Dear Editor,

PLEASE permit me space in your daily newspaper to share my thoughts on the Bryan Max saga. You see, people tend to forget the type of government we have had from the year 1992-2015, where dictatorship was the rule of the day. One cannot deny the fact that under the rule of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C), Guyanese had experienced the worst kind of governance, including violence at the hands of the Police Force. Civilians were afraid to voice their opinions because members of the Guyana Police Force would carry out retaliatory assassinations by or on behalf of the then government. Such examples can be seen in the death of the Bacchus brothers, Waddell and Crum-e-Wing. Thus, the Joint Services were not there to protect the people; rather, it was used to kill, abuse or frame the innocent.

We must not forget when 15-year-old Twyon Thomas was brutally beaten and burnt with hot water by two police constables. Justice was denied when the case was dismissed, and the guilty persons were not prosecuted.

Because of this and many other police brutality cases, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) made an unusual plea. “The GHRA is therefore, now calling on the international agencies currently investing hundreds of millions in reform of the GPF and justice system to condition continued funding on improved performance with respect to torture, conditions of detention and deaths in custody.” (GHRA, September 28, 2008)

However in 2015, when President Granger and his administration were elected, Guyanese started to experience a new and refreshing beginning: police officers have started to take their jobs more seriously: their swift response to reports, paying more attention to cybercrimes, security has tightened, brutality against prisoners have decreased and police bribery is taken seriously.

Since taking office the Police Force has undergone several structural changes which have improved the overall morality of the force. The coalition government spent $1.7B on the construction, refurbishment and renovation of 12 police stations to improve services to citizens and increase crime-prevention capabilities and an additional 28 have been identified for further upgrading. The court system received much-needed boosts in staff and facility upgrades to allow for more convictions and prosecutions of criminals. The coalition has facilitated the expansion of the Police Force and ensured that they have the resources they need to fight crime. The Community Policing Groups increased their membership to over 4,255 active members and relations between police and communities have improved significantly, through new citizen policing groups.

No longer are citizens afraid of the Phantom Squad which was known to practise waterboarding to get people to reveal state secrets or to accept being framed for a crime they did not commit. No longer would staff of news entities have to fear for their lives if a few articles criticised or exposed wrongdoing. No longer would mothers have to bewail the mistreatment or disappearance of their sons.

Bryan Max on the other hand, threatened the lives of James Bond, Mark Benschop, Joseph Harmon and Basil Williams on his Facebook page which has resulted in the police having to arrest him. As a citizen he was allowed to advocate his human right to criticise the government, but this did not in any way cause the police to brutalise or ill-treat Max.

Notwithstanding the denial of freedom of speech during the PPP/C’s era, Bryan Max did not suffer the same; instead, he was only humiliated and disappointed by the fact that his buddy-friend the commissioner did not intervene to help him get away with his own wrongdoing. And, instead of a five-star hotel treatment, he spent hours behind bars on a makeshift cardboard bed. On the flip side, Bryan Max gained more content for his Facebook Live, a colossal failure of an attempt to mimic another media personality who is well known for criticising everything under the sun.

Moreover, freedom of speech was restored and Guyanese can freely voice their opinions without the thought of being victimised. Contrarily, this opportunity was not given under the PPP/C regime.

Regards
R. Chung-A- On