– Teixeira denounces dossier in fiery speech
The National Assembly on Thursday endorsed a motion by GAP/ROAR member Everall Franklin calling for police training to be intensified in the use of non-lethal weapons, but the support came with amendments and sharp words from the government benches.
Everall Franklin
Franklin, declaring himself a friend of the force, said the motion was not to weaken ranks of the Guyana Police Force but rather to offer them “options” to better serve the citizenry. He submitted that ranks must be equipped with the tools to constitutionally carry out their duties, arguing that non-lethal weapons could easily be used if available.
“Life is sacred,” Franklin and he suggested the use of non-lethal and less lethal weapons such as pepper spray, rubber projectiles and Tasers. However, the government benches rejected the Taser, calling it a dangerous weapon that had no place in the motion. Consequently, tasers were omitted following the amendments as submitted by Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee.
But in a pointed criticism of the force, Franklin said ranks with no training of how to use a weapon are roaming the streets armed, and he charged that persons of unsound mind are being shot dead in the country because the “police have no other options”. This comment prompted a response from the government benches that Franklin was assuming the role of the opposition leader. The PNCR was again absent from the assembly during the debate.
One of the resolved clauses calls of the motion called for the force to review its training programmes and assessments of ranks before issuing them with firearms taking into account the need for counselling and psychological programmes, and another clause called for the force to intensify its training programme in marksmanship for all ranks authorized to use firearms.
Gail Teixeira
Flavour of the month
Speaking for the government, Rohee linked the motion with the recently released opposition parties’ dossier on human rights abuse saying that it was in keeping with the flavour of the month “to concoct a document” and present it. He said Franklin was casting a bad light on the force while seeking to gain some political mileage, adding that in its original state the motion was favourable to criminals. According to him, the rights of the victims are now on the backburners and the sexy thing to do is address the rights of the perpetrators.
PPP/C MP Gail Teixeira, in a fiery address during the debate, argued that the concept of the right to use legitimate force is not “cut and dry”. She insisted that the issue of reasonableness ought to be considered. Teixeira, a former home affairs minister, said that as soon as a policeman points a gun it is an issue to call foul, adding that officers are going to be caught in confrontations where a judgment has to be made and “where a person may get killed”. She rejected Franklin’s original motion saying it assumed local officers are not trained and are irresponsible and reckless.
She scolded Franklin saying it was absurd to present a situation that police are gunning down people “left, right and centre”. She continued, “I am not even dealing with that thing call a dossier,” and went on to say that the Guyana Human Rights Association went on record in 2003 stating that the rate of extra-judicial killings was higher between 1980 to 1992 than under the current regime. She said the majority of people arrested in the country are not shot; the majority of them taken before the courts were not abused and that persons who die in custody are a fraction “less than one per cent of all prisoners in this country”.
‘Men running around with AKs’
Later in her presentation Teixeira did deal with the dossier. She passionately declared that she is never going to forgive the crafters of the dossier for as long as she lives because, “in the dossier Minister Sash Sawh and his family are not included in those who were killed… but the concern in the dossier is about the two men who killed him!” She continued that the minister was assassinated and that the focus of the document is on defending the rights of the criminals.
“I am saying it publicly here, I will never, ever, as long as I live, forgive whoever wrote that document to have left out Minister Sash Sawh and his family who were executed!” As she spoke, a member of the government benches shouted, “Speak for me too”. There was no rebuttal from the opposition bench to this statement. However, a perusal of the dossier reveals that the minister, his relatives and a security guard who were killed in 2006 are listed under a section titled, ‘Full list of extra-judicial and other killings between 1993 and 2009’.
Teixeira said the police and the government were attacked as being incompetent and useless when people were being gunned down in 2002 and “men were running around with AKs”. Consequently, she said, civil society and the opposition called for the police to be better equipped to deal with the criminals. But this did not last long, Teixeira said, since, according to her, the death of Rondel ‘Fineman’ Rawlins was followed by demands for explanations.
Robert Persaud, who also contributed to the debate, argued that Franklin advanced the motion with some degree of genuine ignorance. He said Franklin appeared detached from the developments taking place within the system and the continuous efforts to reform the force. Persaud also contended that the motion creates the impression that non-lethal measures are not being considered by the law enforcement agencies adding, “this is far from reality”.
Persaud called for a comparison of non-lethal measures as instituted in other countries saying it is important to determine whether such measures actually reduce danger or death during police interventions. He quoted from a US Federal Bureau of Investigations bulletin which he said concluded based on a study that some methods of less lethal force and body restraint may increase the risk of death.
“We can cite instances of police misconduct and [say] law enforcement in retrospect could have done a better job and the way in which they were unprofessional we could go through that, [but] not that heap of garbage we saw in the form of a dossier,” Persaud said. According to him, the country can deal with specific cases within the force which have been raised. He said that members of his party have been victims of police brutality in the past. Further, he argued that the force must be not be made wimps and be ineffective in protecting the public.
