The demise of Rondell ‘Fineman’ Rawlins and Jermaine ‘Skinny’ Charles is a great victory for the peace-loving people of Buxton whose village was held hostage by the criminals, the PPP said.
Congratulating the Joint Services at a press conference held at Freedom House yesterday, PPP General Secretary Donald Ramotar said that the PPP supports the work that the security forces were engaged in to dismantle the infrastructure, which was built up by the bandits.
He said the PPP hoped that the recent achievement by the security forces would contribute to bringing closure for the family of the victims of the ‘Fine Man/Skinny’ gang.
On the release of the report of allegations of torture against members of the Joint Services by a number of men and the findings of the enquiry into the death of a prisoner, Ramotar said the PPP supported the enquiries but felt the findings should be released at a time “when it is fit to do so.”
He said he did not know why they had not yet been released. He added that PNCR-1G MP Aubrey Norton had tabled a motion in parliament on the question of torture. Ramotar said he expected that as soon as parliament reconvenes that the motion will be debated.
There are at least six allegations of torture pending against the security services and even though there have been denials followed by promises of in-depth probes, the findings of none of the investigations have been made public.
Allegations from Buxtonians Patrick Sumner, Victor Jones and three of the army’s own – Alvin Wilson, Sharth Robertson and Michael Dunn – surfaced earlier this year. And while in custody a convicted prisoner Edwin Niles was severely beaten as well as being burnt, allegedly at the hands of prison officers. In all these cases, the men suffered torture during interrogation. The earlier cases did not result in any deaths, but were serious enough to leave the victims ailing for months.
