By GHK Lall- A prisoner, Gavin Douglas, dies in the lockups. Will justice prevail? The government moves energetically. A thorough probe coming. This is when I begin to worry. When is a probe a real probe under the PPP Govt? How is thorough defined by the PPP Govt? Past and present history are not quite cooperating with this government, has been unkind to its slippery leadership. When both government and leadership applaud themselves for being convincing, they are dismissed as nothing less than conniving. An example or two should lend some substance to this position, aid others to think, and see clearly.
Going in reverse order, there’s the MV Barima tragedy probe. The Kingston Wharf was dressed up as if King Charles was going to stop by. The probe team couldn’t find the energy (or its marching orders [the real ones, not those of the TOR]) to get going with zeal and vision. No sooner the MV Barima probe team got its late start, than its members took off for international destinations. One delay, a second delay; Xmas has to be on probe team’s holiday calendar. Expect another 2-3 weeks lost, at a minimum.
Thorough relative to the probe was among the first official words that the PPP Govt put into the public domain (a mourning one), in its efforts to calm Guyanese, and take control of their heads. Then, there are hiccups re appearances, travel, funding, and a stream of what inspires colorful language. If this is what thorough looks like, then it’s better that a probe that is less than thorough never be heard of, or seen.
Much was heard about the MV Barima probe from the early hours. There was much more to come. A mystery salvage award. A tender award that drives a secondary tendering process, and the selection of real experts who can get real work done.
Putting these elements together, what should, or could, be expected of this so-called thorough probe of the MV Barima, which have 79 dead, according to the official count? Now, for the crux: if this sluggishness, shabbiness, and slickness can be the norm for 79 dead (probably over 100 total), then what could a promised ‘thorough’ probe yield for one prisoner who met his end in the lockups? I say that the best to be expected is one of the usual PPP Govt paint jobs. The paint first cracks or flakes, then runs and smears.
Happened with the probe into the Madhia Dorm Fire, a blood sacrifice involving 20 incinerated bodies. Per PPP Govt standards, it was a thorough probe, with ministers shielded, narratives twisted, and doctored dispatches. Like I insist: life is cheap in Guyana. Due to some unique attribute, the PPP Govt made it cheaper. So cheap as not to matter.
Whether 79 dead (or 100+), or 20, or a couple in Linden a couple of times (Police killings), the irony is that government’s thorough probes have had one consistent usefulness. They showed how dirt cheap the PPP Govt has made Guyanese life. Probes should reveal. PPP Govt sponsored probes conceal. Darkness is added to darkness, with a second tragedy layered on to the first. It requires a special caliber of government to be so successful at these farces that are called probes.
With those as context, what are the prospects for a thorough probe, a true probe, into the death of Mr. Gavin Douglas? Especially given marks of violence. Near to zero probability for a straight one. The same odds for a credible one. The PPP Govt only has itself to blame. It has become so sleazy, so suspect, and so sinister with these probes that it rolls out, that Guyanese can arrive at their conclusions before probes get started. Undoubtedly, the PPP Govt has become a victim of its own success with trickiness. One dead or 100, the PPP Govt celebrates its blood sacrifices. Human sacrifices, not animals.
