– Commander-in-Chief tells Army
BY VAHNU MANIKCHAND
In light of recent discoveries of illegal aircraft and other items in the hinterland region and reports of criminal activities allegedly by foreign nationals crossing over from neighbouring countries, Commander-in-Chief of Guyana’s Armed Forces, Brigadier (rtd) David Granger, told Army officers to be vigilant at the country’s borders. 
He gave this charge during a recent visit at the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Base Camp Kanuku, located at the border town of Lethem, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).
There, the President received a briefing on the administration and operations of the Base and the work being done by its troops to maintain the territorial integrity of that region. He also toured the Base and inspected the facilities on the ground.
During an address to the troops there, the Commander-in-Chief emphasised the need for a continued and strong security presence at the nation’s borders. He also reiterated his policy of Total National Defence (TND), and told the troops to remain vigilant at all times so that they can prevent intrusion into the country’s air and land space by foreign elements.
Noting that every section of society has a role to play in matters of safety and security, he explained that the re-establishment of the Guyana People’s Militia (GPM) is in keeping with that vision.
President Granger also explained that a component of the GPM will be established in every region and will have the capability of rendering both military and civil services.
“There must be some means of collecting and passing information from the district, to the municipality, to and from the region, to the Central Government level… so when we speak of total national defence, we don’t only speak of a horizontal distribution between the Defence Force, the militia and the Police, we also speak about vertical integration between the central, regional, municipal and the local levels.
Every citizen has to play a part in this architecture of national defence. I am calling on all of these organs; the Private Sector, the non-governmental organisations, the Ministries, the security forces, the Government departments, the municipality and the region to look at the security of this region as one of its top priorities,” he said.
Last Sunday, ranks of the Joint Services discovered an illegal twin-engine Beechcraft aircraft at a makeshift airstrip in Region Nine. Acting on information received, the ranks went to the area where they discovered a 5400-foot long, 45-foot wide airstrip that appeared to have undergone recent repairs.
However, while the ranks were leaving the site, an aircraft landed and three persons were seen running from it.
Commander of F Division (Interior locations), Ravindradat Budhram, disclosed that a search of the area unearthed three abandoned camps, in which canned food and other items were found.
Additionally, 16 ten-gallon containers, which are suspected to have contained aviation fuel, were also discovered. Meanwhile, the ranks found several pieces of communication equipment, including cellular phones, flashlights, a quantity of dried ration, medical supplies and an identification card inside the aircraft.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum, recently told this publication that they are trying to verify the origin of the aircraft and whether any criminal records are associated with the identifying documents found on the aircraft.
A history of the aircraft shows that it was owned by 11 companies in the past 27 years. It is currently registered to Banco Brandesco – one of Brazil’s third largest banks.
However, an official from the bank said that they do not own any planes but it is registered to them, since the owner may have acquired a loan to purchase it. A mining company named Riwa SA Incorporated Investments and Participants operated the aircraft.
No trace of narcotics was found on the plane but identification cards of Venezuela and Brazil nationals were discovered on board. A multi-agency taskforce is still in the area conducting investigations. The aircraft is expected to be flown to the city following minor repairs.
Back in September last year, a Joint Services patrol had discovered an illegal twin-engine Cessna aircraft hidden just off of the Yupukari Airstrip, Region Nine with United States registration number N-767-Z. However, that registration was subsequently found to be “bogus”.
Of recent, there have been several cases where local mining camps were attacked and robbed reportedly by nationals crossing over from both Venezuela and Brazil.
In fact, last month, several mining camps in Region Seven (Cuyuni-Mazaruni) were attacked and robbed by groups of heavily armed men who made off with large quantities of raw gold.
It was reported that the bandits were speaking fluent Portuguese and Spanish which suggested that they are not Guyanese.
However, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan had told this newspaper that local law enforcements have not received any information or evidence to prove that these were foreign nationals carrying out the attacks.
In fact, he noted that they could very well be Guyanese who are bilingual having lived in the neighbouring countries or close to the borders.
Moreover, there was also an incident where three Guyanese men were shot and killed in their sleep after a group of armed men stormed the mining camp at Imataca, Venezuela, where they were working. Another Guyanese was also injured during the shooting as he and seven other miners took cover.
