As Guyana’s 60th Diamond Jubilee inches closer, a special Joint Services Parade got underway early Saturday morning on the streets of the capital, a tribute to six decades of sovereignty since the Golden Arrowhead was first raised on May 26, 1966.
The parade kicked off at 07:00 hours and brought together members of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Guyana Fire Service (GFS), the Guyana Prison Service (GPS), the National Guard Corps, and other supporting agencies.
It is one of the signature events of the 60th Independence Anniversary celebration, drawing veterans, active service personnel, and the next generation of uniformed officers onto the streets of the capital.
Against that backdrop, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali and Chief of Defence Staff Brigadier Omar Khan delivered a unified message of gratitude to the country’s security forces.
“They are the reason our map is not negotiable. Every time they hold ground, they say: This land belongs to no other flag. That is not just defense. That is the daily rebirth of independence,” the commander-in-chief declared.
President Ali framed independence not as a historical achievement, but as a living obligation.
Quoting the pledge that children make to “guard Guyana’s lands” and “foil the shock of rude invaders”, he underscored the continued relevance of Guyana’s defence posture sixty years on.
On the matter of territorial integrity, he was unequivocal.
Referencing pressures that stretch from Guyana’s rivers to its skies, the president declared the country’s map remain non-negotiable.
“Let the message travel far and wide: Guyana’s sovereignty is not for sale, and not for taking. And our Joint Services have the mission of ensuring that mission remains true.”
The president also called on Guyanese at home to resist distancing themselves from the joint services when things go wrong.
“When they make mistakes, hold them accountable. But never, never abandon them,” President Ali said, stating that, “Because when a nation abandons its guardians, it abandons itself.”
The president also spoke to the quieter sacrifices, the soldier who missed a child’s birthday to guard a border post, the prison officer working the longest and most thankless shift, and the firefighter who breathed smoke so others could breathe air.
“You kept the promise of 1966 alive,” he told them, closing with a charge. “Independence is not a memory. It is a mission. And you are its guardians.”
Meanwhile, Brigadier Khan, who addressed the parade on behalf of the joint services, anchored his remarks around a single word: purpose.
He stated that, “This purpose is service. A purpose to serve. A purpose of peace. A purpose to cherish and to realise the dreams of our people, the ambition of a nation, and the pride of our country.”
Khan noted that the parade brought together veterans, active personnel, and members of the National Guard Corps, a combination he described as the past, present, and future, united in service.
Also present at the parade were Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret’d) Mark Phillips, Minister of Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond and heads of the Joint Services agencies. (DPI)
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