GDF regrets attempts to make arrest in UG classroom

The Guyana Defence Force today expressed regret at the attempts last month by its ranks to make an arrest in a University of Guyana classroom.

The army ranks had descended upon the campus and attempted to arrest a soldier who had gone AWOL. On one of the occasions, the soldiers were intercepted at the George Walcott Lecture Theatre by UGSS President Ganesh Mahipaul who told them that contact should have been made with campus security before such a move was attempted. The standoff eventually resulted in the soldiers leaving and the premature conclusion of the class.

The GDF’s actions were widely condemned and there were calls for it to apologise for its actions. It issued the following statement today:

“The Guyana Defence Force has concluded its investigations into the incident carried in the media that ranks of the GDF had attempted to arrest a student in the classroom at the University of Guyana.

“The GDF wishes to state that our investigations revealed that ranks of our military police department, who have the authority to arrest persons who have deserted, exceeded the extent of their powers in that they entered unto private property where they have no jurisdiction.

“The Force deeply regrets this incident and wishes to assure the public that it will continue to ensure that all its ranks operate in the ambit of the Law.”

The UGSS had called upon the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) to apologize.

A release from the UGSS on the incidents had stated that three men claiming to be military personnel entered the George Walcott Lecture Theatre (GWLT) on February 12th and announced that they had come to arrest a man by the name of “Mr. Rodney.” The release further stated that the men’s presence as well as their intentions not only disrupted classes that were in session, but caused confusion and panic to spread among the students, several of whom retreated to the extreme corners of the room or fled the lecture theatre all together.

The association stated that the second occurrence, which occurred on February 13th, was more intense than the first since seven men, two of whom were in military fatigues, once more showed up and attempted to arrest “Mr. Rodney.”

Mahipaul and the society condemned the actions of the GDF and maintained that there must have been a more professional alternative that could have been followed in order to carry out whatever task they were sent to dispatch. Mahipaul suggested that at the very least, the University Administration should have been contacted and involved in their actions.