The
main
opposition
party,
People's
National
Congress/Reform
(PNC/R),
says
as
the
bodies
of
murdered
persons
continue
to
pile
up,
the
Police
seem
incapable
of
dealing
with
this
problem.
Party
member
Stanley
Ming
said
at
a
press
briefing
at
Congress
Place,
Sophia,
yesterday
that
the
PNC/R
is
reliably
informed
that
Senior
Police
Officers
are
themselves
disillusioned
about
the
recent
crime
wave
and
have
expressed
an
inability
to
deal
with
it.
The
Party
noted
that
a
travel
advisory
issued
on
November
3,
2003
circulating
within
the
diplomatic
and
international
commercial
community
states
that
since
August
this
year
more
than
two
persons
have
died
and
their
deaths
have
baffled
the
Police.
Ming
said
the
advisory
quoted
a
Senior
Police
Officer
as
saying,
"we
are
not
sure
what
exactly
is
going
on".
Guyana
has
already
surpassed
the
record
set
in
2002
of
150
persons
killed
in
criminally
related
activities.
The
figure
to
date
stands
at
176.
According
to
the
advisory,
he
said,
the
officer
cited
an
ongoing
drug
war
as
the
reasons
for
the
killings
since
last
year
"and
not
political
terrorism
as
misrepresented
by
the
People's
Progressive
Party
(PPP/C)
regime
and
its
apologists."
The
other
dead
If
the
cause
is
the
drug
trade
then
the
fight
has
to
be
taken
to
the
drug
lords,
he
posited.
But
have
they
become
too
powerful
to
be
suppressed?
he
questioned.
The
PNC/R
during
last
week
opined
that
Guyana
had
become
a
narco-state
and
the
recent
pronouncements
of
the
Crime
Chief
and
others
confirm
this
opinion.
It
said
something
has
to
be
done
about
it
rather
than
mere
talking.
"But
with
not
one
of
these
murders
being
solved,"
Ming
contended,
"the
Police
Force
could
be
in
danger
of
losing
its
legitimacy
to
enforce
law
and
order
in
the
country."
This
situation
has
become
more
serious
than
first
thought
and
requires
a
comprehensive
approach
that
involves
all
stakeholders,
he
said.
He
said
the
Police
Force
cannot
simply
dissociate
its
self
from
the
abductions
and
killings
and
absolve
itself
of
the
responsibility
of
providing
safety
and
security
to
citizens
of
Guyana.
"The
Police
force
needs
a
shake
up
now,"
Ming
said,
then
asked:
but
from
where
would
this
start?"
The
party's
Executive
Member
James
McAllister
believed
one
of
the
first
steps
is
to
have
a
Police
Commissioner
who
can
properly
carry
on
the
functions
of
a
constitutional
office.
Fundamental
to
this
problem
is
to
have
a
Commissioner
who
is
properly
appointed
and
who
knows
that
he
is
not
carrying
on
at
the
"wishes
and
fancies"
of
any
politician.
"It
is
from
there
we
think
the
shake
up
can
flow".
McAllister
said
the
current
Police
Commissioner
Mr.
Floyd
McDonald
is
a
retiree
on
the
job
from
month
to
month
on
contract
and
cannot
carry
on
the
functions
of
a
constitutional
office
if
he
must
depend
on
the
government
to
renew
his
contract
at
the
end
of
the
month.
November
07,
2003
