The military should never be involved in spying on civilians
Dear Editor,
A number of writers have expressed their outrage regarding the series of events that culminated in a high-speed chase by individuals claimed to be linked to SOCU, and the ensuing death of civilians.
Stabroek News did an exceptional editorial on the matter. However, the thrust of most commentary seems to be parking this tragic incident in the realm of breathtaking incompetence and staggering ineptitude. I am going to take a different tack and go against the grain. I am not buying the government’s take on things. It is too convenient and expedient. It is indeed unbelievable that Winston Brassington’s address is not known to SOCU or that it was not known that Mr Brassington was out of the country or that his children do not reside in Guyana. After all, SOCU would have had Brassington on its radar for seven months now and would have known his whereabouts. What if this was really a GDF spying operation on civilians and the political opposition gone wrong?
A major question relates to the GDF’s involvement in police work. Firstly, there Stabroek News’s is joint operations. recent editorial sets out the criteria for such joint operations and this operation clearly does not meet acceptable standards. The military should not be involved in spying on the citizenry, no matter how much the police request it. That is a line that should not be crossed. It isn’t crossed in developed and mature democracies and should be shunned in weak democracies, particularly one like Guyana’s where the military’s history of aiding and abetting executive abuse is legendary and where the composition of the military is ethnically slanted. It is utterly degrading to the democratic fibre of the state for the military to spy on the citizenry and its political opposition.
The biggest issue is whether this is an early glimpse into a descent into state militarization. Is there a deliberate policy from the military minds of the OP to make the case for greater military presence in civilian life through these Operation Dragnet types of emergency joint operation? The Guyana People’s Militia was recently revived by Granger’s administration. National Service might be on the cards. The advisory group at the Office of the President is dominated by ex-military types. Dragnet has been a catastrophic failure so its real purpose is under the microscope. President Granger needs to get a grip and stop defending the excesses of his military comrades and do the right thing and call a public inquiry. By the way, was this not the same President who promised an inquiry into the killings under the PPP? Yours faithfully, M Maxwell