Law-abiding citizens are at the mercy of circumstances

Dear Editor,

The recent related deaths, all out-and-out executions, emphasize how dangerous this country has become.  The clear headed and objective know by now that this unfinished round of killings is neither limited to three persons, nor confined to the city. When all the circumstances are considered, it is frightening the extent to which the perpetrators have been willing to go to neutralize their target.

For starters, no place is safe; it has been this way for a long time.  Many have already given up on the romance of the night and retreated to the questionable security of indoors.  I encourage the intrepid to canvass Georgetown (at their own risk) after 11 at night; it is deserted, and less than a handful of places are opened for a bite or a beverage.  Everything and everybody is shuttered tight.  Now back to a closer look at the killings

Drinking spots and roadways have claimed victims; a quiet residential street and remote rural road have seen death; and whether bustling city or distant hinterland, there is no place to hide for those who once lived on the dark side, and either did wrong or knew too much.  No upright citizen is crying for those once involved in nefarious pursuits and now gone.  It is for the innocent that the alarm is raised.

Being in the wrong place at the wrong time is no longer a cliché; in Guyana it is assuming the contours of everyday reality. Everywhere. Think of this: a bar and a driveway are the focus of sustained automatic weapon fire. The executioners do not care about bystanders; they do not care that a school with children is right next door.  They have to get their man, regardless of how many bullets it takes, and who could be in the way.  It does not matter; just get the wet job over with and done, whatever the cost in life or limb. They cannot return to their controllers empty handed.  Failure is not an option and there are no remedial opportunities, especially if non-locals are calling the shots. The failed executioners could end up on the wrong side of a contract.  It is just the way things are – nothing personal, simply business.

Think of some other things: so far, the final solutions administered have utilized missiles, liquids, and vehicles. Since the central thrust of this operation appears to be far from finished, what other innovations of mayhem are being contemplated?  And since, no place is off-limits, where could the next execution occur?  Dare I say the marketplace? Church? A sports complex?  It should be noticed that these places have one thing in common: they are all usually well peopled.  Clearly, intended victims gambling on anonymity and sheltering in the mass of the crowd are rolling the dice.  The problem is that they are coming up with snake eyes. And their problem becomes that of the rest of us going about our routines, for society is increasingly vulnerable and acutely imperiled.

Are there any defences?

The short answer is ‘No.’  The GPF will conduct its mop-up operations and issue the usual terse “investigations are continuing” and that will be that.  It is a fact that the force has not brought any charges in any – repeat, any – killing of significance in this country for decades.  There might be some discussion as to the definition of ‘killing of significance.‘ I offer drug related, execution style, contract driven, or politically influenced.  The answer is still the same: no charges brought against anyone.  None.  In some instances, the force has ideas as to the involved, but it is severely handicapped by its own weaknesses; some are institutional, some are environmental, and almost all suffer from the tinge and flavor of currency.  So much for the GPF, and the unpersuasive motions it goes through.

If not the police force, what about the political leaders?  Well, what about them?  The question is this: are they in a position to do anything that can protect innocent citizens?  Like the police the answer is also ‘No.‘ These are the people who welcomed, then opened this Pandora’s Box of maleficence on a society now hapless and besieged. These are the stalwart men, at the highest levels, who speak of investors and development and progress, while knowing full well that monstrosities were being nurtured.  It must be faced head-on: local political leadership is compromised. None of this should be seen as revelatory, for all are public secrets openly dissected from bottom-houses to watering holes to political backrooms.  All have been raised before over the years in this very column.

Having said all of this, where does this leave law-abiding citizens going about the commerce of their day?  Nowhere.  Nowhere, and at the mercy of circumstances and places previously taken for granted.  This is bigger than ethnic insecurity, it is an entire society endangered.  This is what comes from dancing with the devil.  Or the bitter fruits of a Faustian bargain.

Yours faithfully,
 GHK Lall