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Aug 08, 2010 APNU Column, Features / Columnists
August 6, 2010, marked the 25th Death Anniversary of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham, Founder Leader of the People’s National Congress and first Prime Minister and first Executive President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.
Linden Forbes Samson Burnham played a significant role in the political social and economic development of Guyana. It was under his Leadership that Guyana attained political Independence and Republican status. It was under his leadership, in collaboration with other Caribbean Leaders, that CARICOM was initiated and developed. It was under his leadership that CARIFESTA became a reality.
And, it was also under his leadership that many of the significant infrastructural developments in Guyana materialised. These include, the MMA Scheme, the expansion of the Black Bush Polder and the Tapacuma Drainage and Irrigation Schemes; the Demerara Harbour Bridge and the Canje Bridge; the entire network of coastal roads from Corentyne to Essequibo; and, the National Cultural Center, to name just a few. It was under the leadership of Forbes Burnham that education was made free for Guyanese from Nursery to University, President’s College was built and initiated and the Guyana National Service was established. Two years ago, on a Motion by the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Robert Corbin, M.P., the National Assembly of the Parliament acknowledged his many achievements and placed on record his contribution to Guyana’s development.
The month of activities, organized countrywide by the PNCR to celebrate his Life and legacy, commenced, fittingly, with an exhibition of speeches, biographical material and a photographic gallery at ACDA’s Emancipation Festival at the National Park on 1st and 2nd August 2010.
On August 6, 2010, a floral tribute ceremony at the Mausoleum; Seven Ponds, Place of Heroes in the Botanical Gardens was held, while the main event to launch the month of activities, was held at 4:30 pm on the same day, at the Headquarters of the National Congress of Women (NCW), Kitty.
During this month, the PNCR Column will feature reflections by those who participated in the commemorative events. Today, we begin with excerpts from the presentation by PNCR’s Vice Chairman, Dr. George Norton, MP, at the Wreath laying Ceremony of August 6th 2010.
A TRIBUTE TO L.F.S BURNHAM by DR. George Norton, Vice Chairman, PNCR
If only I could change the words of that patriotic song, which was done for a true warrior in the 1978 Musical film ‘Evita’, composed by Andrea Lloyd Weber with lyrics by Tim Rice! I refer to ‘Don’t cry for me Argentina’, sung by Madonna. If only I could change it to ‘Don’t cry for me Guyana’, it would sound like this;
“Don’t cry for me Guyana
The truth is I never left you
All through my wild days
My mad existence
I kept my promise
Don’t keep your distance
As for fortune and as for fame
I never invited them in
Though it seems to the world they were all I desire
They are illusions
They are not the solutions they promised to be
The answer is here all the time
I love you and hope you love me
Don’t cry for me Guyana.”
This song was meant for the spiritual leader of the nation of Argentina, but it could have been suitably applied to Guyana, referring directly to The Founder Leader, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. He may not have wanted us to cry for him at the time of his passing, but he would have wanted us to be brave, to hurl defiance at our foes and to continue in the pursuit of our destiny. The weeping has ended and the shock has passed, and, like that music that has stopped playing, the melody lingers on. Let us not forget that one of the greatest legacies that he has left for us is the PNCR: an institutionalized Party that was founded, nurtured, developed, led and inspired by him for three decades and which we must maintain intact, strong, efficient and united.
The greatest tribute we can pay to this founder and leader of our party, this builder of our nation, this role model and father figure, is to continue his good works and to cling to his ideals. The PNCR has the historic mission to continue the disciplined, methodical and strenuous work of LFS Burnham and to make his vision a reality. He dedicated his life to the creation of a just society in which all citizens could live in an environment of substantial freedom, happiness and prosperity.
HIS VISION
This cannot be more aptly expressed as the Founder leader did himself, while addressing the leaders of all the Amerindian Communities in Guyana at that Historic Amerindian Conference of March 1969, held in Georgetown. I quote,
‘My government aims at putting an end to this attitude which has been encouraged in the past, that Amerindians are one set of people; Africans are one set of people; Indians are one set of people; and each of them must live in their own little cubicle. We have all got to live together, we have got to move amongst one another and we have got to share with one another the experience and learning that each of us might have acquired over the years. We cannot develop the coast separately from the interior.’
