Change the strategy

THE EDITOR, Sir:

AS AN ardent supporter of law and order and of the human rights of all our people, I must express my deep concern at the excessively brutal use of force by the security forces in attempting to apprehend gunmen. The recent operations in Tivoli has resulted in the death of approximately 25 persons, including a policeman and a soldier, creating great trauma and suffering in the community.

I am also equally alarmed and incensed at the torture inflicted by the security forces on those young men who were forced to lie face down in their underwear on the hot asphalt sweating under the blazing sun for three hours with guns pointed at them! Indeed, this seems more characteristic of a Nazi-type approach intended to terrorize rather than to apprehend gunmen.

As rightly pointed out by Father Richard Ho Lung in his column of Friday, July 13: "We are setting up a police state of more and more guns and more and more soldiers and police. We must not forget what happened in a Nazi nation run by security forces."

Such a brutal assault by the security forces on a community for whatever purpose, does not achieve any positive results, but on the contrary, has created much needless grief and suffering, especially on the part of those who have lost loved ones.

Let good sense prevail! It is time for the security forces to change their strategy in their attempt to apprehend gunmen.

I am, etc.,

MICHAEL McGRATH

Kingston 6

Back to Letters