The dossier on government’s human rights abuses, which is being compiled by the joint opposition, is almost completed and the parties will meet this week to finalize the document.
“All the various parts have been completed,” Alliance For Change (AFC) Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan told Stabroek News on Thursday last. He said that the transcripts from drug trafficker Roger Khan’s trial have been obtained and all those involved have completed their part and they only have to meet to agree on the final document.
The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday and after a general consensus is reached on the contents of the dossier, it should be released.
The joint opposition had agreed to compile a comprehensive dossier cataloguing the government’s human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings, torture and complicity with known organised crime gangs and narco-traffickers and the resulting corruption. The dossier, upon completion, will be submitted to local, regional and international bodies, including the courts with the appropriate jurisdiction and the public.
Ramjattan, who had pushed for the preparation of the dossier, had earlier explained that it was receiving input from several sources, including local experts as well as assessments by international organisations on government corruption and state abuses.
The joint opposition had been calling for an international inquiry into the alleged links between government and Khan. Ramjattan had told this newspaper that they had been successful in communicating to the citizenry the wrongdoing that has taken place since 2002. He said the dossier would aid in internationalising the issue, and would justify the call for an international inquiry. The AFC, GAP, NFA, the PNCR and the WPA had announced a partnership in August to sensitise local and international organisations on the Khan saga and to force greater accountability from the government.
Khan, who said he fought crime with the assistance of government officials, was earlier this month in the US, sentenced to two 15-year and one ten-year prison terms, all of which would run concurrently, meaning he would serve a 15-year federal prison term for convictions of drug smuggling, witness tampering and gun possession.
