9 policemen killed (17 injured), 3
security people killed (7 injured), 5 businessmen killed (75 injured), 689
armed robberies, 73 hijackings, and 4,826 “indictable” crimes being committed.
Here, we are not talking of the
rapes and/or sexually attacks carried out on women or the constant onslaught of
beatings. Nor the psychological breakdown of daily Guyanese itself like a quiet
wedding, the migration of businessmen, the closing of businesses, the
relocation of some families that fear for their lives; the number of death
threats made; and finally but not lastly, the racial strain in race relations.
These are areas, which cannot be measured by numbers.
The government could have reduced
all of this considerably. Each time someone accused the government of being
soft on crime since 2001, it talked about how much $US it got in new investment
or loans. What is the point of having a loan when one cannot go to the bank to
collect the money? Or, bring it home? Interestingly, the president is always
making these statements up in Berbice, where the Berbicians continue to play
the fool. They tend to forget that it was in Berbice, at Albion, that we had
the storming of a police station last year because of the crime wave. Well, the
government still has its Home Affairs Minister on salary. Neither has it agreed
to conduct any enquiry whatsoever on extra-judicial killings by its police. Can
government response to the people’s complains be worse than this? So, I think
it is safe to say that we are still in the dark and that there are unknown
figures lurking out there.