Latest update April 19th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 04, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom
The government of Guyana has found itself embarrassed. It has asked the Americans for help in identifying a forensic pathologist to carry out examinations on the remains of the men killed at Lindo Creek.
While the Guyana government is waiting however, the legal representatives of the families of the dead men have already secured the services of a forensic pathologist to look into the family’s interest.
Private action has secured a quicker response than the official action taken by the government. This is indeed a development that has made the government look bad.
I do not know if the government of Guyana is looking for freeness from the Americans but their approach has been wrong. They should not have gone through the diplomatic process in seeking to secure the services of a forensic pathologist.
They should have gone directly to the private market in America as the lawyers for the families of the slain men have done in Britain.
While the government is waiting on a response from the Americans, the families have already identified an expert to look into their interest.
What is disappointing about this whole matter is that the government of Guyana has missions in a number of countries abroad.
All it would have taken is one phone call to those missions instructing that a forensic pathologist of repute be found and placed on the next plane out. Results would have been forthcoming within one day, once the government was prepared to pay.
It would be surprising and scandalous if the government made money an issue in this case. After all we are dealing with the third massacre in three months and within certain official circles there is the belief that all of these slaughters were committed by the same gang.
Others however have speculated that the gang on the run may not have been responsible but those who have made such a contention are not providing much in terms of proof as to the basis of their conclusion other than they did not think that a gang on the run would stop and kill men then take the time to burn their bodies.
The only way that the truth will emerge and speculation will end is for the immediate appointment of a commission of inquiry.
This commission should have already been established and the government must be soundly condemned for its prevarication and ambivalence on this question.
In fact, one of the mandates of that commission could have been procuring the services of a forensic investigator and a forensic pathologist to be part of its team.
This would have avoided the problem that has now arisen where a legal team has managed to secure a pathologist but the government is still waiting on the government.
One suspects that the government of Guyana is solely predisposed towards bringing in a forensic pathologist but is not prepared to appoint an independent investigating team. How else does one explain the failure of the government to put together a commission of inquiry?
The public must therefore press the government as to its intention. They should ask the government whether by Christmas it would make up its mind as to the nature of the investigation it wants in this case.
The Jagdeo administration must not be allowed to prevaricate further on this issue. This very administration sought international assistance when Guyana’s coast was under water in 1985.
A point not readily conceded was that the international community rebuffed the government’s request for assistance in the post-flood period.
This must have had to do with the fact that the international community, at the minimum, expected some inquiry as to what caused the flood. When this was not forthcoming, the funds expected for restoring Guyana’s losses dried up.
The Guyanese people, given the suffering that they endured, should have demanded nothing less than a commission of inquiry into the floods just as they should now into the deaths of these eight men.
At the minimum I would have expected that this matter would have been brought up in the National Assembly.
What we have are eight men dead and instead of an immediate appointment of a commission of inquiry, all we are getting is pussyfooting by the administration.
This is totally unacceptable and should not be allowed to happen in Guyana. A commission of inquiry must be appointed and must be appointed forthwith.
If the government wants to extend the inquiry into the Lusignan and Bartica massacres then no problem. But make a decision about Lindo Creek and make it swiftly.
Where is the BETTER MANAGEMENT/RENEGOTIATION OF THE OIL CONTRACTS you promised Jagdeo?
Apr 19, 2024
SportsMax – West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews delivered a stellar all-round performance to lead her team to a commanding 113-run victory over Pakistan Women in the first One Day...Kaieteur News – For years, the disciples of Bharrat Jagdeo have woven a narrative of economic success during his tenure... more
By Sir Ronald Sanders Waterfalls Magazine – On April 10, the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States... more
Freedom of speech is our core value at Kaieteur News. If the letter/e-mail you sent was not published, and you believe that its contents were not libellous, let us know, please contact us by phone or email.
Feel free to send us your comments and/or criticisms.
Contact: 624-6456; 225-8452; 225-8458; 225-8463; 225-8465; 225-8473 or 225-8491.
Or by Email: [email protected] / [email protected]