Jagdeo: We are going to hunt this guy down and we are going to get him. - File

PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):

Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo says his administration will never negotiate with criminals in that country and restated his government's intention to bring to justice all the persons involved in the murder of 23 people in two separate incidents here earlier this year.

"It is essential that we get this gang (because) if we don't get them, these killings could be repeated, given the nature of the killing and the purpose for which it is done. I feel it was designed to spread fear in the society and fear in the hearts of the people," Jagdeo told reporters during a special summit of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders which ended here on the weekend.

Unidentified gunmen killed 23 people, including three police officers and five children, in two separate incidents at Lusignan and in the small mining town of Bartica.

Police have linked the incidents to a gang led by the country's most wanted man, Rondell 'Fineman' Rawlins, for whom a GUY$50-million (US$250,000) reward has been offered.

Jagdeo said the "brutal" killings that included the slaughter of "babies in their sleep" were more than just mere acts of robbery.

The president described as "disgusting", media reports in the region that sought to "justify what happened or make excuses for the criminals" involved in the murders.

Fighting for no cause

"It is the white-collar people who try to justify what happened, saying that this guy was fighting for some cause. There can be no cause that he was fighting for. He is a criminal and he will be treated as such," the president said, noting that some people were offering to mediate to bring about an end to the problem.

He said they were calling for power sharing "to stop this kind of killing. Well, we reject all of that. We are not going to mediate with criminals. We are going to hunt this guy down and we are going to get him.

"Whatever resources it takes, however long it takes, we are going to get him. My government does not negotiate with criminals. You have to send an unequivocal message to criminals," an impassioned Jagdeo declared.