Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07GEORGETOWN795
2007-08-24 13:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Georgetown
Cable title:  

JAGDEO PROMOTES LT. COLONELS TO DEFENSE GENERAL

Tags:  MARR MCAP PGOV PINS PREL GY 
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RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHGE #0795/01 2361344
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 241344Z AUG 07
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5693
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 0549
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL 0079
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 000795 

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CARACAS ALSO FOR DAO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR MCAP PGOV PINS PREL GY
SUBJECT: JAGDEO PROMOTES LT. COLONELS TO DEFENSE GENERAL
STAFF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 000795

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SENSITIVE
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CARACAS ALSO FOR DAO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: MARR MCAP PGOV PINS PREL GY
SUBJECT: JAGDEO PROMOTES LT. COLONELS TO DEFENSE GENERAL
STAFF


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: President Bharrat Jagdeo announced that
Coast Guard Captain Gary Best, one of four officers promoted
to O-6 rank last week, will be appointed the next Chief of
Staff of the Guyana Defense Force (GDF). The other three new
colonels will take senior positions in the GDF General Staff.
Jagdeo's decision to side-step more senior colonels caused
some grumblings within the GDF and received mixed reviews in
the media. Guyana's main opposition party responded by
offering to lend support to Guyanese wishing to topple the
government. All four of the newly promoted officers have
received extensive U.S. military training and their promotion
to senior leadership positions should help strengthen the
already cordial U.S./GDF relationship. END SUMMARY.

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THE BEST MAN FOR THE JOB
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2. (U) Ending months of speculation, Jagdeo announced that
newly promoted Captain Gary Best will be elevated to
Commodore and appointed the next Chief of Staff of the Guyana
Defense Force upon the formal retirement of Brigadier Edward
Collins on September 26. Captain Best is one of four O-5
grade officers promoted to O-6 last week; also promoted by
Jagdeo were Colonel Andrew Pompey, Colonel Bruce Lovell, and
Colonel Mark Philips. Colonel Pompey will be the new Deputy
Chief of Staff, Lovell will be the Colonel, General Staff,
and Philips will be remain in charge of administration and
quartering.

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GDF UNHAPPY? MAYBE NOT
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3. (U) Some senior GDF officers have complained to the press
and others that Jagdeo's move violated what they claim is a
long-standing tradition that the Chief of Staff be appointed
strictly based on seniority. These officers forget that two
of the seven Chiefs of Staff since independence, both
appointed by PNC presidents, came from outside of the GDF
entirely. Forbes Burnham elevated a Deputy Commissioner of
Police to be GDF Chief of Staff and a few years later
President Desmond Hoyte made the Director General of the now
defunct Guyana National Service Joseph Singh Chief of Staff

of the GDF. The four new O-6 officers are all solid officers
and are well respected within the GDF.

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MIXED REVIEWS IN THE MEDIA
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4. (U) The newspapers were filled with letters to the editor
questioning the motives behind the move -- many saw it as
Jagdeo selecting and promoting only those officers who are
loyal to him and the People's Progressive Party (PPP).
Interestingly, the independent Stabroek News, an unrelenting
critic of President Jagdeo, published an editorial strongly
supporting Jagdeo's move, noting that the President's
selection was entirely within the law and supported by
precedent. The paper praised Jagdeo for selecting the
officer he found to be the most qualified person rather than
the longest serving.

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OPPOSITION OFFERS TO HELP TOPPLE GOVERNMENT?
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5. (U) Amid the shake-up in the GDF top brass, the main
opposition party, the People's National Congress Reform
(PNCR),offerd to lend support to any Guyanese who seek to
topple President Jagdeo's administration. PNCR leader Rober
Corbin, speaking at a rally against the shake-up, said "I
want to sound a warning to that gentleman... He is touching
the wrong people... and now they are tinkering with the Army,
and I want to say to you, long time gone, short time left."
PNCR Chairman, Winston Murray, told the rally that the party
was willing to offer leadership to those Guyanese who might
want to "come out to the streets and demonstrate to the
government that they want them out." This "mass rally"
attracted only 300 participants, 200 of whom were delegates
to the conference of the Guyana Youth Socialist Movement.
Only one newspaper covered the potentially seditious remarks.
Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Roger Luncheon,
dismissed the threat noting that its seriousness was
proportional to the size of the rally.


GEORGETOWN 00000795 002 OF 002


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COMMENT
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6. (SBU) President Jagdeo's selection of a new GDF General
Staff appears to be a positive step forward for U.S./GDF
relations. All four of the new top officers have received
significant training in the U.S. and are familiar with U.S.
joint operational methodologies. Colonels Pompey, Lovell,
and Philips have all completed the U.S. Army Command and
General Staff College, the premier training environment for
operational level leaders and staff officers. (Note: Best
declined an offer to attend the Command and General Staff
College as it came while he was completing a law degree.) We
will now work with officers who share a similar training
background and, hopefully, a similar outlook on the U.S./GDF
relationship.
THOMAS