Commentary
guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com
Burke Responds to Jagdeo's attack on Benschop Case
By Rickford Burke - Posted
April 17th. 2006
President Jagdeo's comments on the Benschop case reflects ignorance and juvenile reasoning
On Sunday, April 2, 2006 , Guyana's President, Bharrat Jagdeo attacked me and some New York elected officials personally, at a press conference in New York , for our uncompromising fight for justice for New York journalist, Mark Benschop. Benschop, an African-Guyanese political prisoner in Guyana, was indicted in July 2002 for TREASON by the Indian-led government. He has been in solitary confinement substantially without a trial for the past four years.
President Jagdeo seems to have an archetypal infection of "foot-in-mouth" disease. In response to a question on the Benschop matter President Jagdeo stated the following to a New York audience: Quote: "I don't know if you know the facts of the Benschop case? Benschop and Phillip Bynoe led a mob to my office during the Caricom Heads of Government conference. I was'nt there at the time. If that was here at the White House they would be slaughtered. You think any mob would be allowed to break into the White House? They broke in, they broke the gate down, they went into the building, they destroyed the building, beat up some people. Two persons were killed by the guard – that's on them. He is not a journalist. Journalists don't do that, so you all should stop portraying him as a journalist. He is a political activist. Based on why do you attack the Office of the President - the seat of government. It is clear, we have the tapes. He was in there, he was placed there, you have witness statement. Now, Benschop matter came up. He jumps everyone. In Guyana you know how many years it takes to get to... When the government has a case we take 4 years to have our cases heard. We have a case with GT&T that is 6 years in the court. I don't control the schedule of the court. You have people in prison who are waiting for years to have their matters heard. They jumped the line and brought Benschop up. They jump the line because they want to give him preferential treatment.
Some of the convicts, well not the convicts, the people who have been remanded, went to court; they're saying we are waiting all these years and this man just got a charge and you brought his case up. He was tried, there is a hung-jury. He has gone back, he has to be retried. That's the law of the country. Now, you tell me what are his human right about it? You ask the US government, why has the US government not called on the government of Guyana to release Benschop if we had held an American citizen there. Because they know that he is not a journalist. He wasn't held because of journalism. So don't give me that. I get a bit angry because the same Institute that portrays itself as being objective. Rickford Burke is not an objective gentleman. He has lead a campaign out here. And some of the politicians, the local politicians too, they have gotten into that act." End Quote.
President Jagdeo is being utterly reckless with the truth in defense of the unconstitutional actions of his government. It was inappropriate for President Jadeo to have commented to this extent on a matter that is sub-judice. Nonetheless, he leveled several new charges against Benschop and made certain shocking admissions that indict his own administration. In summary, President Jagdeo's comments embody a calumny on Benschop and an orchestrated campaign of pernicious lies designed to portray him as a subversive agent who wants to overthrow the government. Jagdeo's embellishment of the facts and circumstances of the protest that led to Benschop's indictment, reduces his government to rubbish - the desks and a few papers that were disrupted by a number of persons, other than Benschop, who gained access to the Office of the President (OP) when a Presidential Guard opened the gate to allow a vehicle to exit.
In response to the President's ill-timed remarks, I wish to make the following observations:
(I) US citizens have a constitutional right to demonstrate against their government without fear of arrest or political torture. Any unauthorized, unarmed citizen/s who enter the grounds of the White House would be charged under trespassing and unlawful entry statutes. They would not be charged with TREASON. They will be guaranteed a fair, speedy trial.
(II) The President maliciously misrepresented the facts when he stated that Benschop and others "broke the gate" at the Office of the President and "destroyed the building." I challenge President Jagdeo to produce the video taped evidence to corroborate this claim. However, even if all the charges Jagdeo laid out against Benschop were true, penetrating the gate at the Office of the President does not remotely constitute treason.
(III) The Laws of Guyana Chapter 8:01, Section 318 establish Treason to be: "Any person owing allegiance to the State who, whether in Guyana or elsewhere: (a) forms an intention to levy war against the State or to overthrow the government or the Constitution of Guyana by force and manifests such intention by any overt act or; (b) adheres to the enemies of the State by giving them aid or comfort, shall be guilty of treason and liable to suffer death by hanging."
