Saturday, July 11, 2009

President Jagdeo and drug lords

Jagdeo refuses public debate with Trotman
July 11, 2009 | By osafo | Filed Under News

President Bharrat Jagdeo does not debate with political aspirants, such as those residing in the Alliance For Change, especially since they do not command widespread support among the Guyanese public.
This is according to a statement issued by Press Officer for the president, Kwame Mc Coy, who in a statement last evening said that President Jagdeo is only inclined to debate with his equals.
Raphael Trotman

Raphael Trotman

“The President would hope that the AFC come clean on the matters he (Jagdeo) publicly raised, implicating the leadership of that party in shading dealings.”
Mc Coy was responding to an open challenge to the President for a public debate on his constant allegations against the party as it relates to affiliations to drug dealers.
Trotman was hoping for a debate where, he said, the facts and evidence could be presented before the public by both the President and the AFC leader.
The AFC leader, in the party press briefing, expressed his disappointment that the nation’s Head of State has nothing better to do than “to blatantly accuse the AFC of baseless statements while failing to disclose to the nation the massive Government corruption as evident by the numerous Auditor General and International reports.”
The President continues to try to link the term “drug money” to the AFC, when all in the local and the international communities are aware of this false accusation, Trotman said.
“The President needs to clean his own house before throwing stones at others. The Roger Khan saga has seen his Government and Ministers named as part of the drug system, while no major drug lord has been prosecuted in Guyana.”
According to Trotman, the Minister of Home Affairs and the Police Commissioner have said that they will wait until the US shares information before starting any investigation on the drug convicts that have confessed.
“These same individuals operated for many years in Guyana prior to their arrest by US authorities, and were seen in the presence of the Head of State and other senior officials. The President must come clean on what he knows about those drug lords and his Government’s involvement.”
He noted that the President, up to now, has failed to answer queries about the hundreds of citizens that were killed by ‘phantom gangs’ and for the many who have been tortured by ranks of the Joint forces.
He added that the National Drug Policy has been shelved and no implementation plans are evident.
“Why is this so? What does the Government have to hide?”
Trotman added that the President has now taken his remarks to a personal level against the Leader of the AFC and the party’s Chairman Ramjattan.
“These are libelous remarks that will be addressed in a court of law.”
It was pointed out that Jagdeo needs to put his Government in order or face corruption charges.
“He demonstrates on a daily basis why he is not fit to run our nation. If he would spend as much energy as he is expending on the AFC, we may see marked improvements in Guyana.”

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