NEWSDAY EDITORIAL JULY 18, 2K 14 Rein in rogue soldiers Friday, July 18 2014 UNDER WHAT authority have soldiers conducting raids and searches on private premises in Laventille been acting over the last two weeks? Further, who is in charge? If we are to go by the utterances of Commissioner of Police, Stephen Williams, and Chief of Defence Staff, Major General, Kenrick Maharaj, one thing is certain: the country’s law enforcement leadership is not. In the wake of the shooting death of Lance Corporal Kayode Thomas on June 29, there have been reports of the presence of military officers in the area conducting “patrols”; conducting “searches” and, in some instances, using physical force on civilians. Alarmingly, on Wednesday, the Acting Police Commissioner said he had authorised no joint police/army patrols in the area. Williams further stated he had been briefed by the Chief of Defence Maharaj and informed that he too had not authorised any operations. Well, we ask, who did? “What has been happening over the last two weeks, I personally as head of the Police Service have concerns, Williams said. “I have brought these concerns to the Chief of Defence Staff and he has given me clear assurances that he has not authorised soldiers to carry out any operation on their own out there,” The Acting Police Commissioner added that Maharaj made it clear that there has been no change by way of his directions because soldiers generally operate in support of the Police Service via joint patrols. Williams said he was not in support of soldiers going out and carrying out operations on their own. “That is not something that is endorsed by me or any part of my leadership team and it is a matter the Chief of Defence Staff also shared with me is not authorised by him,” he said. Williams expressed the view that while there was nothing illegal about soldiers in a community, actions such as wearing masks and searching premises are unlawful. Well, given what has been happening over the past couple weeks, are we to assume that a band of rogue soldiers have been reigning over Laventille? How could such a thing occur without both the Police Service and the Defence Force not noticing earlier and not taking effective action to stop it sooner? The death of Thomas was undoubtedly a crime for which those responsible must be brought to justice. But the rights of residents, and indeed the nation as a whole, must not be held hostage, first, by a band of murderers and, now, by civil disorder within the ranks of the army. We call on Williams and Maharaj to immediately take action. All actions by soldiers must remain on the proper assumed legal basis, namely, the Police Service must be involved. While we do not question the professionalism and competence of the Defence Force personnel generally, we question and are deeply perturbed by the impression being created that a band of soldiers may go out and conduct a personal manhunt in full glare of the State apparatus without fear of sanction. The Police Commissioner and the Chief of Defence Staff must have a meeting of minds on all operations jointly conducted and must forthwith put measures in place to ensure proper coordination of both bodies and effective discipline of officers who dare to break the chain of command. They must also act far quicker on reports of unauthorised action. Further, the allegations of the use of force raised by residents this week must be thoroughly investigated by the Defence Force and the Police Service. All joint army/police patrols must be put right, and all persons — soldiers, police, civilians — must act within the proper ambit of the discipline of the law to preserve the clear lines of demarcation and maintain confidence in those who are there to ensure law and order. There must be an immediate purge of any rogue soldiers. We must be fully assured of who is in charge here.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 12:13:15 +0000
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