The army only wants to play a supporting role in maintaining internal security, which it says can still be done without it being given police powers.

"Our primary role is a subsidiary role - to assist the police in the maintenance of law and order, when required to do so," Colonel Edward Collins told the Disciplined Forces Commission yesterday.

Collins, while admitting that the debate on the issue remained open within the military, rejected the notion that the army needed to be conferred with powers of arrest to enhance its effectiveness in joint operations.

He said the military was a completely different institution, with a completely different sub-culture, built on a training regime not suited to civilian policing. He cited the arrests effected by the military during the joint campaigns as examples, noting that the army encountered "lots of difficulties" particularly in the collection of evidence necessary for proper prosecution.

"An appreciation... an understanding of each other's role," was the single most essential element for a better relationship between the military and civilian authorities, Collins said, noting that there was nothing wrong with the joint services concept.

This is in stark contrast with the Government's own evaluation of joint services' operations.

Last month, Head of the Presidential Secretariat Dr. Roger Luncheon told the commission that a lot of work had to be done to get the joint services concept to work.

He said if the weaknesses in the concept, which were exposed during the army-police campaign in Buxton, were known beforehand, the Government would not have placed as much faith behind the joint services to quell last year's surge in crime. He also said the military could have been more involved and shown greater responsibility during the operations.

"So in other words, only a mere appreciation of each other's role would contribute to an improved relationship?" Collins was asked yesterday.

"...With all my years of experience I would be unable to manage that power," he said of the police powers.

The army was severely criticised for its role during joint operations because of its initial failure to quell the tide of criminal acts on the East Coast of Demerara. Some civilians even said crimes were committed in plain sight of Guyana Defence Force patrols which did not respond.

Collins said soldiers still had their civilian powers of arrest, but he was told that this is only confined to felonies. Crimes like kidnappings are considered misdemeanour offences.

Collins explained that initially the army's role on the East Coast and in Buxton was humanitarian with Operation Plaster of Paris.

It was conceived to bring social relief and stability to Buxton and to repair the relationship between the villagers and the police force. This was to be done through co-operation between the military, the neighbourhood democratic council and community leaders who were expected to reassume moral authority in the village.

Collins said the operation was a success but changed from being humanitarian to one where the army was assisting the police in law enforcement.

He admitted that, like in all other operations, the army did question if it was "doing what was right or doing the right thing," since what was procedurally correct might not always coincide with society's expectations.

"To what extent would you find the criticisms valid or invalid?" Collins was asked.

"There is some validity because of the level of expectations of the public... With regards to criticisms that the GDF was in a state of inertia, we blamed that on our own inability to do proper public relations."

"To what extent were the local government organs and the central civilian government involved in the resolution of the conflict...?" he was asked.

Collins described the local government authorities as virtually impotent, a fact the criminals recognised and this made the village amenable to their needs.

The commission was set up by the National Assembly to review the operations of the Disciplined Forces, to make recommendations for their reform.

It is chaired by Justice of Appeal Ian Chang and comprises former Attorney General Charles Ramson S.C., former National Security Advisor Brigadier (rtd) David Granger and attorney Anil Nandlall.