The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) yesterday said it regretted attempts last month by its ranks to make an arrest in a University of Guyana (UG) Turkeyen Campus classroom, while admitting that its officers exceeded their powers.
The army ranks had descended upon the campus and attempted to arrest a soldier who had gone Absent Without Leave (AWOL). On one of the occasions, the soldiers were intercepted at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) by University of Guyana Students Society (UGSS) President Ganesh Mahipaul, who told them that contact should have been made with campus security before such a move was attempted. The standoff eventually resulted in the soldiers leaving and the premature conclusion of the class.
The GDF’s actions were widely condemned and there were calls, including from the UGSS, for it to apologise for its actions.
The army yesterday said that based on its investigations into the incident, ranks of its military police department, who have the authority to arrest persons who have deserted, exceeded the extent of their powers in that they entered unto private property where they have no jurisdiction. “The force deeply regrets this incident and wishes to assure the public that it will continue to ensure that all its ranks operate in the ambit of the law,” it said.
A release from the UGSS on the incidents had stated that three men claiming to be military personnel entered the GWLT on February 12 and announced that they had come to arrest a man by the name of “Mr. Rodney.” The release further stated that the men’s presence as well as their intentions not only disrupted classes that were in session, but caused confusion and panic to spread among the students, several of whom retreated to the extreme corners of the room or fled the lecture theatre all together. The association stated that the second occurrence, which occurred on February 13th, was more intense than the first since seven men, two of whom were in military fatigues, once more showed up and attempted to arrest “Mr. Rodney.”
Mahipaul and the society condemned the actions of the GDF and maintained that there must have been a more professional alternative that could have been followed in order to carry out whatever task they were sent to dispatch. Mahipaul suggested that at the very least, the University Administration should have been contacted and involved in their actions.