(IV) Mark Benschop never entered the Office of the President compound. This is the finding of the court. O n Friday, February 21, 2003, Supreme Court Justice, Jarnarayne Singh, who heard a motion for bail, made the following finding: "At the close of the case for the prosecution the evidence established that Mark Benschop did not kill or assault anyone, damage property or enter the Office of the President at all, neither did he possess any weapon or explosive or attend any meeting where the Police alleged Bynoe spoke. Benschop was never seen in touching distance of Bynoe or with Bynoe at all." However, the Judge said that the foregoing judgment was of no importance, since the matter before him was whether or not a treason accused is eligible for bail. If President Jagdeo has any evidence to vitiate Justice Jarnarayne Singh's finding of fact I challenge him to present such evidence before the court.
(V) The government's indictment information in part states: "Mark Benschop, between Saturday, June 1 and Wednesday, June 3, 2002, being a Guyanese citizen and owing allegiance to the State of Guyana, formed an intention to overthrow the lawfully elected government by force and, during the said period, in furtherance of that intention: conspired together with other persons to forcibly and unlawfully enter the compound and premises of the office of the President of the Republic of Guyana in Georgetown, Demerara and was present and encouraging others, by words and conduct, to unlawfully overtake and storm the said OP compound and premises on July 3, 2002." Justice Jarnarayne Singh's finding of fact in (III) obliterates this allegation.
(VI) The information itself is frivolous and does not establish the perpetration of a crime under Chapter 8:01 Section 318. This deficiency demonstrates a lack of fundamental evidence to prove that Benschop committed a crime. Thus, the charge is completely devoid of prima facie credibility. The President must tell us: Who are the "other persons" with whom Benschop allegedly conspired? On what date and at what time did the conspiracy occur? What exactly was the overt treasonous act that Benschop committed? Was he armed on the day and time the alleged treasonous act was committed? Did the police recover any arms from his person upon his arrest? Did he seize or attempted to seize the President or any minister of the government? The answer to all of these questions is a resounding NO!
(VII) In order to corroborate its Treason indictment the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt: (I) Conspiracy: that Benschop conspired with known individuals to overthrow the government by force. (II) Possession of Arms: that Benschop possessed arms or explosives on the day and time of the alleged crime. (Benschop arrived on the scene of the protest with a video camera and a microphone. No unarmed person can "forcibly" overthrow an entire government which has the full capabilities and powers of the police and military. (III) Intent to commit Treason: that Benschop, having conspired to overthrow the government by force, and acquired and possessed arms, formed an intention to overthrow the government by force in an overt act.
(VIII) No one has ever been convicted of treason in Guyana. This is so because the burden of proof for treason is not easily surmountable. There are exceptionally high legal standards that must be met. This can only be achieved with conclusive evidence. Courts have over the years instituted these safeguards in order to protect the individual from political witch-hunts like the kind being pursued against Benschop.
(IX) President Jagdeo's claim that Benschop "is not a journalist but a "political activist" is revealing. The PPP regime has continually denied that Benschop is a political prisoner. Thus, this pejorative confirmation from the President impeaches the PPP's perennial denial. There is no question that Benschop's is a political prisoner. Any protestation to the contrary is dishonest, baseless, and not supported by the material facts of the case.
(X) President Jagdeo asserted that provided Benschop's first trial resulted in a hung-jury, the Laws of Guyana require that he waits his turn for a retrial, since there are many individuals in jail awaiting trial for many years. This claim is absurd. The President is deliberately misstating the law or his misinformation is symptomatic of gross ignorance. The judicial system does not function mandatorily on the basis of chronology.
(XI) The docket of High Courts is constituted on the basis of many factors including: preparedness of the prosecution and defence, availability of transcripts from previous proceedings in the lower Courts, etc. If a Prosecutor, with the concurrence of the defence, requests the Court to proceed with a trial, there is no legal basis for a ceasesation on objections to the chronological order. This nonsense could only take place in Guyana where there are no rules but rampant judicial collusion and lawlessness. Actions of the Court should be inspired by the international guiding principles of the judicial process; the pursuit of justice and the protection of the constitutional and human rights of the individual. This should be the President's paramount concern.
