Dear Editor,

What was the eventual rank of former Guyana Defence Force Officer Mr Oliver Hinckson.

A commentator on last Friday morning’s radio newscast sounded to me to have referred to him as ‘colonel’. Mr Isaacs, broadcasting on radio his arrest and detention on a charge of sedition referred to his rank once as Lieutenant Colonel, but later merely as Lieutenant. And when Mr Ron Robinson’s news report next morning was heard, he referred to Mr Hinckson as Lieutenant.

In a way I feel now reminded of the occasion of the visit here of Mr DN Pritt, QC following our 1953 constitution debacle when he represented an erstwhile member of the elected Parliament suspended by the Colonial Administration, then charged with sedition. I imagine him pensively remarking to a junior “There appears to be precious little known about this man, his career antecedents, whom he meets, his published statements – oral or written – desperately little in fact. As a politician here yourself, what do you believe this prosecution truly hopes to land?”

Yours faithfully,

Hilary-Lashley-Bobb

Editor’s note

Mr Oliver Hinckson was a lieutenant when he left the army.