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Elements in
PNC/R leadership connected to escapees
"We have confirmation that they are linked in some way with those people", he said while addressing West Demerara/East Bank Essequibo residents at the Greenwich Park Primary School, East Bank Essequibo. The escapees, linked to the recent violent crime wave, have a lot of help and many persons who have backed them come from "the fringes of some political parties", he said. "We say it's
terroristic behaviour", Mr. Jagdeo stressed. "But it's
not going to happen. It's a dream", he declared. He
once more called on the PNC/R to come out openly and forcefully to say
that it does not support criminals and is not aligned to criminal
elements. "Don't
scapegoat the Police - they are not the criminals in this society, so
don't try to justify crime by targetting a few units within the Police
Force. It's not going to work", the President said. He
told the community meeting he was happy to note that the local
representatives of the U.S. and Canadian Governments have come out to
denounce criminal activity and to say that in a democratic society,
there is no justification for political or criminal violence. At
last week's summits in Spain of Caribbean, Latin American and European
leaders, which he attended, Mr. Jagdeo said leaders spoke "about
the need for democracy, to work against the forces that subvert
democracy, and to work against terrorism in any of its manifestations
and against narco trafficking and organised crime." At
the summit, he called for international sanctions against any force,
ruling or in opposition, that is bent on subverting democracy. "The
international support is there", he said. "Those
who try to subvert democracy and link up with organised crime to further
their political motives are not going to succeed." The
President said the Police and Army are working together in an effort to
recapture the five notorious bandits who staged the daring February 23
jailbreak, in the process killing a young prison officer and seriously
wounding another. While
saying that he can give no guarantees on when the escapees will be
recaptured, Mr. Jagdeo noted, "you cannot escape the law
forever". The
President also blamed the recent wave of crime on the mass deportation
the country has seen, with some 400 deportees recently landing here from
the U.S. and other countries. He
referred to the irony of the countries involved in dumping their law
offenders here, while at the same time coming into Guyana and recruiting
trained nurses and teachers. Some
of the deportees have a criminal record, may have operated with gangs in
the countries where they were deported from and could have overseas
links in carrying out criminal activities here, he said. He
said that among other measures to curb the upsurge in crime, his
Government is thinking about taking a tough crime bill to Parliament. The
Government recently said that certain statements and actions of the
PNC/R and elements of the media exhibit terroristic behaviour. The
governing People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) has also alleged that
the PNC/R was "aligning with criminals", saying that this
"tendency" became pronounced in the post 1997 and 2001 general
and regional elections. During
those periods, the PPP/C said, "hundreds of Guyanese, mainly
persons of East Indian descent, were beaten and robbed during the PNC
organised demonstrations. Billions of dollars worth in property were
damaged by fire and vandalism". At
yesterday's meeting, several residents raised issues affecting them and
the President promised to look into these. The issues raised included the need to repair the Greenwich Park Primary School, speedier process to get firearms, and flooding of farmlands and communities.
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