ROAR pickets Freedom House, Congress Place
Dev says politics to blame for crime rise
By Patrick Denny
Stabroek News
July 3, 2002
"PPP, PNC, remove Guyana from its misery," was the chant of a Rise Organise and Rebuild Guyana (ROAR)-led protest against the crime situation in Guyana in front of Freedom House and then Congress Place yesterday.
Holding placards and banners, and led by ROAR Leader, Ravi Dev, the demonstrators spent about three-quarters of an hour in front of the two parties' headquarters chanting and walking around in an organised circle each of them wearing a tag saying "peaceful picketers."
The protesters carried three coffins draped in red. One bore the names of the five police officers who were slain since the crime wave erupted at the end of February. Another coffin bore the names of civilians who were murdered in the same period. The third coffin had the words: robberies, hijackings and kidnappings.
The picketers had banners and placards that read "Weak leadership causes crime," "How many more must be murdered?" and "PPP's impotent leadership guarantees more murders." Others implored "United effort to keep Guyana alive," Guyana needs strong leadership, No more excuses," and "When will PPP take action? When we are all dead?"
Dev told reporters that crimes in Guyana were always related to political unrest, "and we can't pretend and hide our heads in the sand that somehow the two are not connected."
He said there was no question in his mind that the crime situation in Guyana had a political connection, adding that the five bandits who escaped from the Camp Street jail on February 23 "concretely and explicitly ...said that they are fighting for African-Guyanese who are under-represented and they have been talking about grouses." He said Indian business people have been targeted. "So there is no question that there is political nexus, a political linkage."
Dev said while it was not possible to point out where the linkage was, it had an impact especially in a country like Guyana which was divided along Indian and African lines.
Questioned about the performance of the law enforcement agencies, Dev said that it came back to the fundamental problem, "that you are giving the law enforcement agencies 'basket to fetch water'. We have said from the beginning: if you have law enforcement agencies that are dominated by 80 to 90% African-Guyanese and you are telling them to go after bandits who come from their communities; who they know; who are cousins and brothers and what have you; you are putting a tremendous strain on that African- Guyanese soldier or policeman. What we are saying is that the force itself has to be professional and part of the professionalism is to balance the forces where neither side will feel that he is a traitor if he goes after a criminal because that criminal is from his community."
Dev said it was the politicians who would have to bring some kind of order to this situation.
He said ROAR's contention was that both the PPP and the PNC had to display political maturity at this point in time and do two things, "one work together and two stop this crime. The PNC have to be involved in any kind of measures that we want to go forward and stop this crime." According to him, the PNC controls 42% of the country and they cannot be excluded from this immediate crisis.
With the CARICOM heads of government meeting opening today in Georgetown, Dev wants the leaders to put some pressure on these two parties so that they could come together to work out a political arrangement because ultimately it is a political question.
It is ROAR's hope that CARICOM will begin to move beyond mere palliatives to look at what is causing the problem.
"We are saying that for at least for five years, one term, that these two parties should work out a political arrangement like South Africa did. I mean South Africa was much more devilled than we are in Guyana here today and yet... their leaders are showing the political maturity that it takes really to work for the country and not for your own political party," Dev said.
He said that both parties have to be told in the strongest possible language: "... get off this high horse pretending that each of them could lead the country separately at this point and work out some arrangement."
In front of Freedom House, a few persons held placards to counter Dev's claims and one said "PPP have no position for Ravi Dev."
In front of Congress Place, a few hecklers from inside the compound told the protesters to go in front of Freedom House and one woman could be heard using profanity. A woman further challenged the protesters to step onto the party headquarter's bridge and after a while four women came out with placards and carried on their own little protest next to Dev's.
They were heard chanting "PPP and ROAR members dress up like soldiers in Buxton" among other things.
Two of the women on two occasions were seen walking into Dev who was leading his protest but he brushed them aside with a laugh and continued his picketing. He was also seen engaged in conversation with a few persons who came out of Congress Place and after a while he and his members left in their buses. (Samantha Alleyne)