Dear Editor,
What is happening in the Guyana Police Force will not stop until it is completely overhauled. The GPF is festering; the nation has become its victims; and the administrators are inept and cannot take corrective measures. Remember that some senior ranks have divested themselves of virtues that are the cornerstone of uprightness, and as such they are no different from the lower ranks who are merely a carbon copy of them. As one writer observed the rogue cops are protected by their colleagues and masters. It is not the case any more that in the process of screening one or two delinquents may slip by. No! There are long-serving officers right there; that is the state of the GPF and it definitely lacks the capacity to reform delinquent recruits.
I need to mention again that the Colwyn Harding case is not an isolated issue; just another which came to light, and with every succeeding commissioner, the force gets worse. Since the killing of Monica Reece some twenty years ago, it hasn’t gotten any better; increased salaries yes, but less efficient performance. The GPF is indeed tarnishing the country’s name, and those who can’t see it, can’t see any other thing. It has become rotten; too many cops, both male and female have no manners, no courtesy, are commonplace and bullies. They behave bawdily, and brazenly flout the law; they use their badge to their advantage to do as they please.
An anonymous writer states, “Our country is festering and those who should do something to stem this rot from spreading are letting the people down.” I also tend to agree with David Hinds’ assertion: “The current African Guyanese leadership, all of them is the most timid, confused and un-African that Guyana has witnessed…”
What are we, look at what we have become; even the Mahatma was forced to admit that were he to choose between cowardice and violence, he would choose the latter. A quote from the people’s parliament: “A nation of sheep is soon governed by wolves.” Wintress White in her letter to SN on January 30, 2014 under the caption ‘Guyana is no longer a beautiful place in which to live’ bemoans the fact that those who swore an oath to protect and serve us are actually the ones we are fearful of, and people in authority turn a blind eye. Thus she said she no longer stands when the National Anthem is being played, which David Hinds has endorsed vowing to follow her simple act of protest, and which I think we all ought to follow at some point.
In the movie Winnie Mandela, the point was made that it is not the law of nature for parents to be burying their children, but we have long turned that around. A cursory survey over the last fifteen years will reveal an alarming number of parents who have been burying their children, who have been lost to them for whatever reason – Aids, drugs, crime, poverty, accidents, various forms of violence, sickness, police brutality, etc.
Isn’t it time that these goings-on that have become chronic be arrested, that we all with one accord demonstrate our disapproval for the reprobates in the force and demand they be flushed out. It is imperative that we have a rally, a day of protest – a working day – to register our rejection of the way the GPF is functioning. A police force is a vital component in any society; we need them and they ought to be our guardians, but we don’t need a rotten force.
“The people are crying out and no one is listening; even if they listen nothing effective is done.”
Yours faithfully,
Frank Fyffe
