We are referring to the address by President Bharrat Jagdeo at Wednesday's Commissioning Parade at Camp Ayanganna, headquarters of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), at which he advocated togetherness in beating back the criminal forces, to ensure social peace and stability and, above all, to put Guyana's interest first.

Particularly noteworthy was the fact that in speaking as Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, the President emphasised what he sees as the "only option" open to the leaders of this country at this time:

"The leaders in (this) society," he said, "have only one option and that is to sit down and work together to address issues of concern to our people. The only pre-condition to this engagement is that there must be absolute commitment and loyalty to and love for our country.

"In short," added the President, "we have to put our house in order before we can tackle the larger challenge of securing for ourselves a comfortable place in the modern world...."

If ever there was such a need for the leaders of Guyana -- those in Government, opposition, and civil society -- to meet and discuss the nation's business without seeking to score cheap political points, that time is now.

Across the Caribbean Community government and opposition leaders, including countries like Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago that are also faced with serious threats from criminals, have recently been reaching out to each other to find solutions to national issues of importance.

Guyana stands in need of such a response and it would be like a breath of fresh air to know that the main opposition party in this country is prepared to critically review its non-cooperative stance with the Government and make the best of national dialogue at the highest level.

As the President lamented: "We have been faced with the awful reality of crime in new dimensions, in newer guises and all the more deadly...It is this crime that is thwarting our efforts to promote our economy and bring growth and development to Guyana. It is the peace that crime is disturbing -- the peace that our army and law enforcement agencies must preserve."

And for those who have been, controversially, questioning the role of the Guyana Defence Force in cooperating with the Guyana Police Force in the battle against criminals to ensure peace and stability, President Jagdeo had this reminder, as he addressed the gathering at the Commissioning Parade:

"All over the world," he said, "national armies are intimately involved in the fight against crime. We are no different. The Guyanese people want their Army to be involved in the fight against crime.

"During the recent National Consultations on Crime," Mr Jagdeo noted, "over two-thirds of the Guyanese consulted were supportive of military crime fighting, and by the same margin, called for even greater involvement by the army in fighting crime. The army's support for the Police in the crime fight is lawful and constitutional. This support will continue..."

In other CARICOM states, it is the norm for the army to be involved in anti-crime activities with the Police as the situation demands. The situation in Guyana today clearly requires such a combined operation by the GDF and GPF (Guyana Police Force).