Police issues wanted bulletin for Burke for allegedly inciting public terror among other offences

The Guyana Police Force has issued a wanted bulletin for the overseas-based social commentator Rickford Burke saying he is wanted for some seven offences.

The bulletin was issued late Friday night with claims that Burke committed several offences in violation of the Racial Hostility and Cyber Crime Acts, sedition and that he incited public terror.

Among the offences listed by the police are:

1. Offence: The excitement of hostility or ill-will on the grounds of Race. [s. 2 of the Racial Hostility Act. Any person who willfully excites or attempts to excite racial hostility against a particular race by means of words spoken in a public place or transmitted by telegraphy].
2. Offence: Sedition under the Cyber Crime Act. [pursuant to s. 18(1)(a) and (f). the offence is made out if it’s against the government s. 18(1)(a) and if it excites racial divisions (f)]
3. Offence: Use of a computer system to coerce and intimidate under the Cyber Crime Act. [s.19 (3) makes it an offence to disseminate information via computer which is known to be false to damage the reputation of another person].
4. Offence: Seditious Libel [offence at common law. It is the overt speech or conduct to bring hatred and contempt against the Government].
5. Offence: Seditious Libel [s. 320 Criminal Law offences Act 8:01.]
6. Offence: Inciting the provocation of a breach of the peace [provoking a breach of the peace is s.141 Cap 8:02. Inciting any offence is itself an offence]
7. Offence: inciting public terror. Inciting public terror in public places is an offence under s.137 of Cap. 8:01the incitement of persons to go to public places and behave a certain way could be incitement to cause public terror]

Burke had appeared on a popular programme hosted by Member of Parliament Sherod Duncan on Thursday night where he condemned the arrested and what he described as political persecution of former Minister of Finance Winston Jordan.

Burke among other things during the program accused the PPP of having no respect for black people and stated that black leaders are being criminalized out of political revenge by former members and ministers of previous PPP administrations who were investigated for ‘crimes’ under the APNU government.

It was during the live Facebook Program that Burke suggested that the Peoples Progressive Party Civic Government is attempting to incite a civil war.

“They are provoking people and I hope that the international community is taking stock of what we are saying because when black people start to respond and I am questioning whether Bharrat Jagdeo, Anil Nandlal Irfaan Ali, and all these people who are working hard to incite a civil war, I wonder if they think they will survive if there is a civil war in Guyana.”Rickford Burke said during his appearance on the show.