CONFIRM TOP COP OR LET HIM GO -OPPOSITION MPS

Confirm him or let him go is the clarion call by some opposition
Members of Parliament and leading private sector officials as
government continues to prevaricate over the appointment of Henry
Greene to the substantive post of Commissioner of Police.

Greene, a lawyer by profession, has been acting in the capacity of
Police Commissioner since last year July when Winston Felix demitted
office. His tenure at the helm of the force has been marked by the
US revocation of both his diplomatic and visitor's visas and a
spate of serious, unsolved crime.

Washington had told Greene that he benefited materially from the
drugs trade, which is why it revoked his visas to that country,
Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon disclosed to this newspaper last
year July. It is widely believed that this is the reason why
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been dithering on appointing him.

Greene, however, had vehemently denied any connections with the drug
trade and in a statement he said that it was obvious that
unjustified and improperly motivated attempts were being made to
besmirch his good name and character. In his statement which was
issued a day after it was revealed that the US Embassy had
revoked his visitor's visa Greene said the revocation was
"a painful event for me" but he noted that it is the prerogative of
foreign states to grant visas and to also revoke such visas in their
own deliberate judgment, subject to the application of their laws.
"I want to categorically state that I have never been involved in
any way with illegal drug operations either locally or abroad, and I
have never associated with any drug dealer," Greene stressed in his
statement. He added, "I have taken steps, and will continue so to
do, to ensure the eradication of the drug scourge in this country."

President Jagdeo said at the time that he found it strange that the
US Embassy had revoked the Acting Commissioner's visas. He said that
the administration had asked Washington to provide specifics of what
led to the action. The President also asserted back then that if
there was evidence of wrongdoing on Greene's part, government would
have no problem in having him step down. On July 21 last year the
same day retired Police Commissioner Felix demitted office it was
revealed that Greene's visitor's visa to the US was revoked.
Observers had said then that the withdrawal was likely a move to
thwart his appointment to the police force top job. The revocation
of the visitor's visa had come months after his diplomatic visa was
also rescinded. He said at the time of the first revocation that he
did not know what was behind the sudden move and added that he had
no problem with the US government or the embassy. His diplomatic
visa was issued in 2002 to attend a course! on terrorism on behalf
of the Guyana Police Force in Washington. The visa was a
five-year one and had not expired when it was revoked. At
that point he had noted that his US visitor's visa was still intact
and as such he could still travel to the US, not knowing that the US
was coming for that also.

Negative effects

Questioned about the situation regarding the appointment of Greene,
Leader of the Opposition Robert Corbin said that it is certainly
unhealthy for the development of any professional organization to
have "actors" performing substantive functions. Corbin said that
the situation in the police force is just one example of what has
been happening in many sectors of the country. "The negative effects
of acting appointments can impact on stability, justice
and confidence in the institutions that are there with
the responsibility to advance certain functions of the state," the
PNCR leader declared.

Asked whether he has ever raised the issue of Greene's appointment
with the President, Corbin said he has been speaking on the matter
as well as other issues on every occasion he meets with Jagdeo.
Questioned as to what Jagdeo has been telling him, Corbin shied away
from answering, while insisting that he is trying to conform to the
norms of a modern democracy by making these matters known. He said
if this course fails the dynamics of any situation will generate its
own consequences.

On whether he would support Greene becoming the substantive police
commissioner, Corbin said that it was not a matter he wished to
comment on at the moment, adding that he did not want to be drawn
into a discussion on personalities. "I am commenting on the
principle of the appointment of a COP, but I do not think it is fair
to either him (Greene) or me at this stage to engage in a
personality hunt," the Opposition Leader declared. On whether the
issue of personality came up during his talks with the President on
the appointment of Greene, Corbin said no, adding that he only
discussed personality as it relates to the Chancellor of the Judiciary.

According to Article 211 (1) of the Constitution, the Commissioner
of Police shall be appointed by the President acting after
meaningful consultation with the Leader of the Opposition and
Chairperson of the Police Service Commission after the chairperson
has consulted with the other members of the commission. At
present the Police Service Commission is not fully
constituted, although three members were sworn in last week.
The life of the previous commission came to an end in March this
year several months after Greene was appointed to act.

Let him go

Member of Parliament for the GAP/ROAR alliance, Everall Franklin
said that his party is very concerned "since we are in a situation
where crime is spiralling and therefore leadership has to take
responsibility both at the level of the government and the police
force." "We were wondering whether the non-appointment has to do
with the US revoking his visas," Franklin said, adding that Guyana
continues to beg for assistance from the US, the same country which
has withdrawn the commissioner's travel privileges to that country.
Franklin said there were many issues stacked against Greene not
least the revocation of his visas.

