Allegations of army's reluctance to work with police have no substance
Stabroek News
June 6, 2002
Head of the Presidential Secretariat and Cabinet Secretary, Dr Roger Luncheon has said that the notion that the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is reluctant to work with the police "has no substance."
Allegations that surfaced in overseas media about the apparent hesitation of the GDF to intervene in the local fight against the upsurge in crime have been refuted by GDF senior officials, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported yesterday.
The GDF refuted the allegation of reluctance to cooperate with the police at a security meeting hosted by President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Office of the President, Georgetown, which was attended by Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr Luncheon, Minister of Home Affairs Ronald Gajraj, acting Police Commissioner Floyd McDonald, Deputy Commissioner of Police Winston Felix and other senior officers of law enforcement agencies, GINA said.
The meeting explored new ways to deal comprehensively with the current changing crime situation in Guyana and at the regional level, in the short, medium and long term.
Meanwhile, Dr Luncheon told reporters at his weekly post-Cabinet media conference yesterday that "in our meetings with both the military and the police, this concern that appeared somewhere in the media about the army's reluctance and reservation in being involved in joint security activities with the police was debunked conclusively."
GINA said further that the army is involved with the police at both the operational and intelligence levels, pointing out that the GDF has assisted with road patrols on the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara as well as the repair of roads at Buxton that were damaged by residents during one of their protests. The army, GINA added, was also involved in the recently-concluded investigation into the daring daylight jailbreak at the Camp Street prison.