Or is this just a case of yet another coolie Uncle Tom eagerly trying to show off how "tough" he is on Indos?
Will bribe takers and other torture cops be sent home too?
Will bribe takers and other torture cops be sent home too?
by Denis Chabrol and Zena Henry
Guyana is eager to replace an 84-year old Extradition Treaty with the United States (US) and slash the powers of the national security minister in determining whether Guyanese should be sent to that North American country to face trial for a range of crimes.
âWe should have a brand new
one now with the Americans,â
Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan told Demerara Waves Online News in an exclusive interview on Thursday, June 4.
âIndeed we would have to do
some amendment to both
the Fugitive Offenders Amendment Act
and also to have a treaty with America,â
he added.
The extradition treaty between the two countries
is actually a 1931 accord
that Guyana inherited from Britain
at the time of independence in 1966.
Although it is widely believed
that there are several sealed indictments
against Guyanese drug traffickers,
the US appears unwilling to ask Guyanese
to extradite them for fear that
the suspects would move to the High Court
to successfully block their extradition
as had been the case involving Barry Dataram.
Dataram was recently arrested
and remains in pre-trial incarceration
for allegedly being in possession of cocaine
for the purpose of trafficking.
US Embassy Charge DâAffaires,
Bryan Hunt noted that Guyana,
even prior to the May 11, 2015 general elections,
had pledged to work with American authorities
to crack down on drug trafficking.
He said addressing the outdated
Extradition Treaty
would be a âpriorityâ for discussions
with Guyanaâs new administration
under President David Granger.
âIt is something that
we would certainly explore
with the new government and
see how we can
make the legal environment
for extradition match what I think
is a very favourable
political environment
to joint collaboration on
counter-narcotics efforts,â
Hunt told Demerara Waves Online News.
He said US and Guyana
were examining the
âsimplest way forwardâ
on updating the Treaty and
âmake the process work smoothly.â
Asked whether the US preferred
to see the role of the minister
having the final say
erased from Guyanaâs Fugitive Offenders Act,
he said:
âThe idea would be
to make it as straightforward,
simple a process as possible
and one that is based upon solely
the evidence
that is available and
presented in a given case
as opposed to a political decision."
For his part,
the Public Security Minister said
he would be taking the need
for a US-Guyana Extradition Treaty
and the scaling down of ministerial powers
over extradition requests
to his Cabinet colleagues
for discussion
in the hope of eventually engaging
the 65-seat National Assembly
for further consultations.
Ramjattan said he preferred
a slackening of of the ministerial grip
enshrined in the
Fugitive Offenders Act or the Treaty.
âI would like whatever powers
the minister would have
to be in the Treaty or
in the Fugitive Offenders Act
and not discretion as to whether
we extradite at the hands of a Minister,â
said Ramjattan, a well-known lawyer.
âIf the law is that they have
committed an offence of certain gravity
and the commission of it is prima facie
(sufficient evidence to prove a case)
in the other jurisdiction
then that person must be extradited,â
he said.
While in opposition,
Ramjattanâs Alliance For Change (AFC)-
the second largest player
in the A Partnership for National Unity + AFC
(APNU+AFC) coalition-
had expressed dissatisfaction
with the amendment to the Fugitive Offenders Act
by the then Peopleâs Progressive Party Civic (PPPC)-
led administration
which gave then Home Affairs Minister,
Clement Rohee the final say
on whether a person should be extradited
for a crime committed abroad.
Although Ramjattan had in 2009 opposed
the widening of the ministerâs discretion,
he is now arguing that it should
now be narrowed down as a matter of policy.
The Fugitive Offenders Act
was amended five years ago
to settle a conflict between
a Court of Appeal ruling in 1992
that Article 7 of the
1931 United Kingdom-US Treaty
implied that a person
once extradited to the US
will not be re-extradited
to a third country and
a High Court decision in 2008.
That decision in favour Dataram
states that there is no implied condition
of prohibition of re-extradition
of a fugitive offender
to a third country emerging
from the Treaty,
effectively meaning that the
Treaty allowed for the US to extradite
the fugitive to a third country.
In recent years,
the US has opted to pick up Guyanese
in other countries such as Trinidad and Tobago,
and Panama and
have them face trial mainly in New York
for various offences including
terrorism and drug trafficking.
Summary
Shitty & His Goat-Shit
Means Nothing to The US Govt...
Means nothing to the Guyana Govt...
Both Guyana & US Govt
Will now Jail
All PPP Crooks
Drug Dealers
& Money Laundrers
Even if they are Indians...
AFC, APNU & US Govt
on the Same Page....
PPP, Criminals,
Drug Dealers & Goat Shit
on a Different Page