(XII) There is no other (innocent) person in prison awaiting trial for Treason. Anyone charged with a crime is entitled to due process and a fair and timely trial, failing which the Court is obligated to entertain a habeas corpus Writ and release the individual upon a finding of a lack of evidence to support the charge. Benschop's "mis-trial" came two years after his indictment. He should therefore be on an expedited schedule for a retrial. His mistrial resulted from government interference. The PPP allegedly planted a decoy on the jury who singularly obstructed a not guilty verdict. Additionally, Attorney General Doodnauth Singh filed a complaint against the trial Judge, Justice Winston Moore, with the Judicial Service Commission during the trial. Singh's complaint pertained to Moore's conduct of the case. It was in violation of the law and was clearly intended to be in timidatory.
(XIII) President Jagdeo's statement "They jumped the line and brought Benschop up. They jump the line because they want to give him preferential treatment," is a blatant attack on Justice Roxanne George, who was the DPP at the time Benschop was listed for trial. It was Roxanne George who, in the exercise of her constitutional duties, listed the Benschop matter for trial in 2003. PPP functionaries subsequently undermined the DPP by ostensibly conspiring with political allies in the judiciary to stop Benschop's trial. This resulted in Justice Jainarine Singh's ruling which halted the trial on the grounds that it lacked chronological order. This was a clear attempt at judicial lynching. Fortunately, this unconstitutional decision was recently overturned by the Court of Appeals.
(XIV) President Jagdeo attempted to justify the injustice of Benschop's four years of imprisonment without due process by claiming other inmates have been awaiting trial for over four years. This is juvenile logic. It is an international disgrace that he feels Benschop has to suffer because his government cannot provide the resources necessary for the efficient functioning of the judiciary. The indefinite detention of an individual violates both the Guyana Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a crime against humanity that is impermissible in every accepptable jurisprudence in the world.
(XV) President Jagdeo stated that the US government has "not called on the government of Guyana to release Benschop" because "he is not a journalist." These expressions are dishonest and reflect a juvenile thought process. US officials have discussed this matter with the government on many occasions. At my urging, New York Governor George Pataki, in 2003, formally requested then US Secretary of State, Collin Powell, to investigate this matter. A US State Department investigation later concluded Benschop was not a US Citizen, therefore the US government could not demand his release. The matter was then referred to the Human Rights Division which has actively pursued this matter.
(XVI) The President can shout as loud as he wants that I am biased about this case, and he can continue to attack the elected officials in the US for speaking out. Mark Benschop once worked for a PPP supported and controlled TV station in Guyana, Channel 69 TV. During this period he was an ardent supporter of the PPP and frequently criticized me personally for condemning the government's racists policies. But he subsequently had an acrimonious falling-out with the PPP, particularly former Attorney General, Charles Ramson. I do not support Benschop's politics, his pronouncements thereon or the violation of any law but I will defend without fear his right to free speech.
(XVII) The PPP's ultimate plan is to further manipulate the Courts to obtain a conviction and render Benschop liable for the death penalty. The government seems to be following a roadmap that leads to the case of William Joyce (aka Lord Haw Haw), the last treason conviction in the United Kingdom in 1946. Joyce was charged with levying war against King George VI because he traveled to Germany during World War II to work as a broadcaster for Hitler's Nazi government. He was convicted and put to death.
(XVIII) I feel a deep sense of resentment against the Guyana government, for summarily banishing a vocal citizen with impunity, condescension and blatant disregard for the constitution and international law. My resentment grows even more profound when this case is examined in the context of the racial dynamics of the country. Jagdeo's government is allegedly stained with the blood of recent extra-judicial state-sponsored killings and assassinations of many African-Guyanese young-men. This is the same ruling Party which inspired the racial, civil war of the 1960s, that has reset the clock and is today again openly practicing racial triumphalism, ethnic cleansing and the racial marginalization of African-Guyanese.
(XIX) The imprisonment of Benschop constitutes the silencing of a vocal critic. This has had a very chilling effect on the level of analysis and criticism of the Government's actions. Other journalists, like Ronald Waddell, have paid for their courage with their lives. Law-abiding citizens must now give consideration to the apparent impunity with which faceless assassins roam ready to "pick-off" any voices of reason that protest the actions of the government. A reign of terror has descended on this CARICOM nation that is emerging as a despotic ethnocracy.
(XX) In conclusion, I challenge President Jagdeo to stop blocking the Benschop trial and place his evidence before a fair judge and jury. To refuse to do so is to remain a coward.