Dear Editor,
Our country is on the cusp of dramatic national security upheavals. These upheavals have ominous characteristics.
The contours of this impending ominous development are becoming more and more pronounced with every passing day. The unmitigated and relentless militarisation of the State and Government has brought the impending upheavals into bold relief.
This situation must not be seen in isolation, it is part and parcel of a strategy aimed at strengthening and expanding the influence of military doctrine and its dominance within the state and Government structures.
Recently, two organisations have risen to prominence – one has already been established, the other is in the making. I refer to SOCU and SARA.
SOCU is now a branch of the Guyana Police Force, an organisation that takes general orders and directions from the Minister of Public Security. It is vested with enormous powers, but SOCU has since been eclipsed by the much more powerful State Assets Recovery Agency (SARA).
A close examination of SARA’s powers will show that it is fundamentally anti-people and reactionary in nature. Some mistakenly believe that SARA was setup solely to target the PPP, but it is not.
The Granger-led coalition has created a Frankenstein monster. The powers vested in SARA are so enormous, they are absolute, and we know what absolute power does; it corrupts absolutely. Never in the history of Guyana has such an organisation existed. The victims of SARA will be not only from the PPP, but the citizenry in general. Make no mistake about it. SARA operatives will be immune from prosecution, particularly its director, whose rule will be tyrannical. In other words, SARA’s staff will be above the law, they will not be outfitted in dashikis, but will be neatly dressed thugs.
By moving to establish SARA, the Granger administration has signalled once again, its deep seated distrust for the ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) and staff members of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA).
This instinctive distrust of these entities and semi-civilian institutions is a hallmark of military doctrine but above all, it is a reflection of the political insecurity tormenting the Granger administration with every passing day, particularly regarding its future electoral fortunes. The power enjoyed by SARA will clearly and unequivocally result in the emasculation, usurpation and silencing of civilian institutions who, in one way or another, will gradually but inexorably be absorbed into an ever-expanding militarised state.
Guyanese will witness all the powers of the GPF, GRA, DPP and the Judiciary centralised into a single organisation called SARA. SARA will have the authority to impound, eventually seize and sell off private property, to criminally prosecute and to put before its own court, with its own judges, persons who are suspected to have illegally accumulated state assets. In this way, SARA will assume the role of judge, jury and prosecutor. It will come as no surprise if power struggles and turf wars develop between the Heads of Constitutional bodies and SARA to whom they will provide succour.
SARA operatives will target suspects who show signs of self-sufficiency and wealth, even though they have no criminal record but are suspected to have accumulated their wealth under the PPP/C administration due to perceived unlawful acts and alleged misconduct while holding public office.
SARA’s agents will rely on hundreds of snitches to carry out their dirty work.
SARA’s greatest weapon will be fear and the fear it will generate amongst the populace.
And like the part US House un-American Activities Committee, SARA will compile lists of persons suspected of committing unlawful acts while holding public office and they will be directed to hunt them down and to finish them off politically.
Given the mandate which it has been assigned, SARA will inevitably evolve into a criminal organisation using its powers to trample on citizens constitutional, civil, political and human rights. SARA will fail to recognise the characteristics that distinguish the law abiding individual from the potential suspect.
The call to setup Special Courts to try persons suspected of “unlawful acts” while holding public office and to amend the Constitution to give the rite of passage to SARA must be viewed with deep suspicion and rejected.
SARA will be the embryo for the creation of Guyana’s first ever State Secret Police, whose task will be to ruthlessly go after the political opposition, mainly the PPP. Others will not be spared its wrath. SARA will be the vehicle the APNU/AFC will use to consolidate political power and entrench itself in office. At the end of the day, it is Guyanese who will suffer at the hands of SARA.
Guyanese must open their eyes and recognise the danger unfolding before them and take a stand before it is too late.
Sincerely,
Clement Rohee
General Secretary
People’s Progressive
Party (PPP)
