Latest update August 16th, 2026 10:20 AM
Latest News
- Four more oil discoveries in Guyana likely to go “above and beyond what we thought were opportunities” – Exxon CEO
- Disgraceful for VP Jagdeo, Min. Bharrat to allow citizens to rely on Exxon for updates on recovery of all investments – Christopher Ram
- Linden chef killed in Soesdyke-Linden accident
- Rapid expansion in Guyana could add 307MW daily by 2030 – GPL
- Powerful magnitude 7.7 earthquake kills at least 47 in Indonesia
We must not forget October 6, 1980 and the sadness it brought
Dear Editor,
Friday October 6th, 2017 marks 37 years since the imposition of the 1980 Constitution by the late P.N.C maximum leader Mr. L.S.F Burnham. The centuries of bloody struggle waged by our fore-parents for Freedom, Justice and Human Dignity against the forces of European Imperialism and the plantocracy, all came to a dreadful end on October 6th, 1980 when Burnham and his People’s National Congress usurped all our rights as an independent people in the skillfully crafted New People’s Constitution, which centralised all power in his hands as Executive President sending Guyanese politically into a remote period pre-dating the Great Magna Carta of 1215.
This constitution was to oversee the transition of Guyana from a Capitalist State to a Socialist State and was to usher in the era of the Marxist concept of “Dictatorship of the Proletariat.” In doing so Burnham unleashed into the lives of the Guyanese nation a long, dark night of the dictator, a cycle of Cruelty, Poverty and Oppression that was to witness the migration of half of our population.
With the defeat of the P.N.C at the General Elections of 1992 by the PPP by the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a constitutional reform commission was set up. Twenty five years have elapsed since that commission came into existence and in excess of one billion Guyana dollars have been spent and we are still in the woods so to speak as far as constitutional reform has gone. More than 95% of the population has never had access to the 1980 Constitution or seen the Reform Edition.
Articles 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 161, 162 and 212 are some of the Articles in which the autocratic powers of the Executive President are vested, making him as powerful as the old Tudor King Henry VIII of England. Reforms of the 1980 constitution so far are cosmetics, which in the long run will need to be rewritten to empower the Guyanese people. The P.N.C and the P.P.P have deliberately thwarted our destiny as a nation by denying us our inalienable rights to our land. They have kept us in a state of poverty and dependence and criminalized our young people.
Friday 6th of October, 2017 is a Red Letter Day for all Guyanese. As a nation we are trapped in a time warp where for 37 years we continue to repeatedly go through the same motion under worsening conditions of life. The Guyana United Artists to commemorate this historic occasion will be displaying a small collection of paintings pertaining to this tragic period in Guyanese history on the square of the Revolution from 10 A.M to 1 P.M on Friday 6th of October.
Desmond Alli
General Secretary
Guyana United Artists (G.U.A)
Share this:
Discover more from Kaieteur News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Similar Articles
One thought on “We must not forget October 6, 1980 and the sadness it brought”
Blunt of the day
Sports
Features/Columnists
Sir. Ronald Sanders
The GHK Lall Column
Weekend Cartoon
‘We must not forget October 6, 1980 and the sadness it brought’
Good letter and reminder
Hope you provide the changes since and the major players for the record