- numbers would be disclosed as investigation proceeds
CABINET Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon, yesterday reiterated that the matter surrounding the missing army weapons will be thoroughly investigated and urged that persons should be cautious about making premature statements.

Luncheon was at the time responding to questions by the media at a news conference he hosted at the Office of the President yesterday, on the number of weapons not returned to the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in the past and queries about the names of the individuals from the former administration - the People’s National Congress (PNC) who have not returned theirs since then.

“But, the sad reality is that at a certain period in the life of the public administration, the policy of party paramountcy was put in place and a Government Ministry became virtually indistinguishable from a Party Unit,” Dr. Luncheon told reporters, echoing the words of Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee.

The Cabinet Secretary said the Office of the General Secretary of the then governing PNC and the Ministry of National Development seemed to have become one and the same.

“Fortunately, there are still those among us who have been intricately and intimately involved,” the Cabinet Secretary added, pointing out that these persons may be able to relate the differences between the combined entity, the Office of the General Secretary and the Ministry of National Development.

“Be that as it may, the weapons were provided, the numbers I am certain would be disclosed as the investigation proceeds, but significant numbers were never returned and those would also be disclosed. These weapons have been used when recovered, in the committal of crimes, some have been recovered, some have disappeared,” he noted.

The Cabinet Secretary added, “As I said, there are those who have been intimately involved in that period in the life of Guyana who could be encouraged to comment, to advise and perhaps to explain how a decision of the then Administration to merge the Office of the General Secretary of the Governing party with a Government Ministry, how it was done and the levels of accountability that gave rise to this situation.”

While noting that he would not want to advance his thoughts prematurely on the matter, Dr. Luncheon believes that as time goes by and information grows, revelations will be made of what took place then and may even lead to an investigation or questions about another set of weapons that also disappeared.

“And again, we are unclear where they are, although some suggestions…unquestionable, that they are being used to commit crimes.”

Referring to recent statements made by Opposition Leader, Robert Corbin on the matter, Dr. Luncheon said he is disheartened and disappointed, since the politics of the issue could be used to sow dissent.

“I was particularly upset by the Leader of the Opposition…I don’t know if it was a slip of the tongue or it was deliberate, trying to do what I felt was an introduction of race by talking about the army in terms that, at the level of the society at large, at the level of the disciplined forces’… and the recommendations, talked about its composition and I was disappointed, the remark that this army that Burnham created or Burnham formed and the likelihood that it could be read or interpreted in ways disadvantageous, inimical to the interest of the military and national cohesion,” Dr. Luncheon explained.

He said the GDF is Guyana’s army and not the PNC’s or PPP’s and has historically grown significantly beyond that.

“I hope it was just an innocent remark but I could recognise the damage that it has already done, in so far as what has historically been associated with the military, and it does a lot of injustice to the efforts that have been made successfully in trying to rewrite its conduct and its image as a total change from the past.”

Asked about the activities which took place in Buxton last evening, Dr. Luncheon said he is not in a position to go into details.

Luncheon was yesterday also questioned about what form the investigations into the missing weapons issued by the GDF will take, and Dr. Luncheon responded that an investigation of such usually requires terms of reference.

“There is a lot of information out there which, if garnered, could allow the terms of reference for a subsequent inquiry to be better structured. The last thing we want is a view or a contention that an investigation was so structured that it did not bring out the results desired or it deflected from what was, or what ought to have been, a logical attention or a logical approach,” he explained.

The Cabinet Secretary further explained that those involved in working to conclude the format, terms and conditions under which such investigation would take place would want to ensure that it properly addresses all the elements and would avoid accusations that it was poorly or inadequately structured.

“So, although a week has elapsed since the President spoke, it is not a week that has been wasted, it is one where focus is on what to investigate, how to investigate, what is the tool, what would be the terms of reference, and such like,” Dr. Luncheon concluded. (GINA)