Dear Editor,
As a former bodyguard and member of the Close Protection Unit for three former presidents of Guyana, the late Cheddi and his wife Janet Jagan and Sam Hinds, I was shocked at the incident at State House. This is a major security breach that could have cost the lives of more people. How did that person breached the gate and disarmed the sentry? I remembered Eric Liverpool, one of our instructors, telling us about what it takes to be a bodyguard for former President Burnham and would lecture us about halt, who goes there when you are on sentry and the rules of engagement. In those days professionalism, neatness, alertness and training were watchwords.
Protecting Pres. Cheddi and Janet you have to be witty; neither Cheddi nor Hinds were security conscious but Janet disliked bodyguards following her, but we were there invisibly. In these times security had to be top priority. I would normally watch videos of President Ali walkabouts in Guyana and I can tell that his security needs upgrading. I remembered when I was in the Uniform Section and worked the overnight tour, we used to be taken to the [Botanical] Gardens for drills. Over at plain clothes section we had to fall out for PT under Ovid Hardy which included Martial Arts training and monthly visits to the Timehri ranges.
The head of the Presidential Guard should be someone experienced in Executive Protection and Presidential Security. The President should vacate State House, it’s too vulnerable and hard to defend. The city’s congestion has only worsened and if need be, protesters can swarm the compound and overrun security. I thought that the President would have constructed a state of the art security compound at Durban Park housing his official residence and his office.
I remembered an incident at State House that occurred during the Jagan Presidency. An American had breached the fence and was quickly tackled and brought down by the sentry on duty. When he was questioned, he said that he works in the film industry in China and travels the world. One night he was on a drinking spree with friends and asked who lived in that mansion [State House]. After being told it was the official residence of the president, he said no way because in his travels to different countries the Presidential compound is always a heavily guarded area. So he took the bet to jump. The next day he was deported out of Guyana.
Sincerely,
S. Harald
Former Member of the Presidential Guard
