Leader of the Opposition and PNCR-1G Robert Corbin said that it was unacceptable that the Lusignan tragedy was being used as an excuse for a brutal assault on people and wanton and unprovoked destruction of their property in Buxton and neighbouring communities.
Joint Services operations in Buxton and nearby areas yesterday saw ranks breaking in doors and ransacking houses, leaving in their wake angry residents. Some persons alleged that the ranks had beat villagers and then arrested them.
Speaking at a press conference called yesterday afternoon at Congress Place, Corbin, reading a statement, said that the PNCR was unequivocal that crime had to be rooted out of the society. “The Party therefore, calls on the Joint Services to approach their work in a professional manner and within the confines of the law. Such an approach will always have the support of the PNCR,” Corbin said.
He said that it was evident that elements in the Joint Services were targeting, harassing and illegally arresting and incarcerating innocent citizens, particularly young men, in the Buxton-Friendship area. “I can confirm the foregoing, for today as Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform and Leader of the Opposition I visited the Buxton Friendship area and saw the destruction that is occurring,” Corbin said.
Footage that the PNCR supplied showed one woman whose house had been ransacked and the grocery items that she sold in a shop strewn on the floor. She alleged that in addition to dumping her food items on the floor, the ranks poured kerosene oil on them, making them unusable. Corbin said that there could be no justification for this and wondered how it was that such an action could contribute to improved security.
The woman also alleged in the footage that her sons had been beaten by the ranks and a gun shoved into one of the men’s mouths.
“What is needed is not retaliation against any community or group, rather, there is need to rectify the existing situation, in which there is a glaring absence of a comprehensive security plan, by the Jagdeo regime,” Corbin stated. He added that the government could have no acceptable excuse for not as yet producing and implementing such a professionally workable plan, based on the various recommendations, including those contained in the Report of the Disciplined Forces Commission and the Simmons Report, among others.
He said that it was evident that security measures alone would not work. “These measures have to be complemented with actions aimed at addressing the social and economic conditions in the communities,” he said.
Corbin was of the view that the best approach in relation to the East Coast was for investment in strategic areas, such as the upgrading of the infrastructure for agriculture which would revitalise the communities and improve the economic well-being of citizens.
He adverted too to the “workable proposal” for the village of Buxton and its environs produced by the late Mr Hoyte. He said it would have made possible the rehabilitation of drainage and irrigation in the back lands of the village to provide an economic base as well as work for unemployed youths. It would have cost, he said, $250M, “a small sum
