In spite of recent police successes
“In spite of the recent successes of the Guyana Police Force in dealing with major law enforcement issues, such as crime and traffic, difficulties still lie ahead.

“Recent incidents that have occurred in the country are adequate enough to alert the Force not to drop its guard. There are still certain hard-of-hearing elements in our society who are bent on disturbing the peace.”

These were the words of Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee, who was at the time delivering remarks prior to the commissioning of another landmark achievement of the Government of Guyana and the Guyana Police Force in the Force’s step toward modernisation in the information technology age.

The Minister was speaking of the recent events played out in this country, most significant among which was the burning of the Ministry of Health and the allegations being bandied about by some in society.

“I want to warn those who don’t hear, they will feel. We will not allow ourselves to be distracted from our focus to investigate issues committed against individuals, families and the society as a whole, such as the recent fire at the Ministry of Health,” he affirmed.

Minister Rohee pointed out that what has happened as a result of the investigations into the fire is the uprooting of a whole anti-government network and it being exposed to the public.

He asserted that efforts are now being made by some politicians to throw dust in the eyes of the public by trying to make it believe that the law enforcement agencies and the Administration are the culprits, and not those who perpetrated the act of arson.

“Let me make it clear in case, it wasn’t made clear earlier … we never gave any instructions to anyone to beat or torture any suspect, so let’s dismiss that allegation. We said we will investigate, and it is being investigated.

“The notion that Minister Ramsammy and the Administration conspired to burn down the Ministry is utter rubbish. Only an experienced sleaze-ball can conjure up such imaginative foolishness.

“Further, that the fire scene was cleared prematurely and hastened is another piece of political wickedness hatched by those who live at a place where such conspiracy theories are hatched and bred,” the Home Affairs Minister stated.

He pointed out that subsequent to the fire, all standard operational procedures were followed, first by the Guyana Fire Service and secondly by the Police, and then by both before the scene was handed over to the Ministry of Health.

What is interesting, Minister Rohee said, is that those who have axes to grind have never condemned the burning down of the Ministry.

Questioning: “Did (Mark) Benschop condemn it, did (Norris) Witter condemn it, did the PNC condemn it? Did the Justice for Jermaine Movement condemn it? No, none of them did.

“Now isn’t that interesting, what does this silence tell us?”

He stated that similarly, no condemnations were expressed when the two suspects, Cody Jones and Kurt Thierens, were allowed to escape from the Providence Police Station, pointing out that only the Administration and the law enforcement agencies expressed concerns about that escape.

Stating that these are things to be taken note of, Minister Rohee further questioned the origin of the incendiary devices (channa bombs) that were discovered at the scene of the fire.

“We never found any evidence that Minister Ramsammy went purchasing channa, empty rum bottles, or gasoline days before the fire took place.

“On the contrary, all those whom the police have so far rounded up and placed before the Court, including the two escapees, and others whose identities are yet to be revealed and made public are suspected to be part of the conspiratorial network,” he added.

He observed that the speed and efficiency exhibited by the Force during its investigations into this incident and the subsequent arrest and prosecution of those suspects, “is a good example of excellent police work in progress”.

“Mind you, the police did not have to call on any phantom group to assist them in unearthing the network. They accomplished it by dint of painstaking experience and skilful investigations.

“There are some in our society who do not like to see police success such as this, they like to see the police fail so they can laugh at them and heap scorn on them. But that era is slowly but surely coming to a close,” the Minister posited.

Observing that the legal framework intended to aid in the transformation of the Force is already in place, he informed that last July 31 he signed the commencement order bringing into force certain aspects of the Interception of Communication Act.

These aspects relate to the communication in speech, music or sound as well as data or text, he said, adding that this will serve as a useful and vital tool in the hands of the law enforcement agencies for crime detection and crime prevention.

At the Human Resource level, the rejuvenation of the Force through the injection of new blood has begun in earnest with the listing thus far of 36 Cadet Officers into the Force and this process will continue for some time into the future, the Minister said.

“As Minister responsible for ensuring the successful implementation of the reform and transformation of the Guyana Police Force, I have a vision that in the not too distant future Guyana will have a police force that no longer lacks public confidence. A force that the public embraces, supports and openly cooperates with,” he predicted.