Latest update September 6th, 2026 7:34 PM
Kissoon on Martin Carter and Cheddi Jagan
DEAR EDITOR,
In his self-appointed mission to disparage the legacy of Cheddi Jagan, Frederick Kissoon recently enlisted the support of Martin Carter from the grave.
Purportedly Carter justified his membership in Burnham’s Cabinet to Kissoon on the ground that that was the only way to rid the country of colonialism since Jagan was “a wildly impractical man”.
It mattered not to Kissoon that by the time Carter joined Burnham’s Cabinet Guyana was already an independent nation and Burnham had already unleashed his reign of terror and degradation on the Guyanese people.
We can debate about whether Jagan was impractical. Some cite his political philosophy, his support for liberation movements in the Third World, his commitment to the non-violent path to political liberation, his dismantling of Christian domination of education as evidence of this. For others, these were the reasons they admired and supported him.
But, let there be no doubt that Burnham was a dishonest and ruthless megalomaniac, quite prepared to use a scorched earth policy to achieve his personal and political objectives.
His sister Jessie confirmed this as well as his very patrons and handlers who described him as a demagogue, bent on personal power.
Surely Carter, as perceptive and intelligent a man as he was, knew this. And yet, he chose to join Burnham. It cannot be argued that that was his only alternative.
There were others (omitting those in the PPP) who lived through the same experiences as he did and deliberately chose not to behave the way he did – Walter Rodney, Ganraj Kumar, David DeCaires, Moses Bhagwan, Cleveland Hamilton, Clive Thomas, Ravindra Dev, Bishop George, Paul Tennassee, to name a few.
They refused to sacrifice their principles and integrity on the altar of political expediency. They saw evil and considered it their sacred duty to resist it.
The power of dictators lies not in the physical force they unleash on their people but in their capacity to get good men to do nothing.
They co-opt some of the best and the brightest in the society to do their will. When the end comes, as it inevitably does, they find ingenious ways to justify their preemption.
In Nazi Germany, Apartheid South Africa, Rwanda and Serbia, even mass murderers found ways to justify their behaviour. Others have accepted responsibility for their behaviour, sought forgiveness and redemption, and moved on to become exemplary citizens.
Kissoon places Carter in the ranks of the former. To listen to Kissoon this socially responsible and politically astute man (and there are others) had no responsibility for his behaviour – Jagan made him do it! Kissoon attempted to disparage one great man and succeeded only in doing so to another in the process.
I have always considered Carter to be a good and principled man. I am, however, not prepared to give up on him just yet – certainly not on the basis of Frederick Kissoon’s fulminations!
Errol R. Arthur
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