– to take steps to regain nation’s trust – Best
GDF Chief-of-Staff Com-modore Gary Best told residents in regions two and seven that despite the horror of some ranks involvement in the death of Dweive Kant Ramdass the army remains committed to the safety and wellbeing of all citizens.
Best, accompanied by the Coast Guard commander and other senior officers as well as commanders of the police divisions in the two regions, met recently with residents of the communities. The Chief-of-Staff reiterated that the actions of three rogue soldiers do not reflect the character of the GDF, a press release said. He also again asked the communities and the nation to forgive the force for not having detected sooner from among its ranks the men whose criminal actions have brought so much pain to the man’s relatives and community.
The meeting also discussed improper and unprofessional conduct by some military and police ranks stationed in riverain areas and the need for corrective procedures and processes to be implemented to ensure a greater degree of professionalism by military and police ranks.
Residents and regional representatives also called on superiors to extend greater oversight over their subordinates. The release said stakeholders also called for greater accountability by the GDF and police and commended the GDF for taking responsibility for the incident and for bringing the perpetrators to justice.
Best informed the meeting about the operations of the Coast Guard and issued copies of its Standing Operating Procedures and the Coast Guard Act 1990. He said the Coast Guard has civil powers in the country’s waterways but no member of the GDF has civil powers on land. He said ranks perform two distinct duties: defence and security the first on jungle patrols and the second to give support to the police during joint services operations. He said plans are in train to have names of Coast Guard officers inscribed on their uniforms and they will be required to have their identification cards in their possession at all times so that the public can easily identify them.
Meanwhile the Coast Guard commanding officer said he regretted the incident and he was disgusted by the ranks behaviour. He gave assurances that the Coast Guard will be working diligently to regain the public’s confidence and he asked for the communities’ cooperation.