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Actions at Agricola an attempt to destabilise Gov’t – Attorney General

Written by GINA

Wednesday, 17 October 2012 00:05

THE true agenda of the politicians who instigated the mayhem and fiery protest actions of persons at Agricola a few days ago is to undermine the government. And the fact that this is what is driving the manifested actions of the politicians is completely regrettable, according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall.

Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Anil Nandlall

Speaking yesterday on the television programme ‘Current Issues and Analysis’ on TVG, Minister Nandlall stated that the issue of accusing the police of excesses does not justify the beating and robbing of innocent people and the burning of public property. “As a legitimate, civilised, democratic response, it cannot be. Destruction, causing mayhem, making the society unstable – all are acts which can have the effect of destabilising the government,” he posited. The AG stated that over the past 20 years, the PPP/C administration has always encouraged Guyanese to exercise their constitutional rights and freedoms, among them, the right to protest. He, however, pointed out that those rights are confined within the laws of Guyana which tell of the parameters of peaceful protest. “We must not confuse what is going on at Agricola with the constitutional right of the Guyanese people to protest. What is going on at Agricola is not a protest as contemplated by the constitution or any other law of this country,” he declared. Minister Nandlall described the actions of persons at the East Bank community as “unlawful violations of the rights of other people as they attempt to go about their lawful lives. These unlawful interferences include robbing and beating innocent people, breaking up their vehicles and in some instances indecent assault on some of our women folk.” He stated that all those actions are illegal and they cannot either singularly or cumulatively be described as, or categorised as peaceful protest. “You have also the actions of violence against the policemen and women who are trying to maintain law and order. The provocative words and conduct of the people as they engaged the police to evoke and invoke a response; the pelting and hitting of policemen; the stealing of policemen’s shields that they had to protect themselves – all of this at Agricola, none of them can ever be classified as peaceful protest,” Minister Nandlall reiterated. Addressing the original issue which had raised the ire of Agricola residents regarding the track record of the police and the killing of Shaquille Grant on September 11, 2012, the minister said he is aware of allegations of police excesses, and the use of lethal force in a manner not contemplated by the law. “We have a preponderance of those types of allegations against the police force. That is beyond dispute,” he stated. He, however, said that this could not be used as the basis to put into motion a series of actions that would lead to another preponderance of criminalities and illegalities. “The actions which the persons may feel aggrieved about in relation to police conduct are under review. Policemen have been charged with the capital offence of murder…That is not something that is usually done…files in relation to matters for which charges have not been made are with the DPP who is reviewing them with a view of instituting charges again,” he said. Nandlall added that the process then “must ensue to enquire into the illegality of the police conduct and, to pronounce on whether the police acted in accordance with the law or outside the law. It is completely unlawful and we will be in a state of anarchy if we do not allow the legal process to run its course,” he posited. “I don’t want to convey the impression that I am an apologist for the police’s conduct, I am saying that there is a course of action. There is an institutional mechanism which has been activated, and the conduct of those police will be judged, and penalties imposed in accordance with judgment and in accordance with the law. But you cannot in this precipitous manner take it upon yourselves to take your own actions and that is what is going on there, and there is no politician who can justify what is going on there.” He stated that government has no other choice but to allow the administration of justice to take its course. “If we resort to any other measure we would be acting unlawfully, and we would be violating all norms of the civilised world.” While he condemned the actions which took place, the minister pointed out that not all the persons who were blocking the highway and committing criminal acts at Agricola were from that village. “I know people who have been brought from the East Coast, people who have been brought from the West Coast and West Bank of Demerara. Agricola was chosen as part of that particular plot, because of its physical proximity to Georgetown. Agricola is along the main artery to the airport, the whole East Bank corridor from Georgetown and from Linden. Then significantly Agricola is located before the Demerara Harbour Bridge, and therefore the blockage of that road would result in a blocking of traffic across the river, cutting off traffic from West Bank, West Coast and all the way to Essequibo, hence my contention that this thing was clearly orchestrated.” He noted while there are numerous challenges facing the justice sector and the police force, what is undisputed is that there are reforms taking place in both institutions. This, he explained indicated the recognition of institutional problems and the deliberate strategy, mechanisms and policy to reform both sectors. “That is beyond dispute … It is therefore incumbent on all of us, politicians from all sides of the divide, citizens from all corners of the country, to pool our resources together, accumulate our energies together, mould our vision together, to work to accelerate the reform in these two areas, because these two institutions are perhaps the most fundamental of all the institutions of this country to ensure that there is peace and prosperity in our country.” Minister Nandlall alluded to the fact that the previous attack against the administration was the accusation of corruption to which government responded in various ways, and the momentum was lost when the population was shown that the allegations and the contentions advanced about corruption had more politics in it than reality and veracity. “Recognising that they have lost that strategy, they have now shifted focus to the police. Now the police are not, as questionable as their conduct may be, behaving worse than they were behaving last year, but it is an occasion by the politicians. They have chosen this. If we are to effectively diffuse the situation and address all their concerns about the police, tomorrow it will be another area that will be preyed upon by the politicians. ” Acknowledging that there are indeed problems affecting various agencies of government and of state, Minister Nandlall pointed out that while it takes time to address them, remarkable progress has already been made. “Greater progress can be made if initiatives are recognised. I have no problem with people opposing, but you must recognise the good and the development which is taking place in our country.” The minister pointed to the recent $1.8B water treatment plant contract being signed for Linden and Region 10; the US$10M contract signed for refurbishment of the sewer system of Georgetown, and the new bank opened at Lethem. He said instead of these things taking precedence in the news, there is only the magnification and magnifying of all the negatives in the country and the politicians exploiting them. “That is not a concern to be that seem to be motivating them. What is motivating them is a concern to highlight these things so that they can make political gain and gain cheap political mileage out of it. Had their concerns been genuine, the manifestation of their reactions would have been different. One wrong cannot make another wrong right. Gandhi said an eye for an eye will make the entire world blind

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