Human Rights body warns of drift towards military tactics in Police Force

The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) condemns, without reservation, the action by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) against demonstrating sugar workers. Some twenty protesting workers were detained, stripped to their underwear and photographed in the police station without their shirts. This degrading treatment was then compounded by the photos being released to the media, the body noted. The workers were eventually released on bail in the excessive sum of $60,000 and charged – among other things – with ‘terrorism’ and disrupting traffic on the roadway.

“The fact that sugar workers, considered among the most privileged in the labour force, feel forced to block public roads in order to get attention to their grievances should be seen as ominous. The cost of living rises almost on a weekly basis, fostering indignation among the employed, and even reasonably well-off.  Tomatoes in city markets last weekend, for example, cost $1000 per pound. Forewarning that the story of prosperity President Ali never tires of boasting about is enjoyed by a privileged minority.”

GHRA noted, while attention over this incident is focused on the behaviour of local Police officials, it reinforces the growing suspicion that the GPF as a national institution is sliding into administrative turmoil. “

The Criminal branch is tainted by too many unresolved situations: Traffic seems overwhelmed by the sheer volume of vehicles, widespread tinting, abandonment of fitness testing and unlicensed use of sirens. The Police Service Commission remains in limbo and both the Police Complaints Authority and the Office of Professional Responsibility are unfit for purpose. Additionally, the demise of the Police Association adds to this institutional breakdown. The likelihood of any of these issues being resolved is remote as long as the office of the Police Commissioner remains dependent on political support rather than the solidarity of colleagues.”

The human rights organisation pointed out “The Constitution of Guyana states “No person shall be subject to torture or inhuman and degrading punishment or other treatment” (art.141). The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement defines in Article 5 that “No law enforcement official may inflict, instigate or tolerate any (emphasis added) act of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”

‘Tolerating’ degrading treatment by ‘enforcement officials’ implicates a wider range of people, other than police officers being held directly or indirectly responsible for such events as occurred in Berbice with the sugar workers.”

Noting, unlike the GDF, which is a military body responsible to the President, the Police are a civil body with the civic Minister of Home Affairs responsible for policy-making. Getting this message across to both politicians and the police – to say nothing of the general public – has been contentious since Guyana became independent. A major contributing factor to this civilian/military ambiguity, the GHRA said, has been the fact that the colonial predecessor to the GPF was the Guyana Militia, whose explicit purpose was “to keep the slaves in awe” to quote an early Governor. “Repressing riot became the characteristic role of the Militia and despite its conversion to a Police Force long before Independence, the most notable changes have not gone much further than replacing ‘slaves’ with citizens’ and ‘militia’ with ‘Police Force’.”

The body further noted, among those who tolerate unacceptable policing must also be counted prominent and influential citizens who pander to, rather than call out, ourself-absorbed politicians, warning, that “until this privileged group begin to demonstrate greater integrity with respect to public affairs the transformation of Guyana into a lawless, oil-driven sink-hole cannot be dismissed.”