The National Commission on Law and Order says that it considers the activities of the perpetrators of the Lusignan massacre to be a very serious threat to the preservation of law and order in Guyana.
In a statement released on Tuesday evening the body said that at a specially convened meeting earlier in the day members of the commission expressed their profound abhorrence and total condemnation of the massacre on January 26, which left 11 people dead including five children. “We sympathize also with the relatives of Corporal Ivor Williams of the Guyana Defence Force and condemn the criminals who took his life on January 24, 2008,” the commission said. It added that as a body it is tasked, inter alia, with the responsibility to: review and make recommendations to treat with the high crime rate and violence and measures which would foster wider public confidence and support. It is also to evolve greater awareness in the wider community of the multi-dimensional approaches required to fight crime and create safe communities and to encourage their greater involvement.
“We note that the criminals involved in the Lusignan massacre were savage in the execution of their act which drove terror to the community and the nation at large. There can be absolutely no justification of their action for any reason whatsoever. They must be condemned by all,” the commission declared. It also called on those who are in different ways involved in shielding or accommodating or supporting the gang to refrain from doing so, noting that the criminals’ ability to continue to spread terror is dependent on such support.
Noting that such terror gangs must be brought to justice, the commission asserted that it could not be allowed to continue to spread death, destruction and fear among our citizens.
Further, the commission said it welcomed the creation of a dedicated joint services team to increase the capacity of the security forces to effectively combat the operations of armed gangs. The commission called on all Guyanese to lend unstinting support to the joint services in the lawful execution of their duties in pursuit of the perpetrators of the crime, while demanding that the political parties issue a joint statement that can serve to inspire a total united national effort to combat crime. “As members of the Commission, we pledge to play our part in the fight against crime and to undertake appropriate initiatives to support the disciplined services and all others involved in the fight against crime for the preservation of law and order,” the commission statement added.
