President Jagdeo 'pissed off' with Michael Atherly.

Former Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Michael Atherly, was bestowed the Military Service Star from the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Jagdeo

October 5, 2002

The military has not protected citizens
Dear Editor,
During the era of PNC rule, the military was heavily politicized. The PPP/C, when it came to office in 1992, understood the dangers that a politicized military posed and went about its dealings with sensitivity or, depending on how you look at it, with obsequiousness, never failing to pay due respect to the military and its alleged great work.

During the period of PNC rule the military was routinely brought out in the streets patrolling sugar estates when there were strikes, patrolling the city when there were demonstrations and, more notoriously, collecting and holding ballot boxes after elections.

At the present time there is no doubt about the capability of the military. Its holding of several men recently with high-powered arms and equipment indicates that it has all the skills and resources to do the same with the bandits who are roaming the streets creating chaos and killing our policemen and innocent citizens. Yet the military has not displayed the same kind of keenness in capturing criminals and defending the population.

The government of the PPP/C has no grounds to display any confidence in the military and the expressions of support in the past were misplaced. Now that the military has been put to the test it has miserably failed the people of Guyana. Instead of capturing criminals in Buxton, it is playing football. Instead of protecting citizens, more and more people are being killed and kidnapped in Buxton and the surrounding villages. Instead of supporting policing groups it harasses them as in Non Pareil and Enmore. The military should be removed from Buxton and expenditure on it should be reduced in this year’s budget. The amount saved should be spent on our intrepid policemen who are under manned, under equipped and underpaid.

Yours faithfully,
Rajesh Persaud

Editor’s note:
The military has said that it responds whenever the police ask for assistance. It also acknowledges that soldiers have the usual powers of citizens’ arrest where they see a crime being committed but do not have police powers. Many people feel that the police and army should have been working much more closely together on an outgoing basis in tackling the crime wave