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Disgraceful!
The morning after Fidel Castrol died the President of Guyana was interviewed by the local media. He described how Castro transformed politics in the western hemisphere, he was the best known person in the western hemisphere, he was of significance to Guyana and Guyana is saddened at his passing.
Guyana may have been saddened but it surely has hardly mourned the death of Fidel.
Last Friday, at the urging of the Caribbean Community, Guyana declared that all flags be flown at half-mast. Guyana did not declare a day or a week of mourning for Fidel, one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century.
It is of note that the former President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar signed the Book of Condolence at the Cuban Embassy before our own Head of State, who signed it only after he had returned from the 50th Independence anniversary celebrations in Barbados.
Guyana has not announced any commemorative activity in honour of this icon of the Caribbean.
This is the type of tribute that the Guyanese nation is paying to a country which has been the most helpful to Guyana in its fifty years of Independence.
No other country has been as helpful and generous to Guyana as has been Cuba, a nation which has been subject to economic genocide because of the economic embargo which was placed on it by the United States of America.
Fidel Castrol helped Guyana more than any other leader. Cuba still has a significant medical presence in Guyana and has trained hundreds of local doctors and other personnel.
The Cuban medical personnel must be distraught by the death of their former leader. Yet, no activity has been organized to offer support to the Cubans who are working in Guyana. That is shameful.
The Communist Party of Cuba, the party of Fidel Castro, was close to both the PPP and the PNC. In fact, the closet that Guyana has ever come to political unity was because of the Cubans who urged both Burnham and Jagan to mend their fences.
The Castro government declared days of mourning for Guyanese political leaders. It declared days of mourning on the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. It did the same when Forbes Burnham died in 1985 and again when Cheddi Jagan died.
Guyana could not muster the courage to declare even one day of mourning for Fidel. It has to be urged on by the Caribbean Community.
This is a disgrace considering that the two major political parties in Guyana have had very close fraternal relations with the Cuban Communist Party.
The lukewarm expressions of sympathy and lack of any meaningful support for the Cuban people is perhaps reflective more about concerns as to how the United States would react.
Many years ago, Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa paid a visit to the United States. At one public event, he was questioned as to how it is he can have friendly relations with Castro and Gaddafi, given their human rights records.
Mandela’s answer almost took the roof off. He said that one of the mistakes that (western) political analysts make is to assume that their enemies were the enemies of South Africa.
He said that South Africa’s attitude to other nations is based on those nations attitude to South Africa and as far as he was concerned, Cuba and Libya had supported the struggle of the African National Congress to the hilt.
The PNC ought never to have forgotten what Cuba did for Guyana. It ought to recall the extremely close ties its founder leader had with Castro’s Cuba.
Self-interest alone should have forced Guyana to adopt a more sympathetic stance towards the death of Castro. Guyana is facing a threat from Venezuela.
If there is any nation in the western hemisphere which can restrain Venezuela, it is Cuba. For that reason alone, it should have declared a week or mourning for a fallen comrade, El Commandante Fidel Castro Ruz!
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