Dear Editor,
Reports of the alleged savage brutalization of Colwyn Harding have shocked the nation. I must admit that I have not yet mustered the courage to sufficiently come to terms with the entire incident. When those sworn to serve and protect us are deemed to have committed heinous crimes against the very people they are expected to serve, it is time for a national stocktaking. It is time we review our moral, ethical, and professional codes. Over the last few years the crime and security situation in the country has been consistently frightening, and yet the man responsible for the nation’s security is saying to Guyanese that he has everything under control.
Unfortunately this is not the first time members of the Guyana Police Force have been alleged to have committed such brutality on citizens.
We have lived through the unthinkable ‘torture period,’ during the time of the Phantom squad. It now appears that some under the current watch feel emboldened to commit the kinds of barbaric acts young Harding alleges. As a nation we should, in one voice, denounce such sickening behaviour by anyone. When the police are suspected of being the perpetrators of such acts we must move from condemnation to national stocktaking. We should also continue to demand more sensible leadership from the Ministry of Home Affairs. It might also be time to give teeth to the no-confidence motion against the sitting incompetent minister.
Editor, I am pleased to have read the SN news article, dated January 15, which reported that the police Commissioner himself has decided to take over the probe into the Colwyn Harding case. I believe it is a good first step, since he is demonstrating to the public that he is taking the matter seriously. I trust that the Commissioner will use his office to ensure that justice is served in this case. My heart goes out to Mr Colwyn Harding and I pray that his road to recovery will swiftly remove him from being in the shadows of a victim to a survivor, a survivor determined to overcome the wrath of his past.
Yours faithfully,
Lurlene Nestor
