The British government yesterday defended its decision to withdraw assistance for a joint £4.9M security sector project, saying the latest proposal by the Government of Guyana (GoG) moves away from comprehensive reforms originally requested.
In a statement issued by the British High Commission, the UK government also said there was no truth to the GoG suggestion that the decision to scrap the Security Sector Reform Project was linked with a UK military exercise conducted here last year. The UK emphasised that it fully respected the right of the GoG to determine the direction of Guyana’s security sector and related programmes, but explained that the government’s latest proposal suggests a “fundamentally different” programme, focused on police modernisation instead of wider reforms.
AFC MP Raphael Trotman, a vocal critic of government’s approach to security sector reform, yesterday blasted the collapse of the project.
He dubbed the Project the “best plan” presented to the government in over a decade and said its continued failure to implement needed security reforms is at the peril of the people.
On Tuesday, Cabinet Secretary Dr Roger Luncheon said the GoG submitted a revised version of a British proposal for the design and implementation of the project. He noted that the British design, which the GoG criticised earlier this year for threatening the sovereignty of the country, included management features that seriously compromise Guyana’s ownership of the process. Luncheon added, “When our new design re-established ownership that was more consistent with our notions of sovereignty, the plug was pulled.”
But according to the UK Government, the GoG’s proposal reflects a fundamentally different programme than the one it understood Guyana wanted. It said its understanding was based on President Bharrat Jagdeo’s letters of May 4, 2006 and August 14, 2006, where he expressed an interest in comprehensive, broad-based, non-partisan and compelling reform of the security sector. “The latest proposal from the Government of Guyana suggests a focus on police modernisation, rather than on holistic security sector reform,” the UK explained in its statement, adding that after careful consideration, it “decided to withdraw its offer of assistance in this area.” It noted that the decision was not taken lightly and was communicated in person to President Jagdeo and in writing to Luncheon, who led the negotiations for the GoG.
The funding has been re-allocated to “other pressing needs” within the Caribbean, the UK said, while noting that it would continue to support development. “We remain committed to supporting the development of Guyana and the Caribbean and will continue to work closely with the Government of Guyana on economic growth, private sector development, and to support the country’s efforts to implement the Low Carbon Development Strategy,” it said.
The British also emphasised that there is no truth in the suggestion that the decision was linked to a UK military exercise. Luncheon and the Office of the President (OP) noted the possibility of a connection between the decision to scrap the project and the GoG’s refusal to allow training by a UK Special Forces on a western border location with live firing. The UK, however, pointed out that the decision by the Guyanese authorities in June 2008 to deny live firing as part of the exercise was fully accepted. The exercise took place, successfully, without live firing, in November 2008, it added.
The project hit a major stumbling block earlier in the year after Guyana vocalised concerns about encroachments on sovereignty, believed to include the stationing of overseas law enforcement professionals in the police force. The dispute sparked sharp exchanges between Luncheon and the British High Commissioner Fraser Wheeler, who said he was “frustrated” with the delays in implementation that he blamed on persons in government. He did not go into details of the delays but noted that the UK saw the need for tight management of resources.
Meanwhile, Trotman yesterday said that the AFC was saddened but not surprised that the project was abandoned and he charged that the administration’s disinterest in a ‘root causes’ approach to crime-fighting and security sector management is jeopardising the safety of the citizenry.
He noted that the project was specifically designed to go beyond the operational aspects of reform by examining root causes, and the socio-political aspects of the security dilemmas facing. To this end, it was expected that many national stakeholders would play a part, including MPs and civil society. According to Trotman, the GoG was only intended to be the “vehicle” through which the reform process would be facilitated. “The Jagdeo administration is reminded that there is far more at stake nationally, other than the protection of its petty, partisan, and puerile interests,” he said.
He noted that it was clear from the time that fugitive Rondell `Fineman’ Rawlins and his cohorts were hunted down that the government had no real intention of proceeding with the holistic reforms. “[It] was the best plan presented to this government in over a decade, and we firmly believe that the OP was not interested in reform except to receive the weapons and material and the training to go along with the Joint Operation that was put together to kill Rawlins and his gang,” Trotman declared. He added that destabilisation and occasional turmoil in the country suits some narrow political interests. In this regard, he pointed out that with each new outbreak of violence the government turns the screws tighter, denying more civil liberties and committing atrocities such as torture in the name of crime fighting and confronting domestic terrorism. What is more, he warned that notwithstanding the relative calm in the country at present, many of the causes of past outbreaks of violent crime remain and have not been addressed.
While he conceded that every state has a duty to safeguard its sovereignty, Trotman called the issue a “red herring” that has been raised as a distraction and to create an excuse to pull away from implementation. “The AFC believes that the PPP is playing with fire and putting the lives of citizens at risk,” he said, saying that one only has to look at the Lusignan, Bartica, Lindo Creek and recent Essequibo River incidents to know that “the security sector in Guyana is in trouble and that we need help to strengthen and modernise it.”
Trotman reiterated that there is a deliberate disconnect between the OP and the parliamentary oversight mechanisms put in place to oversee policy development and implementation within the security sector. He said it betrays a deep reluctance on the part of the administration to implement reform measures along with its total lack of knowledge of the security perils that the country faces and the consequences that will follow.
Although Luncheon said security sector reform would continue in Guyana, Trotman highlighted the GoG’s failure to implement recommendations of the 2000 National Security Strategy Organising Committee, the 2001 Border/ National Security Committee, the 2003 Disciplined Forces Commis-sion and the 2005-2009 National Drug Strategy Master Plan 2005-2009, saying the pattern is pellucid and unmistakable.
“This refusal to participate and implement wherever, and whenever, the need for comprehensive reform is identified within institutions that touch on governance, clearly demonstrates, that the Jagdeo administration predictably frustrates the process to achieve its objective of ensuring minimal or no governance reforms,” he emphasised.