Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Presi-dent Donald Ramotar yesterday called on the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to act professionally at the upcoming May 11th polls and to stay away from politics even as he expressed confidence that the PPP/C would be returned to power and this time with a majority in the National Assembly.
“The Guyana Defence Force is an essentially professional and non-partisan entity, your officers and ranks participate in the democratic process and are entitled to vote in accordance to the law but you are not allowed to participate in acts of political propaganda or militancy,” Ramotar warned at the opening of the GDF’s annual officers’ conference.
“You must inspire confidence in citizens and demonstrate to Guyanese and the world that while as an individual in uniform you exercise your democratic right to vote, as members of the GDF, as an institution, you would carry our your professional responsibilities in accordance with the constitution and respect the legitimate outcome of the electoral process,” he continued.
The conference, which started an hour later than scheduled because of the president’s late arrival, is being held under the theme ‘Towards greater operational readiness for national defence and security.’
Ramotar said as the country approaches the polls, he hopes that a climate of peace and good sense would prevail as political parties and their supporters vigorously conduct their campaigns.
“Forces of reaction and fragmentation must not be allowed to fester in our society. Any attempt to create insecurity and fear among our people or in any segment of our population, based on rumour, subjective gutter politics or worse, must be publicly frowned upon and action taken by the security forces to arrest any such tendency by the application of the full weight of the law and the constitution,” he stated.
Ramotar made it clear that as Commander-in-Chief he expects that the GDF’s leadership would be exemplary and its image as a national army unsullied. “You have sworn an oath to carry out your duties without fear or favour, affection or ill will and in the execution of those duties honour and uphold the constitution of the Republic of Guyana. I expect no less from the officers and ranks of the Guyana Defence Force…,” he stressed.
According to Ramotar, elections by their very nature can be competitive and can also be divisive and in multi-ethnic societies like Guyana ethnic insecurities can be aroused during the campaigning.
The early voting of the Joint Services, he pointed out, is intended to provide them with the full opportunity to discharge their duties professionally. “That is my expectation of you; that you would do your duties with the highest level of professionalism. It is such conduct that would bring glory and greater credibility to the disciplinary forces in general and the army, in particular,” he told the officers, who listened with rapt attention.
‘Avoidance of waste’
The president also pointed out that in recent years his administration has spent heavily to resource and recapitalise the GDF, with the focus being mainly on surveillance and logistics.
“I am bringing this to your attention as I have done in the past to let you know that we take security seriously. We want all our people to feel secure within our borders,” he said, while adding that both public and private investments must also be secured to allow production and productivity to increase.
Ramotar also said that at the Joint Services Coordi-nating Council, he expects synergy and increased efficiency and the avoidance of waste would be a feature of their collaboration. He called on the army to care the expensive equipment entrusted to it, such as the coast guard vessels, floating bases and aircraft.
“Use them for the purposes intended and pay attention to their timely maintenance. We still have a lot of needs in our society to lift the quality of life and this is one way or another way that you can make a contribution to that,” Ramotar pointed out.
He spent a significant part of his address talking about the world financial crises that occurred years ago-as his predecessor Bharrat Jagdeo had done at past GDF conferences-and he said Guyana has escaped the worst of the crises because of good governance of the socio-economic sector
Ramotar, as he has done in almost all of his speeches since he became Head of State, mentioned the Tenth Parliament-the first in the history of the country that sees the governing party being the minority in the House-and he stated that “the situation would have been much better had this soon to be dissolved Tenth Parliament been more supportive of my government’s development plans and projects.”
He said he is sure that the Eleventh Parliament to be elected on May 11th would rectify the situation since he has “every confidence in the collective intelligence of the Guyanese people.” “I therefore know that they would support peace, progress and prosperity and for the continued upward trajectory of our economy,” Ramotar said.
Talking about the “great success” of the country’s housing programme, the President pointed out that more young people own their own homes in comparison to him, who was “almost fifty when I got mine.”
Ramotar also noted the changing roles of armies around the world and he said they would from time to time support civilian law enforcement agencies when they come under pressure as has been seen in Guyana in the past. He pointed out that the drug trade poses “a major threat to national security. Indeed, it is even seen as a threat to international global security and that is why we are constantly supporting and working with other countries….” However, the president made no direct mention of the illegal drug trafficking problem in Guyana even though for years successive PPP/C administrations have faced severe criticism for not effectively fighting the trade. He did, however, speak about organised crime having political links in other countries, such as Peru and Colombia, which has seen the armies of those countries becoming involved.
‘Earn respect’
Meanwhile, GDF Chief of Staff Mark Phillips said for 2015 the army will “function to earn the respect of the Guyanese people.” He said as military officers they subject themselves to the rule of law and the civilian control of the force, which remains crucial to their military effectiveness in the defence and maintenance of order in Guyana.
In keeping with the theme of the conference, Phillips told his officers that as military men and women they must master the art and science of training development and recognise the importance of performance-based training.
“This is because the measure of our military professionalism remains our success in military operation, whether we are deployed on our frontiers or in support of our civilian authorities operating in the Joint Services or inter-agency settings,” he said.
According to Phillips, officers and other ranks are trained and tasked with a variety of military and other non-military missions, including search and rescue, disaster relief activities and in support of the law enforcement agencies. They are also involved in the delivery of medical attention and educational needs of citizens in remote areas.
Further, Phillips stated that the GDF remains aware of the serious external threats to the state’s existence as the country continues to be subjected to territorial claims from neighbouring countries. He said the force would continue to contribute to the development of Guyana, collaborate in diplomatic initiatives and will remain committed to safeguarding democracy in Guyana.
At the conference, the GDF also unveiled a stamp and 2015 calendar in recognition of its 50th anniversary.
