[www.inewsguyana.com] – Commander-in-Chief, President Donald Ramotar has called on the senior ranks of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to remember the sacrifices made for them by others such as family members, and not to disappoint them.
Delivering the feature address at the GDF’s Annual Officers’ Conference at Base Camp Ayanganna on Thursday, February 05, the President reminded the senior ranks that the world is now more inter connected and hence Guyana is affected by international events.
The President urged the GDF officers to conduct themselves professionally especially during the General Elections period.
“It is such conduct that will bring glory… greater credibility to the disciplined forces in general and the army in particular. We want all of our people to feel secure within our borders. All of the investments in the economy by the state and the private sector must be secured and allow production to increase”.
As Guyana prepares for General elections, the President expressed the hope that peace and good sense would prevail, even as contesting political parties and their supporters “as is their democratic right vigorously conduct their campaigns”.
He further stated that, “forces of reaction and fragmentation must not be allowed to fester in our society. Any attempt to create a feeling of insecurity and fear among citizens, based on rumour or gutter politics must be frowned upon, and action taken by the security forces to arrest any such tendency by the application of the full weight of the laws and the constitution.”
Noting that the GDF is a non-partisan organisation, he warned that while they may vote as they please, none should participate in propaganda or militancy, but seek to carry out their job as stated by the constitution and respect the legitimate outcome of the May 11 Elections.
Chief-of-Staff, Brigadier Colonel Mark Phillips, in his remarks, said that, in keeping with this year’s theme, “Towards greater operational readiness for National Defence”, readiness is the goal of all training.
The GDF Head said, “As military men and women, we must master the art 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 operations, whether deployed on our frontiers or in support of our civilian authorities operating in a joint services or inter-agency setting”.
He further added that the army remains fully aware of the external threats to Guyana’s existence as a state, and will continue to contribute to local development, diplomatic initiatives and remain committed to safeguarding Guyana’s democracy. [Extracted and modified from GINA]
