Burnham the Lion cannot write in his defence, so others must respond to the tales of the hunters

Jun 16, 2013 Letters

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Dear Editor,
This African Proverb, “ Until the Lion learns to write, tales of the hunt will always glorify the hunter,” aptly describes the regrettable decision of the African National Congress (ANC) Government of Jacob Zuma, to defer indefinitely the conferral of the Posthumous honor of the Oliver Tambo Award on the late President Forbes Burnham of Guyana. This fundamental breach of principle has been precipitated by the highly subjective desire of very vindictive individuals whose only mission on their long hunting expedition is to exact vengeance for the alleged transgressions of the great Anti-apartheid giant, Forbes Burnham. Alas, Burnham the Lion cannot write in his defense, so others must respond to the tales of the hunters.
Hunters who seek glorification must be reminded of the Biblical injunction, “Vengeance is mine”, sayeth the Lord. If the lives of all the great world leaders are scrutinized, it would be discovered that none is without spot or blemish.
The solemn decision, based on very specific criteria established by the National Commission for the Orders of South Africa as it relates to the contribution to the international fight against apartheid, has suffered a severe trespass by Burnham’s accusers. A more nuanced understanding of this breach is required. The present ANC government seems to have been compromised. Quite apart from those who are overcome by the desire for revenge, the present South African government displays a level of timidity and cowardice that is unworthy of Nelson Mandela’s ANC. President Zuma must be aware that Forbes Burnham was a fellow ‘Comrade’ in the anti-apartheid struggle.
To be bestowed the recognition of ‘Comrade’ by Nelson Mandela’s ANC during the struggle was to be regarded more than a blood brother. It was a sacred bond that was never to be broken and was always to be honored not ‘because of’ but ‘inspite of’. It was a bond that was meant to be stronger than any witch-hunt aimed at undermining the legacy of the ‘Comrade’. There are two significant illustrations of the unethical actions of the present ANC.
The first is a demonstration of the remarkable level of betrayal of another ‘Comrade’ in the anti-apartheid struggle involving the Tibetan Spiritual Leader The Dalai Lama. In October 2011, the Dalai Lama was invited by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu to celebrate his birthday with a Peace Lecture at a Peace Conference.
According to reports out of South Africa, the ANC Government denied granting an entry visa to the Dalai Lama, who was forced to cancel his trip to South Africa. It is believed that China pressured President Zuma’s Government to keep the Dalai Lama out. Archbishop Tutu labeled the government action ‘disgraceful’ and ‘worse than the apartheid regime’ because according to him, at least you were expecting such a reaction from the apartheid government. The ANC was accused of selling its principles to the highest bidder, as well as succumbing to commercial pressure and kowtowing to China.
It was reported in the London Globe and Mail newspapers that Archbishop Tutu was so enraged by the Zuma government’s refusal to grant an entry visa to his fellow anti-apartheid ‘Comrade’ that he wagged his finger on television and addressed the ANC Government directly, “I am warning you, one day we will start praying for the defeat of the ANC Government. You are behaving in a way that is totally against the things for which we stood.
I am warning you that we will pray as we prayed for the downfall of the apartheid government.” Following this incident, many South Africans called for ‘serious soul-searching’ due to fears that Nelson Mandela’s party had lost its moral stature on the world-stage.  The second illustration of the ANC’s neurotic behavior has to do with the upcoming state visit by US President Barack and First Lady Michelle Obama to Sub-Saharan Africa from June 26 to July 3, 2013.  The Obamas are scheduled to visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania. According to news reports on the visit to South Africa, the Mayor of South Africa’s mother city, Capetown, Madam Patricia de Lille announced plans to bestow the city’s highest honor, the ‘Freedom of the City Award’ on the Commander in Chief of the United States and his wife.
However, the ANC government has advised President Obama to reject the Award from Capetown because “the city does not treat its poor well”. In an article written in the Guardian Express Newspaper, Laura Oneale noted, “The only reason the ANC have for objecting to the Obamas receiving the‘Freedom of the City Award’ is that the opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), dominates that Province and has incorporated good governance there. The ANC calling on the Obamas not to accept this award is ridiculous, the ruling party should know that that America stands for the truth, freedom and justice, something they should try to imitate”.
In closing, it must be stated that this letter is not meant to criticize President Zuma but merely to highlight the fact that the decision by the present ANC government to yield to the wishes of the trespassers does not reflect the high ideals of reconciliation which Nelson Mandela’s ANC set for the world to follow. If anything good should come out of the deferral of the Oliver Tambo Award to Burnham, I think it should be a sustained lobby by Guyanese for the Mandela brand of reconciliation to occur in Guyana before it attains its 50th Anniversary of Independence.
Comrade Oliver Tambo would be a happy man to learn that political and racial reconciliation was attained in Guyana because the Award in his name was deferred to facilitate this noble objective. I believe that not only the Oliver Tambo Award should be bestowed on Burnham posthumously but also the highest Order of the Caribbean, the Order of the Caribbean Community.
Stanhope Williams

 

 

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