Reform of the Disciplined Forces

Aug 21, 2008 Editorial

There has been a flurry of activity in the security sector as the kick-off of Carifesta becomes imminent.
Whether as a coincidence or not, there have been encouraging reports of progress in tracking down the notorious “Fine Man Gang” that has created mayhem and terror across the land.

The fact of the matter, however, is that the head of the gang and his major cohorts are still on the loose.
While it is not our purpose to be alarmist, it must be noted that there is widespread concern in the populace that the gang may choose to “send a message” during the Carifesta celebrations.

The Police’s and indeed the entire Joint Services’ heightened level of activity are most likely responsive to those fears and this is to be commended.

However, as part of that response, the Guyana Police Force (GPF) issued an advisory that applications for passports, police clearance, and firearm and traffic licences will not be accepted during Carifesta.

While some citizens might be rightfully indignant at this inconvenience, it brings to the fore a more fundamental issue that has evidently been placed on a back burner somewhere – the overall reform of the Disciplined Forces.

In the Report of the Disciplined Services Commission, all the services that the police have now temporarily suspended had been recommended as being most suitable for being farmed out to civilian agencies or to civilian employees to be hired by the Force.

The overall reorganisation and reorientation of our armed forces is a matter that has passed the stage of debate and even discussion for quite some time now in our country.

After several reviews of the individual components of the Forces, in 2003 the Disciplined Forces Commission was constituted with Constitutional mandate and with full support of all the political parties in Parliament.

It was comprised of eminent and eminently qualified individuals, including a foreign expert and conducted wide-ranging hearings that elicited a deep and broad response form the entire Guyanese community.

In 2004, its report, containing one hundred and sixty-four recommendations, was presented to the National Assembly, which committed it to a Special Parliamentary Committee.

And there it has languished ever since. While the political leaders all emphasise that the country has been in the throes of a most severe security onslaught for over a decade now, it is criminal that they have all – the government and the combined opposition – allowed the threat to fester and to explode ever so often because they have refused to implement the coherent plan that the Disciplined Forces Report incorporates in its recommendations.

The government’s response has been an unending stream of ad-hoc reactive measures that in many instances seem to be self-contradictory. One representative of the government even had the temerity to pronounce that many of the reports were being implemented piecemeal.

Take the matter of a Special Weapons And Tactics (SWAT) unit that had been promised by the administration since 2002, when it became obvious that the weaponry and tactics of the new breed of criminals far surpassed those of the conventional police squads.

There were reports of personnel being trained by foreign experts for the Police, weapons and equipment being imported but to date, even though the criminals have increased their range and brutality of their attacks, no SWAT team has been fielded – with no definitive answer offered to the public.

We are now told by the Chief of Staff of the GDF that a “counter terrorism group…drawn from the GDF” will be deployed during Carifesta.

Yet when the “Fine Man Gang” was cornered in the interior in June, the army was not even involved in the operation to capture them. How can the public develop any confidence from these ad hoc measures?

If the Government and the opposition agree that security is the burning issue facing the nation – and they do – then one has to ask what has prevented them from vetting the report and formatting it into legislation that will have to be implemented?

We are happy that the administration is taking the issue of security seriously for the Carifesta season, but it needs to accept that it has to bite the bullet and get on with the overall reform and reorganisation of our Disciplined Forces, to deal with the criminal exigencies that confront our nation.