Editorial
Stabroek News
August 20, 2001

There are two rather unnerving characteristics of last week's violent upheaval in Berbice.

The first is that the Berbice Anti-Smuggling Squad (BASS) - set up early on in the 1992 administration of the PPP/Civic - has been responsible for the shooting deaths of five men in four days.

Secondly, the proclivity towards unruliness and mayhem as a means of protesting against ills and injustices seems to be growing unhindered.

That BASS has been caught up in an orgy of shooting that has left five men dead warrants immediate and urgent investigation. Both of the incidents have raised extremely serious questions about the appropriateness of BASS' handling of events and whether the use of lethal force could be justified.

As an arm of the Customs and Trade Authority (CTA) and not part of the Guyana Police Force, the killings are even more alarming. Up to this point, BASS has had a relatively unremarkable past where the use of lethal force is concerned. It will therefore not go unnoticed by the average citizen that these killings were preceded over the last several months by a slew of controversial fatal shootings by the Guyana Police Force (GPF). The highly questioned killings by sections of the GPF could end up having a debilitating effect on the application of force in these situations.

Given the killings by BASS, it may be a prudent decision for the CTA to order a suspension of its operations pending a considered probe of its actions or at the very least bar it from using lethal weaponry during this period. Where such weaponry is absolutely necessary for operational security, the GPF should be invited to provide it.

The unfortunate killings also cry out for a review by the government of the activities of non-GPF law enforcement agencies such as BASS, its Essequibo counterpart and the Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit. Is it necessary to have all of these agencies duplicating functions that should exist in the GPF and creating levels of operational conflict and bureaucracy? Tensions between some of the law enforcement agencies have been legend and it surely is a hindrance to effective performance.

The handling of the hostile crowd outside of the BASS headquarters also raises serious questions about tactics and the operational capacity of the GPF. BASS resorted to gunfire when it felt threatened because the nearby police force was unable to control the situation. It was similar to events outside the Albion Police Station earlier this year which led to the death of one man. The GPF was unable to exert its authority over the hostile, threatening crowd, forcing the use of deadly gunfire to restore control. A news item in this edition raises questions about why there was apparently no tear-gas for use to help control the situation. Engaging crowd leaders early on in dialogue and providing them with assurances could also be useful in defusing potentially explosive situations. Clearly the GPF must review its operational policies in dealing with riotous, potentially riotous and unruly crowds. The massing of PNC/R protesters outside of the Office of the President on April 9 is a case in point.

As to the other major concern, it seems that the stratagems of the East Coast Demerara villagers in the protests that followed the March 19 elections are being adoped by all and sundry. Burning tyres, stoning the police and beating up people threatens to become the preferred means of fostering protests. After prolonged testing of these methods on the East Coast, they were adopted wholesale by the Corentyne anti-crime demonstrators and now again. In between, various other causes have duplicated these tactics to some degree and every protest these days is accompanied by a threat to burn tyres and to behave like those who inaugurated these tactics.

No developing country like ours struggling to survive in an unsympathetic global environment can afford these constant eruptions of unrest and violence. Each and every citizen must understand this. No matter how justifiable the cause, storming buildings, attacking law enforcement officials and putting the lives of others at risk is just not acceptable and is as serious as the grievances being protested.

But for this appeal to sense and reason to work, it requires the government and law enforcement agencies to be responsive and conscientious in discharging their obligations. The people who stood outside the BASS headquarters and pelted it were angry at the way Azad Bacchus and his son and nephew were killed. They obviously were not impressed with the government assurances on the matter. Neither were their fellow Corentyne residents earlier this year who only got relief from a crime wave after they mounted disruptive protests.

The government has to work harder at convincing aggrieved members of the populace that it is addressing their concerns. Too often in the case of deaths these assurances have come to naught and the relatives of Azad and Shaazah Bacchus and Fadil Alli no doubt feared this. There are many cases where these investigations have just fizzled out. What about the one into the man who died during the Corentyne anti-crime protests? Donna McKinnon's demise is still a mystery so are the deaths of the two men and a boy whose bodies were found on the East Coast. There are numerous other cases like these.

The government has to grapple dedicatedly with these investigations otherwise an unconvinced public will grow increasingly restive and prone to manifestations of violence.