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Cheddi Jagan Research Centre to mobilise support against revocation of lease
Staff of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre remounting the sign board last Thursday after it was taken down by Ministry of the Presidency operatives
The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre Incorporated (CJRCI), the company which was granted a lease by the former People’s Progressive Party Civic government to occupy Red House on High Street, Kingston, plans to mobilise support and sensitize the public on the recent decision taken by President David Granger to revoke the said lease.
Describing the government’s action as vindictive, the CJRCI said that a number of initiatives have been planned by the Management Committee of the Centre to inform the public, both local and international about the government’s attitude towards the Centre.
In a statement circulated by the CJRCI, it said that the action by the President to order the revocation of the lease is nothing short of an assault on the legacy of the late Dr. Jagan. The statement said that Jagan had dedicated his life for a free, independent and prosperous Guyana.
The CJRCI registered the Management Committee’s condemnation of the use of known operatives from the Ministry of the Presidency who entered the compound of the Centre and removed the sign board from the building despite there being no legal basis upon which such action could have been taken.
According to the company it was unconscionable and highly unfair of the government to order the removal of over 50 years of accumulated materials and artifacts within the time period given to vacate the premises. The statement said that some of the materials are highly sensitive and delicate.
Some of the items stored at the centre include hundreds of publications, writings and speeches by former Presidents Cheddi and Janet Jagan.
The company believes that the legacy of former President Jagan is not deserving of such treatment. “It is known by all, including some of Dr. Jagan’s detractors that he was the main architect of Guyana’s independence struggle and whose vision paved the way for the construction of a modern and democratic state. Few, if any, can dispute the fact that he was Guyana’s greatest revolutionary, statesman, politician and liberator.”
Since the revocation of the lease was ordered by President Granger, PPP/C members, former Attorney-General Anil Nandlall; and former Minister of Education Priya Manickchand, both lawyers, moved to the High Court on December 30, 2016 and obtained a Conservatory Order restraining the government from evicting the centre.
The company was formed by members of the PPP/C. Based on information received by the government on March 30, 2012 a lease for 99 years was granted without the approval of the President at the time nor the National Trust of Guyana, which contravenes Section 10 of the Lands Department Act Chapter 59:01.
However, Nandlall and his team have argued against this position. As a result Chief Justice (Ag) Yonette Cummings-Edwards after hearing the Ex-Parte application by way of an affidavit ordered that all items, property and artifacts stored at Red House not to be interfered with or removed until further notice by the court. The matter will continue on February 20, next.
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