As the pressure mounts over a fresh wave of torture allegations against the military, the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) last evening issued wanted bulletins for two of the accusers: Michael Dunn and Alvin Wilson instructing them to report to the military’s headquarters immediately.
In bulletins issued to the media, the GDF said that Dunn and Wilson have been absent without official leave and are to report for questioning in a matter of “security interest”. The GDF said the men are instructed to report to Base Camp Ayanganna immediately and called on those who have knowledge of their whereabouts to contact the nearest military installation or call telephone #226-9888 or 226-0991. Both men had complained to this newspaper about being brutalized by members of the Military Criminal Investigation Department of the GDF and had vowed to leave the force even if their resignations were rejected.
The photograph of Wilson issued by the army was not its own but one which had been published in the Stabroek News along with Wilson’s account of his treatment.
The GDF has come under severe pressure ever since the allegations surfaced and several organizations including the Guyana Human Rights Association have condemned the brutality meted out to the men.
Yesterday, the GDF said an investigation had been launched into the allegations made against the institution by the soldiers. Another soldier, Sharth Robertson through his grandmother, Juliet Fable has also accused the army of torturing him. Secretary to the Defence Board, Dr Roger Luncheon, yesterday said that the matter will be dealt with at a scheduled meeting this month end.
Luncheon said he was concerned about these new allegations coming months after two Buxtonians, Victor Jones and Patrick Sumner, made similar claims. He said the authorities had to investigate them to determine whether the reports are true. He said he was always concerned when such allegations were made against the army since they attracted negativism. “The Defence Force will take these allegations up,” Luncheon said.
Yesterday, Deputy Chief of Staff (ag) Bruce Lovell confirmed that an investigation has been launched by the military. He said no one was under close arrest.
The Guyana Public Service Union (GPSU) on Wednesday called for the immediate appointment of a body to seriously investigate the torture allegations.
Joining the Guyana Human Rights Association and the PNCR in condemning the alleged abuse of the soldiers, the GPSU said in its statement that should it be the case that persons are found guilty of torture, they should be dealt with condignly with a view to ensuring that this pattern of behaviour is stamped out.
The union said it noted with concern and alarm, the callous manner in which representatives of the present regime in Guyana treated “serious accusations of torture of citizens by members of the Disciplined Forces in Guyana”. Both the President and the Minister of Home Affairs have treated such accusations with disdain and contempt in the face of provisions of the Constitution of Guyana expressly prohibiting such practices, the GPSU said.
The union said that fair-minded Guyanese should dissociate themselves from the attitude of the President and the Minister of Home Affairs in this matter. “Since, it is well known and accepted that allegations of torture should be treated seriously as crimes against humanity as is exemplified by the reaction which such practices recently evoked in Iraq and the American Base in Guantanamo, Cuba. The people of Guyana should be seriously concerned that the flippant attitude of functionaries of their government (is) likely to serve as encouragement to those against whom accusations are made and be interpreted as licence to continue with such primitive and unacceptable practices,” the GPSU said.
The beaten soldiers said they were among other things shocked, immersed in a gutter and whipped with a metal pipe. The GDF for its part had said it was not aware of such actions but would investigate.
The torture allegations could prove embarrassing to the government as it was only in 2006 that a series of recommendations had been issued to the State by the UN Committee Against Torture (CAT) in relation to allegations against the Guyana Police Force. These included the need for detailed investigations of these charges, prosecution of the guilty and compensation for victims.
CAT had also noted the lack of statistics in relation to torture and had recommended “the State party (Guyana) should provide in its next periodic report detailed statistical data, disaggregated by crime, ethnicity and gender, on complaints relating to torture and ill-treatment allegedly committed by law enforcement officials, and on the related investigations, prosecutions and criminal and disciplinary sanctions. Information is further requested on any measures taken to compensate and provide rehabilitation services for the victims”.
The 2006 communication from CAT had come after a 17-year delay by Guyana in submitting its initial report to the committee. Guyana has been asked to submit the second periodic report by December this year.
