Jagdeo raps gov’t over number of murders

-welcomes SN investigation

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo last week contended that there have been more murders during the tenure of the APNU+AFC government than there were during the so-called “troubles” which followed the 2002 jailbreak.

Speaking during his weekly press conference on Thursday, Jagdeo said he was “very happy” to have seen the recent investigation published by Stabroek News on the deaths during the period 2002 to 2006.

“I’m happy that for the first time we are getting from an independent source the facts of the period,” he said.

The investigation published on November 18 indicated that 420 persons were killed in criminal violence between February 2002 and September 2006. Of that number 151 were murdered by bandits, 239 were killed during confrontations with police and in unexplained circumstances. A total of 30 security officers lost their lives during this period.

Jagdeo who was President at the time contended that the survey published debunks the oft repeated claim that under his government it was the practice to indiscriminately kill young black men.

He urged the public to read the series and see some of the things his party knew would come to light had a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) been held.

“They know the numbers were nowhere near that which they were peddling. They knew that a lot of those killed during that period were policemen and soldiers who died in confrontation with criminals,” he stressed adding that someday a CoI will be held and the truth will be revealed.

“The truth will come out and we will see the role of those who would’ve been in the police force and were giving information to the criminals,” Jagdeo said

The opposition leader also stressed that the number of murders recorded during that fouryear period was significantly less than the total recorded from 2015 to now. The Stabroek News tally did not include domestic violence killings and murders from disorderly behaviour but focused on the criminal violence in the aftermath of the February 23, 2002 jailbreak.

Figures released from the Guyana Police Force (GPF) show that over the last four years 631 persons have been killed.

The escape of five prisoners from the Camp Street Prison on February 23rd 2002 was the catalyst for one of the bloodiest periods in the country’s history resulting in hundreds of lives being lost in robberies, police officers being slaughtered and a parallel security arm springing up leading to many men being killed execution-style and with the drug trade playing a major role in key events of that period.

It was a period that saw Government Minister, Satyadeow Sawh being gunned down as he lay in his hammock, a US diplomat being kidnapped and later freed after a ransom was paid and Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj being forced to demit office after claims that he sanctioned the government aligned-parallel security arm referred to as the ‘death squad’ or ‘phantom squad’. That period also saw parts of Buxton being taken over by prison escapees which saw some villagers being chased out following brutal attacks as they objected to the occupation of the village’s backdam and that of neighbouring communities by criminals.

Police attempted to establish a presence in the village. During one of these operations on April 6th, 2002, the police killed Shaka Blair as he lay in his bed in his Buxton home. That killing led to questions about the police force’s conduct and intensified the targeting of policemen even as robberies and murders escalated.

There were repeated armed skirmishes between the police and persons in the backlands of the village and eventually the army was called in and its members set up camp in the village to give support to the police. This did not result in an abatement of the violence as during Operation Tourniquet villagers faced daily harassment and destruction of property by the security forces.