-Nandlall rejects opposition claims of politicising GDF
– Highlights politicisation of force during PNC government’s 28-year rule
MINISTER of Legal Affairs and Attorney-General, Anil Nandlall, S.C., has strongly refuted allegations from the opposition regarding the politicisation of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
Speaking during his weekly programme “Issues in the News” on Tuesday, Nandlall addressed claims made by People’s National Congress-led A Partnership for National Unity and Alliance For Change member of parliament, Amanza Walton-Desir, describing her comments as “malicious, unjustified, and baseless.”
The issue started during the parliamentary debate on the Defence Amendment Bill, a straightforward legislation aimed at changing the title of the Chief of Staff of the Guyana Defence Force to Chief of Defence Staff.
Despite the bill’s simplicity and bipartisan support, Walton-Desir’s remarks ignited a heated response from the government.
Walton-Desir accused President Dr. Irfaan Ali and the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) administration of attempting to politicise and control the GDF, citing an incident where President Ali shared his birthday cake with senior military officers.
“The Honourable Member using an incident which she made reference to of the President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, sharing his birthday cake with leading members of the army. And the photographs that she’s referring to apparently showed the president cutting the cake and offering it to the various officers of the army in the command structure, senior officers including the Chief of Staff.
“The Honourable Member interpreted that to be politicisation of the Guyana Defence Force, and she launched a tirade lasting several minutes accusing our government of attempting to politicise and control the army, accusing our government of attempting to undermine the independence of the army of our men and women in uniform,” he said.
Nandlall, who also serves as the Secretary of the Defence Board, defended the President’s actions, explaining that it is customary for the Commander-in-Chief to engage in social interactions with military officers.
“I don’t see anything wrong with the commander-in-chief of the armed forces sharing a birthday cake with members of the force,” he said, adding that such events do not undermine the GDF’s independence or professionalism.
Drawing on historical precedents, Nandlall highlighted that social engagements between military leaders and political figures are not uncommon and have been part of Guyana’s tradition since its independence.
“Historically, every commander of the armed forces of our country beginning with Forbes Burnham, every commander has had engagements of an open nature, of a celebratory nature, of merriment, of a social nature with the Guyana Defense Force.
They have had dinners, they have had lunches, they have had breakfasts, they have had cocktails. They have had parties,” Nandlall said.
He compared these interactions to those of other nations, such as the United States, where presidents frequently socialise with troops without raising concerns about politicisation.
Nandlall used the opportunity to highlight what he described as the high professionalism and morale within the GDF under the current administration.
“There is no time in our country’s history that a Guyana Defence Force is as professional as it currently is. There is no point in time in our country’s history when the Guyana Police Force has had more resources than it currently [has],” he asserted.
In a broader historical context, Nandlall accused the PNC of historically politicising the armed forces, particularly during their 28 years of rule characterised by rigged elections. He detailed the manipulation tactics used by the PNC, such as overseas voting fraud during the 1968 elections, to underscore the opposition’s own questionable history with the GDF.
Nandlall reaffirmed the GDF’s primary mandate to defend Guyana’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, pledging allegiance to the Constitution rather than any political entity.
“The Guyana Defence Force ought to be an independent institution, whose primary mandate is to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the state of Guyana.
That is its primary mandate and, in so doing, must swear allegiance to the Constitution of Guyana and must bear loyalty to the Constitution of Guyana. In bearing loyalty and pledging allegiance to the Constitution of Guyana, that defence force must not necessarily pledge allegiance to the government of the day,” he said.
As such, Nandlall reiterated that the PPP/C government respects this principle and works to maintain the GDF’s “independence and professionalism”.
The Defence Amendment Bill, which aimed to standardise the title of the GDF’s head, was passed without controversy regarding its content, marking a legislative alignment with global military norms.
The title of Chief-of-Staff has been used for decades to denote the head of the army. Brigadier Omar Khan was appointed as the GDF Chief-of-Staff by President Ali last year, a role he combines with leading the National Intelligence and Security Agency (N.I.S.A).
This move to retitle the army head as Chief of Defence is part of the government’s vision for institutional restructuring within the GDF.
It reflects the PPP government’s modernisation effort to enhance the force’s alignment with global military standards and practices.
