The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) said it deeply concerned over the dangerous state of affairs that has emerged over the past seventy two hours at the Camp Street prison in Georgetown.
Reports indicate that prisoners have occupied internal buildings and structures at the prison and are openly defying orders to bring about permanent peace and good order at the prison.
Further, it has been reported that prisoners are openly using cellphones and brandishing ‘jukkas’ and other illegal instruments, threatening the lives of the limited number of prison officers and police ranks on duty at the prison.
The PPP, in a statement last night, said the “dangerous and life-threatening situation that now exists at the Georgetown Prison is compounded by the abandonment of ranks of the Guyana Prison Service who were assigned duties at the location. However, fearing for their lives they have not reported for duty”.
The PPP said it is obvious that the posture adopted by the David Ganger Administration as well as information emanating from the Commission of Inquiry (COI) have, on the one-hand, emboldened the prisoners and, on the other brought about low morale among prison officers.
“The senior management of the Georgetown Prison and other ranks feel a sense of abandonment by the Granger Administration which has adopted a posture viewed by prisoners as favourable to them, thus they now feel emboldened to defy orders by the prison authorities,” the PPP stated.
It said President David Granger and his Government “must take full responsibility for this dangerous situation” brought about by unhelpful decisions they have adopted and which have resulted in the unstable and life-threatening situation that currently obtains at the Georgetown Prison.
“The Minister of Public Security in particular and the APNU+AFC in general have failed miserably in the execution of their collective responsibility to protect citizens from a repeat of the Mash Day 2002 jail break which is becoming a strong possibility, this time however, on the eve of the 50th Independence Anniversary,” the party posited.
It said “the Granger-led coalition administration has clearly abdicated its responsibility. All the talk that they would do better than the PPP/C in the area of Public Safety and National Security has turned out to be an ignominious failure”.
The Granger Administration must cease immediately its pretenses at being experts and having all the answers for Public Safety and National Security. It must immediately convene the Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Security Sector.
---
Rumjaat should have known two o’clock curfew and gun amnesty wont cure the ills of security,can he distinguish the levels of security needed
This is no coincidence,after presidential pardonings,setting up clemency boards,and more pardons,what to expect?…Convicts are not civilians they must be dealt with accordingly,bring back hangings…Period crime rate down.Thumbs up Desmond Hoyte..
Some blame can be placed with the new government, but the major blame lies with the PooPyParty. They had two major escapes in 1999 and 2002, and 2 presidential enquires, both of which detailed corrective measures to tighten security measures ,and to ensure any sign of riot in the prison would be contained, within the prison, with a minimum of deadly force. Many of the important security measures were never implemented by the PooPyParty, MOHAs. Neither did they at any time, in government or in opposition bring up the highly volatile, worsening, situation in the prison.