Army ready for any foreign aggression - Capt McAllister Stabroek News September 13, 2000 The army has taken measures to adequately protect the citizens of Guyana from any external aggression and to defend the country's territorial integrity. Guyana Defence Force (GDF) spokesman, Captain Wycliffe McAllister made this statement yesterday when asked for a reaction to the release by the Defence Secretariat in the Office of the President on the recent Scotsburg incident where Surinamese soldiers behaved provocatively. On August 25, Surinamese soldiers came ashore in a dinghy at Scotsburg, Corriverton in an attempt to detain a passenger boat that had eluded two patrol boats that had pursued it across the Corentyne River. The Surinamese soldiers retreated to the patrol boat from which the dinghy was launched after villagers who had gathered at the scene of the incident resisted their efforts to tow the boat back across the river. The Defence Secretariat statement had said that the Surinamese soldiers behaved aggressively during the confrontation which ended on the Scotsburg beach. The incident took place within five miles of the GDF outpost at Benab but there was no evident response by it to the incursion and this had raised concerns in some quarters about the army's readiness. The GDF was unaware that the release had been issued by the Defence Secretariat saying that a formal protest had been lodged with Suriname by the Guyana Government over the matter. Capt McAllister explained that while the GDF could not adequately monitor the over 1,900 miles of the country's borders with the resources it now has, there were sufficient measures in place to protect the territorial integrity of the country. The army spokesman also observed that the GDF did not consider that it had sole responsibility for the task of safeguarding the territorial integrity of the nation and protecting the citizenry from external aggression. "We do not consider the absence of a uniformed soldier to mean the absence of the GDF since every citizen is considered as [the] extended arms, ears and eyes of the army." About moves to recapitalise the army, Capt McAllister said that he was aware that the army had done some basic things. These, he said, included submitting a list of the equipment it needed and identifying the type of equipment and the sources from which they could be acquired. However, beyond that he said the necessary information would have to be obtained from the Office of the President. Earlier this month, Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr Roger Luncheon, told reporters that after the September 11 meeting of the Defence Board, a definitive statement about moves to recapitalise the army would be made. Follow the goings-on in Guyana in Guyana Today