The amended motion which was passed, essentially says that the assembly recognises the right of the force to use legitimate force within which the use of non-lethal weapons is an integral component of standard operational procedures and that in certain recent incidences the police have had little choice but to respond appropriately to protect themselves and citizens.
“I am saying it publicly here, I will never, ever, as long as I live, forgive whoever wrote that document to have left out Minister Sash Sawh and his family who were executed!” As she spoke, a member of the government benches shouted, “Speak for me too”. There was no rebuttal from the opposition bench to this statement. However, a perusal of the dossier reveals that the minister, his relatives and a security guard who were killed in 2006 are listed under a section titled, ‘Full list of extra-judicial and other killings between 1993 and 2009’.”
I am not surprised by Minister Gail’s response since it is clear she did not read the document; on the other hand Min,Robert along with the other government supporters seem hell bent on covering up something hence their continued response to discredit the document ….there is an old saying “Do nothing fear Nothing ” …let the inquiry begin once you are clean you will be vindicated PPP
The PPP always attacks the Messenger without reading the message…I wonder why?
I am surprised to see Teixeira still has some fire left in her. With all the pride she has to swallow to stay within the PPP, one would think that she’d be extinguished by now.
As Merle Haggard says ” when you’re bringing down my country man, you’re walking on the fighting side of me”. A soldier for Guyana during Burnham’s era and still willing to fight for the people of Guyana.
She is definitely cut from a different cloth than you are BS.
“She continued…and went on to say that the Guyana Human Rights Association went on record in 2003 stating that the rate of extra-judicial killings was higher between 1980 to 1992 than under the current regime”
1. Oh so she like d GHRA when dem seh duh?
2. 2003 was SIX YEARS ago. If d GHRA gi she comparison between 1980-1992 an between 1998 and 2009 she gon like da one to?
At least 2 mentally ill men were shot dead by the Police in recent years. A prioner, believed to be mentally ill was cuffed to death by a prison officer on March 24, 07. The male fists can be lethal weapons.
Both side have good point to support there cause, but in the long run the guyanese people are still suffering from crimes and criminal activities, as for ms. teixeira she can live here life and not forgive the writer of the dossier and hold a grudge if she wants, but as the saying goes resentment is like pissing on yourself, because you’re the only one who’s feeling it.
Madam Gail Teixeira MP. The government of Guyana is incompetent, the Guyana Police Force is constrained by the policies of the Jagdeo PPP/C government. The public records from 92 to date reflects the factual methods of the way the government of Guyana have promote the growth and development of beautiful Guyana.
The unique way in which the government is associated with the Roger Khan era in Guyana, the torture of the citizens by the disciplined forces, the doubling of the cost of living in Guyana from 1992 to 2009.
Perhaps MP you should take some time to review the record of the Guyana Police Force methods used to maintain law and order in Guyana. There is a difference between cynicism and reality.
As usual, Teixeira’s arguments are biased and based on sheer buffonery….the lady is in need of a long vacation.
Why bother with such nonsense in parliament? When was the last time anyone seen the joint opposition sitting in parliament working with Government on security matters on how to reign in notorious criminals?They all speak as though Government and it’s supporters are in it alone to fight crimes.They always forget to remind the public that crime fighting is everybody’s business.Imagine a criminal refusing orders by police officers to surrender but instead point an ak47 at those officers?What must the officers do?Walk away?But before walking away the police officers must remind that criminal to come into the police station at a later date for questioning?Come on folks lets be real and realistic here on crimes and criminals who are hell bent on not wanting to be brought to justice.
It appears that GAP/ROAR wants to tie the law enforcers’ hands.
If the law enforcers’ hands were tied at Leonora that minor’s genitals would not have been burnt.
“According to [Rohee], the rights of the victims are now on the backburners and the sexy thing to do is address the rights of the perpetrators.” The rights of the victims Mr. Rohee is addressed in a Court of Law not on the streets. That is what happens in law abidding scoeity. As a relative who family suffered in one of the mass murders our family prefer the prepetrators brought before the Court and hear from them why they murdered our loved one and we would have told them what we thought of them before the ropes were hung around their necks. That’s the proper thing to do.
Amen
everall frankling doesn’t know what he is talking about. tazers are considered non-letal weapons, yet they have killed 23 people here in canada. the canadian govt is considering to ban them. do frankling want the police in guyana to confront criminals armed with ak47’s with non-letal weapons? is he an idiot?
Franklin says that the intent of the legislation is to provide the police with “options” and the specific example used was the police killing two people of unsound mind due (inter alia) to lack of “OPTIONS”.
So – Quibian, while people with a sound primary education would discern the intent of the GAP bill to provide for the option of using non-lethal tools in appropriate circumstances, an idiot – Quibian, would read the above and come to the conclusion that “frankling[sic] want the police in guyana to confront criminals armed with ak47’s with non-letal weapons”
In keeping with the thesis of a “sound primary education” Quibian, the word is “lethal”.
The phonetic approach breaks down in the face of deficient speech patterns or in the case of a word like “taser”, functional illiteracy.