The GHRA report titled, “Ambivalent about violence: A report on fatal shootings by the Police in Guyana. 1980-2001 is a long awaited piece of information.

The time period for the study is of vital importance for the peace and stability of Guyana since individuals with their own agenda have been spreading vicious rumors, giving the impression that the current Government through the Guyana Police Force (GPF) is the one encouraging and condoning these police killings.

The information containing in the document shows through an unbiased method of collecting date from a wide cross section of the populace the Governmental as well as private persons affected by these killings.

In the report a total of 239 deaths were recorded from 1980-2001 and the concluding factor of the report stated that, “Information available does not justify sufficiently charges of racial profiling of Afro-Guyanese with respect to shooting or Indo-Guyanese with respect to deaths in custody.”

In short, the report concluded that the majority of deaths that happened while the individuals were in police custody were persons of East Indian descendent. The result is that the notion of racial profiling was eliminated by the report.

I will advise those individuals striving to increase their ‘fame and fortune’ to seek another route, this one has been proven as a not-so-viable venture. Sorry!
T. Ali.