The killing of Mr Linden London Editorial Stabroek News February 13, 2000 Anyone who has not heard of an RPG by now must have been in a coma for the past week. The acronym currently rolls off the tongue of the average citizen with the same ease with which he or she says 'US' or 'CARICOM.' A year ago the ordinary person in the street, as opposed to a member of the security forces, was probably oblivious to the existence of concussion grenades, or rocket propelled grenades, or Sterling sub-machine guns. Yet with the violation of the sanctity of our residential heartland last Tuesday by what were essentially weapons of war, their names have all of a sudden passed into common parlance. It is a sign, among many other things, that some of our criminals have become urban terrorists of a sort, with all the implications that has for the fragile fabric of our society. From where did Mr Linden 'Blackie' London get his weapons one wonders; how many more arms of this kind are circulating illegally in the society, and in whose hands do they lie? If senior police officers, had any sense of unease following the killing of 'Blackie,' they did not betray it. It was an unusually ebullient Commissioner of Police who met the media at midday last Wednesday, clearly satisfied with the outcome of the battle. But was that in all honesty the best outcome? For once, the public was not left to weigh the evidence from second-hand sources; this time, they could sit in front of their TV sets and watch segments of the drama unfold at first hand. The question at issue, of course, is why 'Blackie' was not taken alive. The whole of Guyana now knows that the GDF conducted the negotiations with Mr London, and that GDF officer, Captain Wycliffe McAlister in the hearing of innumerable witnesses guaranteed his safety if he surrendered. In full view of the assembled media and onlookers, 'Blackie' emerged from his fortress, his clothes on fire and his hands in the air. That the Captain attempted to keep his part of the bargain is evident from the TV tape, on which his voice is clearly heard shouting, "Hold your fire! Hold your fire!" Well somebody didn't hold their fire, and the finger of suspicion points at the police. Why was Captain McAllister's order ignored? Was there, as has been suggested in some quarters, poor co-ordination between the army and police? Was the chain of command unclear? What instructions were given to police officers on the scene? Was it not explained to them that 'Blackie' was to be brought in alive if he gave up? Did they feel no sense of dishonour in shooting a man following an agreement for his surrender? Did they not recognize that if they killed 'Blackie' in such a context, no criminal would accept their word ever again in a similar situation? The new watchword in the underworld will no doubt be 'no surrender,' with all the implications that has for civilian safety. Surely the most senior officers in the police force were sensitive to the need to take Mr London into custody if at all possible - although admittedly not at the risk of the lives of their own men. In the event, however, as indicated above, the fugitive appears to have given himself up in good faith. As it is, with his death, it may not now be possible to answer satisfactorily the questions posed in the first paragraph relating to the matter of his armoury, among other things. But there is something else too. Paradoxically, the act of gunning down 'Blackie' has probably immortalized him in popular folklore. The story of the Siege of Eccles, with Linden and Rhonda as its anti-heroes, has a Bonny and Clyde quality about it, which inevitably will become the subject of a novel or play in due course. Yet Mr London did not have to go down John Dillinger style. There is nothing which transforms an anti-hero into a common criminal faster than due process, when twelve fellow Guyanese render their judgement in a courtroom, and the defendant goes out, not in a blaze of gunfire, but in more macabre style on the gallows. Alternatively, he could moulder away forgotten in a prison cell following a sentence of many years or life. There is little 'heroism' to be found in that, and the entire nation in unison would have been singing the praises of the Guyana Police Force. The Commissioner, perhaps, should give the events of last Tuesday and Wednesday another look; there are lessons to be learned.