Jagdeo willing to testify at inquiry into crime wave killings

Sunday, January 28

Former president Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday voiced his willingness to testify if a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) is set up to investigate the deaths of hundreds of persons during the unprecedented crime wave that began during his tenure. “If there is something that we know specifically of, definitely,” Jagdeo, now Opposition Leader, told a news conference yesterday, when asked if he and other members of his the former government would be willing to appear and give evidence. Last Friday, State Minister Joseph Harmon revealed that government was considering establishing a CoI. “I am hinting that there is a possibility of a Commission of Inquiry,” Harmon said in response to a question during a post-Cabinet press briefing. Harmon’s comments followed a statement made by President David Granger to the members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) at the opening ceremony of the Annual Officers’ Conference at Base Camp Ayanganna, where he said that his administration will ensure that the perpetrators are brought to justice. “Society has been scarred by violence, which left a lingering legacy of distrust with the potential of fresh disorder. Monuments at Bartica, Buxton and Eve Leary have been erected to the victims of violence during the ‘troubles’ between 2002 and 2009. We still have an obligation to investigate those troubles and ensure that the culprits are brought to justice,” he said, while noting that there were 1,431 murders in that period.