Ministers’ security to be reviewed
Stabroek News
November 1, 2002
PPP General Secretary, Donald Ramotar has expressed concern at the proximity of the “safe house” used by bandits, to the Minister of Home Affairs’ residence and says the security of the leaders of the government would have to be reviewed.
Ramotar was speaking at a People’s Progressive Party (PPP) press conference yesterday. He conceded that it was “fairly clever of them to have a safe house in an area where it did not raise suspicions.”
But he noted that Monday’s killings of a number of criminals including prison escapees, Dale Moore and Mark Fraser represents a major breakthrough in the police’s fight against crime.
He said the criminals’ demise “comes as a sigh of relief to the Guyanese people” as “it is widely believed that a significant number of criminal activities, including the recent spate of murders and kidnappings resulted from criminal activities involving the escapees and their organised network”.
Ramotar also expressed concern at “the range, character and quantum of arms and ammunition found in the possession of the captured bandits, pointing out that “it is evident from the stock of equipment seized that the motives of the bandits were at best sinister with a view to committing further acts of death and destruction”.
“The intention was to intimidate and drive terror in the minds of the Guyanese people”.
He made mention of the channa bombs found by the Police at a house in Bonasika Street observing that they bespoke of “a motive beyond the realms of ordinary criminality.”
“The potential use of such channa bombs (which is not a regular weapon of criminals) and its potential damage to lives and property must be a matter of concern to all peace-loving Guyanese.”
He added, “The findings of the Police are a vindication of the position taken by the PPP that there existed an organised network of criminal gangs with apparent political connections aimed at instituting a reign of terror as part of a destabilisation campaign to make the country ungovernable.”
Ramotar said he is optimistic that Monday’s breakthrough would presage the capture of the two other escapees and the breaking of the remaining sections of the highly organised criminal network.
Commenting on the reporting of the anti-crime activities, Ramotar said that for sections of the media aligned to the opposition, “the Police are made out to be villains, the Minister of Home Affairs and his family are targets of vicious rumours and some reports are slanted to show more sympathy for the murderous criminals and suspects”.
“I wish to call on all those pursuing the agendas of those who want to perpetuate terror and make Guyana “ungovernable” that they are doing a disservice to their noble profession and country”.