He went on to say ‘A man and a people are as important as they feel and as important as the contributions which they make to the building of the nation to which they belong. But that contribution can only be made if they are given the best opportunities of developing themselves, their experience and the abilities which God has given them. This is why my government has decided that all Guyanese, whoever they are and wherever they are, should have the best training and education which this country can offer. They should have the best medical service which Guyana can afford. The schools in the interior, for instance, must be as good as the schools on the coast.’
These statements were so relevant then and never more appropriate as now, some 40 years after they were spoken. They demonstrated, in no uncertain way, the faculty of clairvoyance this great man possessed.
Probably this is the reason it was said that he lived ahead of his time. In reality, his whole life was in such a hurry that when The Founder Leader walked, we trotted and ran, with the hope of barely keeping up with him.
One of his great achievements, if not the greatest, was healing the wounds of a racially divided nation in the early sixties. No one who had witnessed the almost destruction of this country through civil disturbances would have believed that any single leader, within a few years, could have brought the two major races together and begin to inspire within them the desire of being one people, of belonging to one nation with one common destiny. The Founder Leader did just that.
What manner of man is this?
Many older Guyanese might be familiar with the question made famous by the late, Dr. Ptolemy Reid, Deputy Leader of the PNCR right here at the Seven Ponds, Place of Heroes in 1985, during the final words before the last post: ‘What manner of man is this?’ I ask this same question about someone who could have been described in the following way by Dr. Mohamed Shahabudden, O.R., S.C., M.P. – Vice President, First Deputy Prime Minister and Attorney-General, a man of no mean order himself. He saw Forbes Burnham for the first time in 1953 in Holborn Hall, London, addressing students about the suspension of the British Guiana Constitution. This is how he described him:
‘His speech rose ever so discreetly above a whisper and yet commanded total attention. His presentation was seasoned, his facts well marshaled. His arguments neat, his manner sober – almost judicial. I had no difficulty in recognizing him as a decidedly superior intellect’.
Speaking of him as a lawyer, Dr. Shahabudden went on to say,
‘His language was literature. Lawyers will not easily forget his quiet, cultivated style of speaking. His cross-examination was penetrating, his advocacy forceful without being abrasive and his legal arguments seasoned and compelling. He was undeniably a brilliant lawyer.’
And about his life in general, he said,
‘Above all he was a true leader, with a special capacity to inspire, encourage and sustain flagging spirits even in the worst of times.’
I again ask that question ‘What manner of man is this?’ What was the manner of this man that he could have been so described by Sir Shridath Ramphal?
‘His word was his bond. His friendship was unequivocal. In a crisis, there was no truer companion, no more a reliable comrade. His passionate loyalty was not only given to his friends, but also to the causes for which he cared. For the whole process of decolonization, for the principles of non-alignment, in the struggle against apartheid and to the cause of West Indian unity, his commitment was unreserved.’
I would like to touch on a lighter side of his character and that is his sense of humor that was irrepressible and his quick wit, qualities that defused many a tense situation and won him many an argument. His humanity was touching and so many will remember his profound kindness. He had a sense of joy of life and he was fond of tantalizing. There was a saying that if you could not bear tantalize, don’t let the Founder Leader know your story. He would insist that much of what he was recounting was not tantalize but tanta facts. According to Ms. Joyce Sinclair, he had his weaknesses – weaknesses which made him human.
‘I recall that this great man could not carry a straight tune. He just could not sing, yet he insisted on singing his favorite songs by Nat King Cole and sometimes Aretha Franklin. We would often seek to persuade him to whistle instead. This fell on deaf ears. He just proudly sang, for he was a lover of music, well grounded in the classics.
All in all, Forbes Burnham was an extremely complex person who cannot easily be characterized in ideological terms. He was completely committed to the goals of national liberation and regional integration. He led Guyana to independence and defined the principles of statehood, which have been largely responsible for the country’s non- aligned posture and its adherence to Caribbean community. His enduring legacies are the spirit of independence and self-determination.
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The PNCR again invites all Guyanese to participate in the events planned during the month.
This country does not hear anything about oil from the PPP or the PNC
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