The army has declined to comment on an attempt by a Captain to evict former army Chief of Staff, Edward Collins on Thursday from Guyana Defence Force headquarters at Camp Ayanganna.
Collins defied the Captain, telling him that he would not take orders from him or any other low-level rank. He then summoned Colonels Bruce Lovell and Mark Phillips to the scene who denied knowing anything about such an order and instructed that the 54-year-old Brigadier General be allowed in the army base.
Stabroek News was unable to make contact with the current Chief of Staff (COS), Commodore Gary Best for a comment on the issue and Colonel General Staff, Lovell declined to comment when he was reached. Stabroek News was told that the incident has sparked outrage in the force already unnerved by the recent supersession of a number of senior officers by Commander-in-Chief, President Bharrat Jagdeo.
In a telephone interview with this newspaper on Friday Collins acknowledged that the Captain whose name was given as Sukul had indeed asked him to leave the compound. The retired COS said that every Thursday he goes to the army gym to exercise. He said that was a normal practice even while he was the head of the army. According to Collins on Thursday morning he visited the gym and while there doing his exercise, Sukul, who is attached to the Military Criminal Investiga-tion Department (MCID), ap-proached him and enquired whether he had a pass to enter the army base. Collins said the officer further said that if he did not have a pass “I would have to escort you out”. “Of course I told him that he could not give instructions or orders to me,” Collins told Stabroek News, adding that he immediately tried to contact Commodore Best, but could not reach him. He said he then made contact with Lovell and Phillips both of whom intervened, denying any knowledge of such an order to prevent him from entering the compound. Stabroek News was told that Collins and the officer almost had a confrontation and two other soldiers were with Sukul ready to escort the retired brigadier out of the base.
Noting that it is clear that the Captain did not receive his instructions from the hierarchy of the force, Collins said he was wondering whether there were certain ‘elements’ in the force who were on a ‘witch-hunt’ against him. “This is wrong and unprecedented
