UK pulls out of police training project in Guyana

Britain announced on Wednesday that it is withdrawing an aid package to Guyana's police force, citing disputes over a planned reform of the department and
special-forces.

British officials said they pulled out of the US$6.5 million project because of concerns over financial accountability. They said the dispute began when Guyana resisted a British request for its own consultant to administer the aid money.

But Guyana disputes that. The government said Wednesday the decision is revenge for its the country's refusal to allow British troops to engage in live-firing exercises near its western border with Venezuela.

"The position of the government of Guyana is that indeed the decision is regrettable," the government statement said.

Earlier in the year the government denied a request to allow British troops to train in Guyana.

In a statement, Britain said it had "fully accepted" Guyana's decision not to allow live firing and acknowledged that the two sought different goals. "This decision was not taken lightly," the statement said.

It added, "The funding has been reallocated to other pressing needs within the Caribbean."

Guyana frequently allows British and French troops to conduct training in its Amazon jungle, but government spokesman Kwame McKoy said the request to use live ammunition raised sovereignty issues.

The aid program, which was supposed to last four years, has been scuttled two years into the effort to reform Guyana's police.

It was providing modern forensic equipment and training to improve intelligence gathering and financial management for a force that had only a limited number of computers.