Greene under pressure to resign

 

Police Commissioner Henry Greene, who has been embroiled in allegations of rape and professional misconduct, has been under severe pressure to resign, and government is expected to announce his resignation.

Senior government officials Wednesday night would not say whether Greene has already tendered his resignation, but confirmed that Presidential Secretariat head, Dr Roger Luncheon is expected to make the announcement.

Rumours were rife Wednesday that the commissioner had tendered his resignation. However, when contacted, Greene dismissed the rumours. 

He told this newspaper that he was surprised at a news item carried by state television, the National Communications Network (NCN) on Wednesday and directed this publication to approach that news outfit for more information. Greene said he

is not certain where the NCN would have gotten its information, but clearly stated that he is not going “anywhere”. At no point in time did the commissioner state whether or not he was resigning. It is believed that Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting might have dealt with the issue and Greene was asked to resign.

This latest development comes on the heels of Education Minister Priya Manickchand calling on the police chief to resign. Manickchand, a former human services minister, was reported in the Stabroek News as saying that while she was not sure if a decision had been taken, the commissioner should not even wait for anyone to ask him to leave. “From his own admission, he acted most improperly; and in this instance, he was discovered, so he should leave willingly. I am not sure that he can do very much hereafter to enjoy the confidence of people generally and women in particular; and his actions may have been a bad example for his juniors,” Manickchand said.

Earlier in the week, the opposition coalition, the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) criticised acting Chief Justice Ian Chang’s decision to block the charge of rape from being instituted against Greene, labelling the decision insensitive and called for him to be removed from the post. At a news conference on Monday, APNU front bencher Debra Backer stressed that Greene passed the age of retirement, and was “no longer the constitutional holder of the office of commissioner of police”. “We strongly disagree with the ruling of the Honourable Chief Justice Ian Chang in this matter.”

Accordingly, the party expressed “dismay” and “disappointment” at what it deems “disparaging statements attributed to the chief justice” on the character of the alleged victim. It chided the chief justice for his “apparent lack of sensitivity and knowledge”.

“On the issue of the character of the alleged victim, the honourable chief justice’s statement that the alleged victim “had a BlackBerry Curve cellphone but yet had no money to feed her children” (SN 30/ 3/ 2012) and that she accepted food from the commissioner of police after the alleged rape were absolutely irrelevant and must be condemned,” Backer stated.

She said Chang must be cognisant that “progressive countries, recognising that the trial of sexual offences turn out to be the hardest on the victims, have enacted victim- friendly legislation empowering courts inter alia to hold trial in camera and also forbid the publication of reports of certain details of the alleged act.”

Chang had ruled that the DPP in her submission failed to examine thoroughly the credibility and reliability of the alleged victim. He noted that the establishment of a prima facie case was not sufficient enough to make out a case of rape. “The DPP’s case is based on no more than a prima facie case,” Chang said in his ruling.

The chief justice described the DPP’s advice as “irrational”. Greene moved to the High Court through a battery of high-profile lawyers on February 7 to bar Crime Chief Seelall Persaud and acting Police Commissioner Leroy Brummel from instituting the charges recommended and to quash the decision of the DPP. He said the DPP’s advice was “irrational, unreasonable, unfair, unlawful, unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect”.

The 34-year-old mother in December accused Greene of raping her at a city hotel on November 22 after she went to him on November 15 for help. She said Greene held her at gunpoint and forced her to have sexual intercourse with him. However, the chief justice said from all indications, the two were lovers. Greene last December proceeded on voluntary leave, to allow for an investigation into the rape allegations.