Thousands of Guyanese are outraged at the death of 11-year-old Adrianna Younge, and justifiably so. The anger and disbelief expressed by her parents, family members, and friends are understandable and valid. The circumstances leading up to the child’s gruesome discovery must be fully investigated and publicly ventilated.
President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has done the right thing by immediately offering his condolences to the child’s parents and promising to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.
Vice President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has also urged the Guyana Police Force to show the footage which they said showed the child leaving the hotel and entering a vehicle and heading in the direction of Vreed-en-oop as this will clear the air of all suspicions of an attempt to mislead the public, and the involvement of the police force in a cover-up. Like President Ali, the Vice President was clear that there should be no cover-up and anyone found culpable would face the full brunt of the law.
The government had Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand and the Minister of Human Services and Social Security Dr Vindhya Persaud, on the ground, expressing concern over the incident, seeking to keep the public calm and then offering their condolences to the family. This underscored the importance and seriousness with which the government treats issues such as these that involve Guyanese, particularly children.
Firstly, the government needs to look into the relationship that exists between the police in Region Three and the owners of the hotel.
This incident is not normal, and while the Guyana Police Force acknowledged that there were “inaccuracies” in its initial release to the public, something is still amiss. It may involve big names of people right at the helm of policing in the region. And, the government must be comfortable with knowing that it has the full support of all Guyanese in getting down to the bottom of the matter.
Not to beat down the general police force, but any senior politician or ordinary person would know that the force does not usually make these mistakes with how it dispenses it communication responsibilities to the public. And if so, not in the way it did. There are a whole lot of questions that exist even with this discovery, and the government must ensure that they are answered sufficiently and honestly.
Secondly, heads must roll after the probe is done professionally. The command centre for policing in Region Three must be examined carefully. The truth is the incident could have been handled differently and the public’s outrage could have been simmered. The police missed the opportunity, late platitudes aside, to show more empathy and concern over such an incident.
Therefore, the government must demonstrate their oversight capabilities, and must be seen standing on the side of residents of Tuschen, and all Guyanese, as we not only seek answers but take action too. This incident must not be allowed to take place again in modern Guyana. We must do everything that can be done to protect our children, families and all Guyanese.
The government must take a careful look at the wider police force. Recently, the government has been forced to put out the fires which they did not start in the first place. The government will need to seek out constant reforms and new policies that should be implemented within the police force. The government must treat with the police more carefully and sternly in rooting out corruption and rogue elements in the force, as it has demonstrated as of late with charges against Calvin Brutus.
The government must demand higher levels of transparency and accountability of the Guyana Police Force, regardless of which division, rank of officers and incident. The force’s Communications Unit has to demonstrate more tact, responsibility and accuracy with the data it gives to the public. It is unacceptable to issue the statement and then have to do a 360. The police involved need to have better media training and reforms.
It is disrespectful to the government, family, and Guyanese to have to hear a professional Force say, “is currently reviewing the internal communication processes that led to the release of that statement”. We expect the force to apologise, point blank, and to do better after overhauling the entire internal communication process because the police are attempting to make the PPP government look bad.
Thirdly, there were the usual political bottom feeders, vultures, and bloodsuckers who swooped down on the community, trying to prey on the parents, family and residents of Tuschen, all for political gain. They know themselves and what they were up to. Skilled manoeuvring by the government ministers and officials ensured that the opposition did not succeed with the plan.
And, the other usual suspects have come out from hiding to play with people’s emotions. The Guyana Human Rights Association cannot be serious with its statement on the incident which occurred on Friday, where it took a swipe at the government’s appointment of the current police commissioner.
Let’s be clear: The government’s appointment of Commissioner Clifton Hicken is both legal and constitutional. There is no proof that the GPF is treated as an adjunct to the government in power. There is no low morale and disintegration of professional standards. Has the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), that is asleep and doing its bidding of its many opposition bosses, done a recent study or empirical research? Or is this position based on the perception of Michael McCormack and a few others? Or is the GHRA being selective and political because this is an election year?
How did it arrive at the President’s statement to the family being “weak and convincing”? The President has already engaged the commissioner and a special pathologist is already in the country, and the probe he promised is already underway. That is what an effective leader does! President Ali did so with every tragedy involving the police and politics, including the recent incident at Linden. He doesn’t sweep things under the carpet or demonstrate weaknesses because he is fair and empathetic. The President believes in due process and will not yield to doing things on the basis of perception as opposed to facts.
Fourthly, the other police officers who responded to the angry protests were very professional and did not provoke the crowd. They were simply following instructions from the hierarchy of the police force. No one was injured or harmed unlawfully. No one felt threatened by the presence of the police, who were focused on keeping the peace and putting out the fires.
Those police officers should be commended because they did not seek to escalate the issue. That means that regardless of how we are feeling in the moment, we know that there are still good, empathetic and honest people in the police force.
It is unfortunate that the hotel, where the crime scene was established, was largely destroyed by fire. It was unfortunate to see the looting and destruction of other properties that took place. Again, the wide-scale probe should address this too. Finally, this investigation must be fully supported by all sides of the political divide. The chips must be allowed to fall where they may. Justice is a must in this case. Action is a requirement of the process, and reforming the Region Three policing division must be given serious thought. The 11-year-old did not have to die.