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Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr Roger Luncheon, says that the report emanating from the allegations of torture by army ranks will now be handed over to the Defence Board at the planned meeting later this month.However, when questioned recently about the status of the report, Commodore Gary Best had told this newspaper that the report was already with the Defence Board.The unclear status of the torture report has fuelled a barrage of criticisms from Parliamentary opposition parties.The People’s National Congress Reform had expressed concern at the treatment of the report of the Board of Inquiry which investigated the torture allegations against the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).This announcement was made during one of the party’s weekly press briefings by executive member Aubrey Norton, who also holds the post of shadow Home Affairs Minister.He noted that the utterances by the Head of State, President Bharrat Jagdeo, indicating that there was a delay in the publication of the Torture Report are calculated to bring the GDF into disrepute.President Jagdeo, following announcements by Dr Luncheon that the report was complete and would have been handed over to the Defence Board some time ago, had said that the delay was due to an oversight.“It is claimed that the delayed publication has been occasioned by its improper submission to the Defence Board…such an excuse is unbecoming of the Minister of Defence and Head of State,” Norton said.He also posited that, whether the reason given by the President is true or not, the fact remained that suspicions have been aroused that the report is being subjected to doctoring by the political directorate.He added that such a suspicion would undermine the integrity and credibility of the report.“In order to bring an end to this atmosphere of suspicion and doubt, the Jagdeo Administration must publish the report without any further delay…Any other course of action will leave the Administration open to the allegation that it may be seeking to protect officers who may be guilty of torturing the citizens of this country.”Norton also reiterated the party’s original position that only an independent investigation of the torture allegation could exonerate the disciplined forces.Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr Roger Luncheon, on April 4, had announced that the board of inquiry set up to investigate allegations of torture purportedly committed by the GDF had completed its task.According to Dr Luncheon, the results of the investigations should have been handed over the following Thursday. This, however, was never done.Minister of Defence and Head of State, President Bharrat Jagdeo, subsequently told media operatives that the report was not formally handed over and that “apparently there was an oversight,Wholesale China Jerseys,” he said.Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee had promised the investigation following statements by the PNCR that torturing was a new tactic by Government in crime fighting.The Alliance For Change (AFC) had also voiced it condemnation of the delay in the publicizing of the report, saying that the report has now lost all credibility.Party chairman Khemraj Ramjattan said that he was baffled as to why Dr Luncheon and the Head of State would even pronounce on the report before the persons who actually conducted the investigation. |
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