The hijacking, abduction, murder, drive-by shootings, and arson attacks – the whole string of terror attacks – must be condemned in the harshest terms possible. There is no justification for the sequence of events themselves, or any activities relating to their execution. No justification whatsoever, as none is served by this development; neither the powerbrokers, nor power seekers, nor larger society of any colouration. Whatever the source of – and whatever the rationale(s) for –this latest episode of sponsored and calculated mayhem, it is dastardly and destructive to the already fragile fabric and psyche of the nation. As said before, on this I agree with the President. In terms of the aspect of a “US master mind” I start to depart.
First, I must state that all that follows is what has been gleaned from the public reports, as carried in the newspapers. I realize that investigators, and coordinators, of necessity, will withhold certain sensitive information as a protective, if not legal, measure. I now focus on what President Jagdeo offered.
In sum, and in no particular order, it was that: 1) calls were made before and after the MOH fire was lit; 2) they were made to the same (overseas) number; 3) one was made after the fire was lit; 4) the overseas number surfaced during the Buxton situation; and 5) this is not the work of ordinary criminals. With the exception of the very last point, I have some trouble with all of this; serious trouble.
The President is reported as saying that this is not the work of “ordinary criminals” laying the basis for the inferential of work by the extraordinary or sophisticated. I agree. From hereon, things fall apart.
If this mastermind (or masterminds) possesses even some of the sophistication attributed, why would he – or she – retain the same telephone number from the “Buxton situation” of over five years ago? Moreover, why would this person leave an obvious and concrete investigatory trail by arranging for confirming calls before and after the Ministry of Health’s arson? Further, why would another incriminating call have to be made after the fire was lit, when it would be a matter of mere hours before the conflagration would burn its way across the Guyanese lane of cyberspace? Still further, in the light of advanced tracing mechanisms, why hold on to this telltale phone number today? Especially after Buxton and the Ministry of Health, when a telephone number has become the equivalent of a smoking gun, and the same has been broadcast by both police and politicians. Why communication by phone, when the vast wastes of the information superhighway could conceivably provide a safer, more nebulous environment? Given that there is this overseas mastermind of some sophistication, is he the only one who can be so described? Are the locals purely of the thug variety, who can only blow up and burn, and then make incriminating phone calls?
Proceeding further along this line of questioning, I ask myself: is this mastermind – and network – this arrogant? Taunting? Reckless? Is this party so confident – or uncaring – about detection and apprehension? Is he representative of a “rogue operation,” or such a compartmentalization, as to permit deniability whatever the situation might be? Going out on a limb ever so slightly, does the Guyana government really need the help of US authorities to track the owner and holder (not necessarily user) of this much bandied about overseas phone connection?
Returning to the matter, as reported, I find all of this a little shaky, and weak in the credibility department. I know some will point to the “cheapness” (rental van return) of the perpetrators of the first WTC attack, which led to their demise. Why not here, too, since all it takes is one slip; perhaps, there is shoestring budget.
It is just possible that this mastermind is not as sophisticated as the President has stated, or as I believe. It is possible, too, that there is much more to this than is being said, or shared. Think of it: this group plans and executes coordinated attacks; arranges prisoner escapes within hours; and disappears as if it never existed. But – there is that infernal but again – the calling card, the irrefutable fingerprints, the mug shot of a telephone number are all left behind to remind any and all of the crime. This is done repeatedly, as if to reiterate ownership. Something is not right here.
Yours faithfully,
GHK Lall
