Boodram is attempting to revise Guyanese history

Jan 21, 2010 Letters

Dear Editor,
It is regrettable that Mr. Annan Boodram’s recent letter (SN, December 31, 2009) vividly illustrates the continuation of “us versus them” policy, and is an attempt to revise Guyanese history to favourably portray those in the PPP’s past (Dr. Jagan) and present (President Jagdeo) who derailed and continue to derail the development of Guyana.
When Dr. Jagan spoke to a small audience at McMaster University in the late 1970’s, he started off his talk by citing Chile, Cuba and the Soviet Union. He made the case for “critical support” by noting the Burnham’s Government support for Soviet alliances internationally and the governance of Burnham’s “socialism”. The audience was totally dismayed, since they all knew the harsh realities that Guyanese faced daily.
Later when Dr. W. Rodney also spoke to a large audience at McMaster University in the late 1970’s, he stated that the biggest supporter of the PNC dictatorship was the PPP, in particular Dr. Jagan. He noted that Dr. Jagan’s first priority was being an internationalist and supporter of the Soviet Union on the world stage.
For alliance opposition purposes Dr. Rodney was agreeing to the PPP in public fully knowing that the PPP would play the spoiler or “sell out” at any time, and achieving a “people overthrow” would allow for multi-ethnic and multi-party governance.
In most of the seventies and eighties, the names in the fight against the “a possessed Jaganite” in power, Mr. Burnham, included: Dr. Rupert Roopnarine, Mr. Eusi Kwayana, Ms. Annidaye, Dr. Clive Thomas, Ms. Karen DeSousa, Ms. Harris, Dr. Omawalle Mr. M. Bhagwan, Dr. Joshua Ramsammy, the Catholic Standard and Rickey Singh then with the Caribbean Contact. The only PPP notable involved was Mr. Moses Nagamoottoo, but others felt he was would dart for the PPP when convenient.
The WPA was in the forefront of the struggles against dictatorship that is why its members bore the brunt of President Burnham’s wrath.
To distort and rewrite the achievement of Dr. Rodney and the WPA in such a contemptuous manner shows that there is not a thread of moral fibre left in Mr. Boodram and his PPP comrades. They would go any extent to belittle Dr. W. Rodney and the WPA historical achievement and at the same time rehabilitate the image of Dr. Jagan.
In the midst of President Burnham rule, Dr. Rodney asked that all Guyanese be treated fairly and brought together a movement that stood in the way of a dictatorship.
Yet, today when there is another similar dictatorship in the form of President Jagdeo there has been silence from nearly all sections of the Indo-Guyanese people.
This has allowed an undemocratic governance to balloon in proportion that has never been seen before.
During the struggle against tyranny of President Burnham’s dictatorship, no one ever heard of the likes of C. Rohee, A. Boodram, Ravi Dev, and Dr. Prem Misir.
The high profile and opportunistic PPP members who are now claiming all sorts of heroic activities during the Burnham years did very little if anything to fight the dictatorship.
With the passing of Dr W. Rodney, Mr. Boodram and company are once again true to form by lending “critical support” to another dictatorial administration in the form of the current Jagdeo administration. They were silent then and are silent now.
Dr. C. Jagan was ideologically propping the Burnham government with “critical support” and claims of “socialism”.
He did not care about the living and working conditions of the Guyanese people. He stood guard for the Soviet Bloc and in favour of the Burnham dictatorship.
This support continued despite Burnham’s administration connections to both the USA and the Soviet Union. The Guyanese people were but a pawn for Dr. Cheddi Jagan to use to enhance his own ideological and international standing in the Soviet Block
Mr. Boodram and company will continue to write their revisionist histories – at this time only the PPP members are buying into this rewriting because it rehabilitates Dr. Jagan image favourably, but the reality is that Dr. W. Rodney and the WPA stood against a dictatorship and stand in their way to prohibit their rewrite.
Unfortunately the other purpose of this divisive policy is to engage the Indo-Guyanese population, to keep them molded together to maintain the dictatorial mode of governance of President Jagdeo and other future PPP presidential candidates and their advisors.
The suffering Guyanese people have been down this divisive path again and again, we simply need another Dr. W. Rodney.
Anand Daljeet

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Boodram is attempting to revise Guyanese history

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