The editorial stated that it was not "easy to ignore the harsh reality that frequent complaints of the terrorised in nearby villages....as well as commuters along the highway in the Buxton-Friendship area, do not reflect creditably on the performance of the anti-crime patrols."

It went on to ask: "Why is it that the success rate in roping in the criminals and breaking up the criminal network operating out of Buxton should be so low, in contrast to the 'success' of the rampage of hijackings, kidnappings, robberies, killings and violence?"

The editorial had started out by saying that like the rest of the Guyanese society, it was awaiting the promised official result of the shooting tragedy in which the University of Guyana student, Yohance Douglas, was killed and another student, Ronson Grey was wounded.

That report has since been forwarded by Police Commissioner Floyd McDonald to the Director of Public Prosecutions. The tragic killing of young Douglas may well be a turning point in growing complaints against police brutality and excesses in the performance of their duties. Justice must be done. There must be no cover-up.

One high profile contributor to the media - not without very impressive academic credentials - has surprisingly become so emotional and bitter, that he has deliberately chosen to confuse alleged police "excesses" or "executions" with "state-based/state-sponsored violence and terror".

What a leap! More later on those now sadly undermining their own stout reputation under the guise of academic analyses.

For now, I wish to return to the issue of Buxton as a sanctuary for criminals and the "terror" it seems to hold for both the Police Force and the Guyana Defence Force.

Questions
I begin by asking whether police/army intelligence has helped in presenting a truly informed assessment of the criminal network linked to Buxton with names, addresses, telephone and e-mail contacts between the `intellectual’ criminals and the executioners of crime and the type and quantity of weapons in their possession? If so, why no decisive action?

They should, for instance, know of the active involvement of the ex-GFD officer who had made his daring escape during the Forbes Burnham presidency, and who has now teamed up with others, among them the resigned, retired or dismissed from the GDF. The link between certain killings and other criminal acts and a political agenda to foster mayhem and destabilisation can hardly be ignored.

Just recently, I have learnt from a source connected to none of the political parties in Guyana but well-connected otherwise, of what transpired at a meeting at Camp Ayanganna between President Bharrat Jagdeo and officers of the GDF.

At the risk of an official denial, let me say that at the meeting, the Head of State is reported to have left no doubt about his deep concerns over the apparent lacklustre performance by the army and failure to be more productive in curbing the criminal rampage.

In response, he was to face claims of a readiness to "go all out" against the criminals, but that this must mean cleaning up the whole lot, with NO exceptions, and irrespective of status, political or social connections, and wherever located.

Assuming the accuracy of the interaction - and I am mindful of the rumours with which the country is habitually fed - that took place at Camp Ayanganna, the question of relevance is:

Why should members of the GDF not have gone "all out" in the first place, with or without the help of the joint patrols with the Police, to rake in the criminals -of whatever ethnicity, status or connections?

It cannot be that army intelligence, or that of the police, is in doubt about the culpabilities of ex-GDF comrades and former policemen in the criminal network, or who are operating on the periphery as intellectual authors of crimes designed to foment racial divisions, sow seeds of hate, intensify gang warfare and create conditions for political destabilisation.

In this context, it is also relevant to ask what has become of internal investigations of soldiers and policemen involved in missing/stolen sophisticated arms, like AK-47 and M-70 rifles?

With Buxton still very much in focus in the crime/political scenario, it is interesting to recall Eusi Kwayana's letter of October 31, 2002.

The `Masterminds’
"The (criminal) masterminds who fan the flames at Buxton were more directly involved at Rose Hall (reference to the massacre that coincided with the PPP's congress last year in the Corentyne). The dynamics of the situation are no longer hidden...", according to the Guyanese elder who had, many years ago, deservedly earned the reputation as the "sage of Buxton".

Subsequently, the Stabroek News was to raise the intriguing question in an editorial titled `Is there a training camp for criminals?’ It came against the background of the brutal murder of policeman Quincy James, riddled with some 14 bullets on Regent Street.

At that time, the police death toll was 11. Since then, when included with those for the first two months of this year, some 22 lawmen have been murdered, a number of others injured or assaulted.

Having pointed to the failures by both the police and army to effectively bring crime under control in discussing the "blitzkrieg" shootings that left policeman James riddled with bullets, the Stabroek News noted:

"The task of the police and army is also greatly complicated by the depth of moral and material support for the bandits. The numerous safe houses that have been revealed, the credible reports of medical assistance to injured gunmen and the array of vehicles and communications equipment at the disposal of the bandits point definitively in the direction of a substantial conspiratorial network in the city and on the coast..."

Whatever the nature of the assumed ”conspiratorial network", I know of Guyanese at home and abroad who are anxious to know why the security forces have given the impression of being on the defensive against the criminal offensive. In particular, why the network of the `king pins’ of illegal drugs and arms trafficking is yet to be cracked.

Reports of one top drug lord paying out huge sums to maintain his `network’, in which law enforcing officers are reportedly involved, and whose services have been summoned in the past to destroy rival drugs and gun dealers, only breed cynicism, frustration and diminish hope for the future.

The fact that THIS particular drug lord is also aware of the connections of criminal elements, across the political divide, as well as those of policemen and soldiers involved in crime, only underscore the complexity and gravity of the situation.

There are also reasons to believe that a link between criminals with a political agenda and certain politicians - among them those who frequently appear on opposition-linked television "talk shows" - has contributed to the failure over the past four months by political parties to sign a joint anti-crime statement prepared by the social partners.

It is also difficult to keep hope alive when others who ought to know better, such as one former high official of the GDF with a clear political preference, engages in cultural slander about members of a major ethnic group not wishing to be either in the GDF or the Police Force. More later.

The social pressures are surely building up and otherwise good and well-intentioned Guyanese are, in the process, allowing themselves to fall victims to prejudices and bitterness that could only help those who have a vested interest in sustaining the racial/political divisions of Guyana.

Questions will soon be raised, if not already asked, about the role of the Guyana Bar Association, for one, in baring of `bleeding hearts’ for some victims of murder.