June 17, 1964, an incendiary device was thrown into the Hadfield Street home of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Works and Hydraulics, 52-year-old Mr. Arthur Abraham, causing his death. Seven of his nine children also die. After the fire, four bodies were found huddled together on the stairway and three on the upper flat.
PNC
must collaborate to reduce violent crime
According
to News Today on 8th August, 2002
Mr. Raphael Trotman
questioned the continued
presence of the Army in Buxton.
This is a most unintelligent comment coming from Trotman in the light of the
continued violence in and emanating from Buxton and the clear picture that this
village is providing a safe haven for criminals and a base from which they make
forays on the society and to which they return.
As soon as cars are hijacked the reports say that they were driven to Buxton.
The firepower of Buxton is well established as they have demonstrated their
willingness and capability to trade fire with the Police and the Army reportedly
with automatic and rapid-fire guns such as AK 47s. It has assumed the aspect of
being a fortress.
To suggest that there should not be a continued or even an increased presence of
the Army is the height of absurdity and is not worthy of a man like Trotman
It is ridiculous also for Trotman to compare what is happening at Buxton to what
happened at Albion. The people had one issue and that was that they were
subjected to many robberies and claimed the Police were not active in providing
sufficient protection. They did not engage in highway robberies, stopping
minibuses and robbing and beating the occupants. They did not provide a safe
haven or a base for criminals as has Buxton, so no comparison can be drawn. They
promptly repaired the minor damage they had done to the Police Station and
painted it.
Most citizens are calling for more Police and Army patrols and roadblocks with
properly and clearly identified personnel, and the apprehension of the five
escapees and other criminals and want the law-abiding elements of the PNC/R to
collaborate with the administration to reduce the incidence of violent crimes in
the society.
Edgar Sankar
August 12, 2002
Big question
I WISH to comment on an article in the Monday, April 13, 2004 edition of the
Stabroek News, where Attorney-at-Law Raphael
Trotman’s views were sought on the level of confidence of the
United States authorities in the local drug enforcement agencies.
There is
absolutely nothing wrong with any newspaper’s attempts to solicit the views of
any prominent attorney-at-law on this subject. Mr. Trotman certainly is as
prominent as they come.
However, I
question the motive of the Current Affairs Editor of this newspaper as a whole,
to seek out the opinion of Trotman of all persons.
Mr.
Trotman in his views, will not only bring to the table his partisan interests as
a senior and prominent member of the main opposition party that has for quite
some time now been relentlessly critical of the Guyana Police Force.
But his
views will also be partisan with respect to the fact the he has often squared
off against Police and CANU prosecutors in narcotics and general court cases.
I believe
that the decision by the Stabroek News to interview this fine young politician
in his capacity as an attorney-at-law was ill-advised. There is bound to be an
antagonistic response from such a person.
There has
been a battery of lawyers in the PNCR camp, whilst at the same time, that party
has been very vocal about Guyana becoming a major trans-shipment point for
cocaine originating in South America.
Yet many
lawyers closely attached to that party have been representing a large number of
drug trafficking accused in the courts. It therefore places a big question on
many people’s minds about those that condemn and condone at the same time.
I believe
the article failed to point out was that Guyana is not the only country in this
hemisphere presented with difficulties in attempting to curb trafficking in
narcotics.
This is
virtually a global problem, contributed to by global trends.
The second
issue is that there has been a perception, created in the main by the PNCR and
some sections of the media, that our problems with drug trafficking are new.
My
argument is that there is now, more media attention given to busts, whilst at
the same time, large amounts are now being drawn in by the net - primarily over
the last 10 years or so.
However,
the December 1989 edition of the National Geographic Explorer brands Guyana
(then) as second to Columbia, in terms of cocaine exported out of South America.
I repeat for emphasis: 1989.
Trotman
and company, including some sections of the media, are either oblivious to this
or they conveniently ignore it.
At a
recent conference for crime and security personnel in this hemisphere, it was
the general consensus that curbing demand is one other neglected aspect of the
fight against the trafficking in narcotics. So the great United States has
failed in this respect.
There is
much more to this issue than what some seek to portray.
It is my
view that if such an elaborate article was planned, some semblance of depth and
fairness should have been entailed.
MICHAEL GORDON
APRIL 15, 2004
Mr. Raphael Trotman