Dear Editor,
When Roger Luncheon starts criticizing people for making ambiguous utterances, you know the PPP is clutching at straws. By suggesting, as at least one government minister has done, that by not using the word massacre to describe the Lusignan killings, the opposition is not being sincere in its condemnation of these killings, the PPP is also resorting to utter stupidity.
The PPP is obviously on a campaign to discredit anyone who criticizes the government for not effectively fighting crime or the causes of crime, and some of the insinuations coming from some government politicians indicate a level of personal nastiness inconsistent with good leadership.
The truth is this government has very poor crime fighting credentials, and has demonstrated no strong desire to dismantle the drug trafficking and money laundering infrastructures that are expanding into every aspect of our nation. Its most successful crime fighting initiative was based on borrowing executioners from a drug gang to hunt down and murder criminals.
It is fairly obvious that the government is not in control of the crime situation. Guns and drugs move easily in and out of the country, while gunmen and drug dealers operate casually within the country. I am not suggesting that this problem can be easily dealt with. I am merely suggesting that this government has had no success in dealing with it, and has not made a great enough effort to deal with it.
As a result many Guyanese have lost confidence in the government’s ability to ensure their personal safety and security. Many people feel that a solution to the crime problem needs to involve more than just the PPP, and this makes perfect sense since it requires a national will to achieve results, and the PPP alone can never galvanize nation-wide support.
Therefore, I suggest that the PPP stop alienating the opposition and other groups by its crude suggestions linking them to the killers, and try to involve them in finding a solution without setting silly conditions for engagement.
I have no problem whatsoever in describing what took place on January 26, as a massacre, nor do I have any sympathy for those who committed these savage acts. I extend my condolences to the families of all the victims.
Yours faithfully,
Dominic Gaskin
