But for the phantom, more businessmen would have been slaughtered
HAD it not been for the Phantom Force, all hell would have been unleashed on the businessmen of this country. Half of them would have flown to safer country overseas while the other half would have been slaughtered or paying kidnap ransom money to the criminals who had virtually taken over the country. The Police Force was unable to bring this situation under control. They were no match for the bandits, who seemed to have had a field day. Army ranks who were stationed in Buxton were having a nice time playing football with the criminals and having a nice time partying with them. They were not interested in stopping these criminals. Reports are that people were being robbed in the presence of soldiers who did nothing to apprehend the bandits.

Recent events have occurred and the PNC is now ready to 'wake up' and is calling for the Minister of Home Affairs' resignation. I wonder why when kidnappings, murder, torture and robbery of innocent victims (mainly Indian businessmen) were in full swing, the PNC never uttered a word of condemnation. If it had mounted a picket line, the same as it is doing now, I am sure that things would not have gone out of hand. Instead, the PNC kept quiet and in some ways lent support by not discouraging or helping to prevent the bandits from creating mayhem in the country.

I wish to state that whoever was responsible for the so-called Phantom Gang should be commended and given Guyana's highest honor. Had it not been for this bold initiative on their part, we would have been in the same position that Trinidad finds itself in.

I therefore call on all Guyanese especially the businessmen to lend their support to those who were responsible for bringing back sanity to Guyana and stopping the crime spree when a few bandits held this nation to ransom.
A. PERSAUD

Tuesday, January 27, 2004