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Police administration denies taking political/ party directives

16 April 2019

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Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo

The Guyana Police Force is today claiming that it received no instructions or advice to arrest, detain and or charge Opposition leader Bharrat Jagdeo.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the force responded to an earlier statement issued by the Peoples Progressive Party Civic of which Jagdeo is the General Secretary.

The PPP statement had claimed that the party was in receipt of information that the police force received instructions from Congress Place and the Office of the President to carry out the acts against Jagdeo for inciting racial hostility on March 11, 2019 at Baby Jaan, Port Mourant, Corentyne, Berbice.

“The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) is in receipt of information from a usually reliable source that the Guyana Police Force has been instructed by Congress Place and the Office of the President to arrest, detain and charge Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party, Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo M.P., with criminal offence(s) under the Racial Hostility Act, Chapter 23:01, Laws of Guyana, for willfully exciting or attempting to excite racial hostility in relation to a speech delivered at Babu Jaan, Port Mourant, Corentyne, on the 11th day of March, 2019” the statement from the PPP stated on Monday.

In response the Guyana Police Force put forward the following clarification

“The Guyana Police Force wishes to clearly refute such statement and to inform all and sundry that the Ministry of the Presidency, the People’s National Congress- Reform or A Partnership for National Unity have not given any such instruction or advice.”

The police force further stated that it remains a professional organisation and any actions previously or currently taken is wholly pursuant to legal advice obtained and or engaged in the investigations. The force in it’s statement however did not clarify if legal advice is being sought by the force in relation to any offence of inciting under the racial hostility act, against Bharat Jagdeo.