Dear Editor,

I am sick and tired reading letters criticising the efforts of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to bring some semblance of law and order for the protection of those citizens who obey and comply with its laws.I hold no brief for the GPF, we all know that there are competent persons in the force capable of responding to criticisms, neither am I holding any brief for any other organisation or body.I read with interest your article (20.2.2002) on the report of the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) which I find very thoughtfully written.

However, I am disappointed that this Association did not find it prudent to undertake a study and to document in detail the robberies, the beatings, the killings, the rapings, the sodomisings of innocent law abiding citizens by criminals. I am indeed disappointed in the one-sided evaluation by the GHRA with respect to the report of the alleged mishebaviour of the 'Special Squads' and to learn that this Association could find nothing good coming from this squad and is calling for its disbandment.I am further disappointed that the GHRA have not spoken out in a timely manner of the atrocities meted out to victims by these criminals, neither have they spoken out in similar fashion of the injuries and deaths of members of the GFP, or the trauma suffered by the victims' families.Justice demands honesty, fairness and impartiality which is lacking in GHRA's report.

GHRA's behaviour is likened to the Italian spaghetti western movie 'Adios Gringo' starring Montgomery Wood. In this movie Wood is a stranger and drifter who innocently bought some cattle from a Rustley and was given a Bill of Sale. In taking the animals to town he was accused by a cattle baron, who was accompanied by his wife, and in the presence of all the town's people of having rustled the animals and tore up the Bill of Sale. The baron then gave the stranger 3 minutes to shoot it out at the count of three. The stranger refused and the Baron counted and on the count of three the Stranger still refused to go for his gun; the baron began shooting; after 4 shots were fired, the stranger in self-defence fired one bullet and killed the Baron. The wife and town's people nevertheless called the stranger a murderer, and tried to lynch him.Isn't there a parallel?