Saying recent allegations of torture are bringing discredit to the security forces, Ramkarran is of the view that institutional mechanisms must be devised and implemented to strengthen or reorganise the security forces towards avoiding such horror. “Because [the security forces] may have been led by inaction or otherwise to believe that they have free reign, they now believe they can visit inhuman and degrading treatment on children, if the allegations are true,” the Speaker of the National Assembly and Senior Counsel wrote in an opinion piece published in the Guyana Chronicle newspaper yesterday. He added. “This is wholly unacceptable and must be condemned without hesitation or reservation.”
The absence of reports of the investigations into the allegations has resulted in widespread suspicion that the security forces are engaged in both the abuse of citizens and more recently, children, Ramkarran noted. “This is not good for Guyana because it discredits our country and people, painting all Guyanese as barbarians,” he observed.
He blamed “inactivity at higher levels” for creating “the belief that such abuse is tolerated” and he insisted that the notion needs to be dispelled immediately along with the torture of persons in custody. Further, he noted that PPP members and supporters had been early political victims of such treatment and along with loyal citizens party leaders have devoted many years to fighting against the torture of persons in custody. “Too many citizens have suffered from this type of atrocity for it to be allowed to continue for one day more,” he said, adding, “The recent photographs in the newspapers cannot be lying.”
Further, Ramkarran noted that reports of torture supported by photographic evidence are surfacing more regularly, which he said suggests that mechanisms are not in place to ensure that abuse does not occur and that such acts cannot be hidden from public view. He added that public condemnation and revulsion would inevitably demand transparent systems be put in place as preventative measures. “Why wait on public pressure?” he questioned, while pointing out that delay would result in the continuation of abuse.
Ramkarran also noted “an absurd view” held by some in law enforcement that extracting a confession by any means of duress is an acceptable way to solve a crime. According to him, the police have believed for decades that the first step in the investigation of a crime is to round up the suspects on the basis of information and not investigation. With no evidence, he related, the next stage is to obtain a confession. He said the investigative capacity of the police force began to deteriorate since the 1970s, resulting in a reversal of the investigative process. “The process began from the arrest of suspects based on the accumulation of minimal evidence and then the process degenerates,” he noted, adding “this culture has clearly proven to be deeply entrenched despite more resources, many reforms, greater openness, the work of the GHRA and a vigilant press. And it is getting worse!”
He was firm that coercive methods never work, since any hint of unlawful conduct by police in taking confession statements usually leads the court to disallow such evidence. He recalled the recent debate in the US on the torture of detainees, where it was shown that such techniques do not work because the information it elicits is unreliable. Additionally, it was shown that questioning without the use of or threat of force is more likely to yield accurate information. As a result, he argued that the use of torture quite apart from being “horribly and criminally wrong” is also “useless and counter-productive” in the solving crime, apart from proof in court.
Meanwhile, he said the establishment of the Police Complaints Authority and the internal Office of Professional Responsibility while being a step in the right direction, has not deterred security officials in violating the rights of citizens.
Ramkarran also recalled the Guyana Bar Association (GBA) from the late 70s to the restoration of democracy in 1992 in the area of the protection of citizens’ rights. He noted that the GBA was a leading champion of free and fair elections, a sterling defender of fundamental and constitutional rights of the citizen and a vigorous campaigner against what was dubbed “police brutally” at the time. However, he added that post-1992 it took its eye off the ball, with focus shifting to other issues such as constitutional reform. “I am not saying that the Bar Association became dormant,” he noted, “It still vigorously pursued its agenda. But as its old leadership fell away, the old issues began to fade and its agenda became filled with new ones.”
