Stabroek
News falsely published that the
US Consulate or Embassy here conducted a polygraph
test on George Bacchus and found him to be a
truthful witness. When the truth was revealed they
did not have the decency to apologize but tucked
away a statement in the body of a report that the
report was not true but was published as a result
of information received from a usually reliable
source.
SAFDAR HUSSAIN
THE
PHANTOM PHENOMENON
PEOPLE'S
careers are being damaged; some being targeted,
even with their families, and even foreign
governments are hastily acting to inconvenience
people's lives by allegation and not a shred of
evidence.
It is interesting to read Bacchus saying he knew
nothing about killings. I have read this over and
over in the newspapers. It is possible some may be
privy to other information. But Mr. Bacchus is
saying quite adamantly that he knows nothing about
killings. What he says is that he was an informant
for the Ministry of Home Affairs. He even paid his
own money, he says, to get information.
Is it possible that this man was the head of the
so-called Phantom
Squad
and that now he has a problem with the group he
headed? Is it possible he did not fulfill certain
obligations or met pre-arranged engagements? As a
result, he is under fear that his squad wants him?
Is
it possible he spun the web of lies so that by
going to the Embassy of the United States he would
get a special visa (refugee)?
Some
people will sell their house and land, even their
wives to get a visa to the United States of
America. Some even sacrifice their children to
Satan to get US visas. Is it possible the man
staged his brother's killing to use that as a
rouse to get a visa?
I
believe this man needs to be seriously
interrogated. It seems he knows more or led the
group and now wants out by getting a US visa and
then run away while destroying people's lives and
careers.
I find it strange that by mere allegations
citizens of this country are being arrested for
murder without any evidence. Have the people
waging a campaign against Minister Gajraj sought
to get the authorities to ask Bacchus who was
really responsible for the killings of the
bandits, prison escapees and others kidnappers, as
he was paying his money (from his sweat) to expose
the criminals? Or is it the criminals who want
vengeance on him and not his so-called colleagues?
I personally believe there was no phantom force. I
believe it was gang warfare. I predicted that
these people sooner or later would fight for
money, food, wine and women. It was only a matter
of time before they started destroying themselves.
But in my eyes, amidst all the murders, the rapes,
the constant violence by the Inspector Gadget and
the escapees and their friends, I saw a vision of
a group of men who would arise and confront the
violence and banditry. I saw DEATHWISH, I
remembered Charles Bronson, and then I realized
that was the only way to solve the problem.
The
Police admitted their weaknesses, and
understandably so. They have always been kept
weak, but they worked, they have to be admired. In
the not too distant future, I saw my vision
fulfilled; the bandits were being killed left,
right and center. People were beginning to feel
safe. The police could breathe a sign of relief;
their members were no longer under attack. Women
could venture out, children could play, and exodus
stopped, few retuned. Even those who condemn today
a certain Minister dared not venture out of their
homes, except for the political leader who was
encouraging the banditry.
History will bear me out on this. If police come
under attack, anywhere in the world, the Police
will galvanize and launch a counter attack. The
United States has hundreds of cases like this,
where the Police in many states adopted a
vigilante method to capture or run down
cop-killers. The same for armed forces. It is not
unusual for old police or soldiers to form
themselves into fighting forces when their
colleagues or contemporaries come under attack. Do
some people really expect Guyanese to sit while
their friends and loved ones are slaughtered; when
people had to abandon their businesses and homes
for foreign lands; when people cannot sleep; when
every moment is a moment of danger? No, the people
will rise up and do all they can, and this is
where I believe Bacchus comes in. The people owe
him a debt of gratitude for being a news carrier.
He is or was a damn good one, I must say.
Imagine had it not been for Bacchus, and others
like him, I rather suspect, Guyana would have been
a war zone. The escapees would be looting,
kidnapping, murdering you Guyanese, your sons and
daughters... raping them before your eyes. Race
war might have resulted as was the intention of
the political backers of the escapees and other
criminal elements, even televisions hosts and
television stations that applauded and encouraged
them. But Guyana prevailed.
THANK
YOU BACCHUS FOR SPENDING YOUR MONEY AND PUTTING
YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE TO REIN IN THE CRIMINALS.
But I encourage you to stop telling lies to get a
US visa.
Yours faithfully
Lovelle Tumekey
FEBRUARY
17, 2003