The MP said that the acting commissioner's handling of the recent
allegations made against Senior Superintendent Steve Merai, the
controversial shooting to death of Buxtonian Donna Herod, among
other issues have weighed heavily against him. Stabroek News
was also told recently that Greene was warned by a joint services
official about the attack on the commercial banks in Rose Hall last
year, but he did nothing. When he was questioned about this
subsequently by Stabroek News he declined to comment. Merai had been
accused by a businessman who said that the police officer
demanded money from him over a drug deal. Greene had announced that
an investigation was launched, but he subsequently revealed that
they could not move forward with the investigations because the
businessman who made the allegations had vanished. Observers believe
that the announcement of an investigation was aimed at
appeasing citizens, but no work was actually being done. It
was pointed out! that it was not what the businessman had to say
that was important but whether Merai's story was credible. Merai who
was in charge of patrols in Georgetown when the allegations were
made was hauled off that duty by Greene and reassigned to coordinate
patrols for ministers of government. Franklin asserted that if there
are questions about Greene's character then it would be difficult
for the government to confirm him. "But I think the administration
should either confirm him or let him go and look for
another person," the GAP/ROAR MP declared. He said it is clear that
the issue of Greene's appointment is not about natural succession,
since he is the next in line to Felix. The MP said it was time the
police force got a substantive head, noting that the position is
too critical for someone to be acting for so long. The MP noted
that the non-appointment of Greene would only weaken his own
influence on his charges who would no doubt go along with the
popular ! view that the administration does not have confidence in him.

Asked whether his party would support Greene's candidacy, cognizant
of the cloud that hangs over him, Franklin said in the absence of
the specific details of the allegations levelled against the Acting
Police Chief by the US his party would be hard pressed to make a
decision. He said, however, the fact that President Jagdeo has shied
away from confirming Greene seems to indicate that government is
privy to more information which would backfire on them if they were
to go ahead and make such an appointment.

Franklin advanced four possible reasons why there continues to be a
delay in the appointment: he said that it is either the government
does not have confidence in Greene; they are waiting to see if he
could perform; they want to control him or they are afraid that the
US would sanction them. Asked why the opposition was not asking
questions about the issue, Franklin said the issue was raised on
numerous occasions, but they never got a proper answer. He believes
the reason why the administration has shied away from this is
because they do not want to reveal exactly what the US has said. On
whether he thinks Greene has performed creditably since he took over
from Felix, Franklin said he is not impressed with his performance.
The MP said there were a lot of outstanding matters that Greene has
failed to bring closure to. He said too that the force continues
to rate their success on the number of criminals they kill,
pointing out that this skewed view of policing was highlighted
recently when Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee surprisingly
visited the crime scene where two bandits were killed on Main Street
two weeks ago. He said at the scene Rohee lauded the
police efforts. "You do not judge success by how many people you
killed if killing is the measuring rod for success then we might as
well go back to the days of the death squad," Franklin said. The
opposition MP noted too that government likes to boast about how
much money it has spent on the police force, yet most of the
policemen are still impoverished.

Too many actors

Leader of the Alliance For Change (AFC), Raphael Trotman said that
the continued insistence of the administration to have key officials
acting has undermined natural justice and the performance of the
respective agencies these officers head. He noted that Greene's
continued acting in the capacity will certainly affect the morale of
the force. Trotman said that it was not only the post of
Commissioner of Police he is concerned about but a number of
other appointments in the judiciary and the public service. Trotman
said he had raised the issue during the last budget debate, but the
government continues to be slothful in addressing it. According to
the AFC Leader, the administration's approach to the rule of law
is disturbing. "The government should appoint Mr. Greene unless
they don't have confidence in him," Trotman declared. Asked whether
he thinks the US allegations were weighing heavily against
Greene, Trotman said if that is the case then Jagdeo should! tell
the nation so. "Let the public know what the reason is for you not
confirming the gentleman," Trotman urged. Asked for his views on
Greene's leadership and the performance of the force, Trotman said
that from last year before and after Cricket World Cup the security
forces performed creditably. He however said that within the past few
months there has been a rise in crime and this is worrying. He
too chided Greene for his handling of the shooting to death of
Donna Herod, the torture of the two Buxtonian and the Steve Merai saga.

Additionally, two leading private sector officials told this
newspaper that it was unfortunate that Greene found himself in such
a situation. One of the officials insisted that the acting Top Cop
was a well-trained professional and it is regrettable he could not
be confirmed. "If the government does not want him to be the head
then they should move him aside and look for someone else," one of
the private sector officials who asked not be named said. The
official asserted that despite the uncertainty surrounding Greene's
tenure at the helm of the force his performance was well
noted, although admitting that the police force needs to do more to
effectively tackle crime.