Dear Editor,
The letter from Police Public Relations Officer Ivelaw Whittaker which appeared in Stabroek News (March 14) is as shocking as it is revealing of the premise on which the police are investigating the assassination of political activist, Courtney Crum-Ewing.
It is shocking because the police are focusing on individuals who are concerned that this murder doesn’t cause retaliation. Catholic Bishops are similarly concerned. Opposition leaders have also called for calm; this means the same thing as “no tit for tat.” If public figures call for calm, does this mean they may have evidence of the perpetrators who committed the crime? Crime Chief Leslie James who called up David Hinds has behaved ridiculously.
The letter is also revealing, because the police are indicating that they have apparently ruled out that this murder is politically motivated. Or, at least, ruled out that supporters connected with one or the other of the parties operating in Guyana may be involved. If the police have ruled out one group as suspects, then the prospect of solving this crime doesn’t look good at all.
Politically motivated murders are nothing uncommon. They happen all the time in scores of countries. One criterion that guides crime sleuths is this: Which party has more to gain from it? If Guyana’s crime sleuths will not consider this question, then the nation will quickly conclude that the investigation is hampered.
If the police are looking for clues they would do well to read SN blogs. There were scores of bloggers’ posts, all with one purpose: to disparage Courtney Crum-Ewing. It was as if all these bloggers were given their talking points from the same Director of a propaganda department.
If I may hazard a guess, not a single one of these bloggers has been interviewed by the police, yet the police go after individuals who call for “calm.”
Would the Commissioner of Police who should have sole responsibility for solving this crime (without being pushed around by political bosses) hold a press conference and update the public about the status of the investigation? He should not let this become another cold case.
Editor, permit me to reference a politically-motivated attempted murder, that of Joshua Ramsammy in 1971. Ramsammy survived the bullet, described his assailant and his vehicle, but the crime remained unsolved. In third-world societies, Commissioners of Police are often beholden to their political rulers.
It is not my intention to cast aspersions on the abilities of Commissioner Seelall Persaud, but rather the opposite. Most Commissioners similarly placed would welcome what fell into Mr Persaud’s lap, namely, a chance to solve what looks like a politically motivated murder and go down in the history books as one of the most celebrated commissioners of all time. It would require self-confidence to stand up to the political bosses and resources to do the job. And even the will to call on ABC countries for help.
Finally, I am not a pessimist, but something in my gut tells me this crime will not be solved.
Yours faithfully,
Mike Persaud
