A MILESTONE IN GUYANA

Jan 15, 2018 Editorial

Someone once said that politics is the way that people in groups make decisions. It is about politicians making agreements between people so that they can live together in groups in cities or countries. Another suggested that without politics, society, even when perfect, will be a jungle. And not to be overly philosophical, politics is the art or science to guide or influence governmental policy and how people, especially politicians deal with issues, disappointment and any range of expression.
It is within this context that we in 2018 should remember our political icons, especially the late Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan for their sterling contributions to Guyana’s political tapestry and for being acclaimed our founding fathers.
Collectively, they have given almost a century of political leadership to Guyanese at home and abroad and have enriched the lives of thousands in Guyana and across the globe. Too often, we do not appreciate their brilliance, effort, commitment and sacrifice to end colonialism in Guyana. The mileage they have given Guyana cannot be over-emphasised. But it was Forbes Burnham who charted a new course for Guyana, following its independence on May 26, 1966.
February this year, which coincidentally will be Guyana’s 48 Republic Anniversary is also the 95th birth anniversary of Guyana’s first executive president, Forbes Burnham and the 100th for Cheddi Jagan. Elected to office in December 1964, Forbes Burnham was designated Executive President and Head of State following a change in the Constitution in 1980. It was a milestone achievement for Guyana.
Burnham believed in a cooperative socialist model for development, which he referred to as Cooperative Socialism. During his tenure as Head of State, he gradually adopted a non-capitalist path to nation-building. His own philosophical convictions impelled him to take control of the commanding heights of the economy to establish national institutions to buttress his socialist agenda of making the small man a real man.
At the international level, he established diplomatic and trade relationships with the world’s socialist community as Guyana became an activist State within the Non-Aligned Movement, and championed ardently and unapologetically the cause of the African Liberation Movement, and indeed, the liberation of the oppressed peoples the world over. Regionally, Burnham mobilised the leadership of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the direction of regional cooperation and trade.
Born during the era of colonial oppression, Forbes Burnham understood and experienced the concepts of exploitation, inequity and indignity. He was a brilliant son of the soil and proceeded to study law in the United Kingdom. While in London, a natural affinity emerged for African leaders and their struggle for independence. It was the birth of his spirit of internationalism. That was crystallized on his return to British Guiana in 1949 and became an essential component of the political leadership that had embarked on the arduous struggle for independence.
As Leader of the Opposition in Parliament in 1960, Burnham was arrested while attending the Constitutional Talks in Great Britain for protesting against apartheid policies of South Africa. That was the beginning of his long and consistent fight against racist South Africa.
For him, apartheid was abhorrent. Burnham more than any regional and many international leaders heightened global interest in the African cause, which was a major thrust of Guyana’s diplomatic outreach. His grand strategy was to support, unconditionally, the African liberation struggle in moral, material and other forms. In every regional and international forum, Burnham vigorously championed the cause of the African people. He subscribed to the imperishable truth that Guyana cannot be free if Africa remained under colonial domination.
The inhuman incarceration of Nelson Mandela and other African leaders and the slaughter of Africans, who yearned for freedom, agonised him but strengthened his resolve to support Africa’s freedom. He operationalised that strategy with parliamentary approval to commit an annual disbursement to aid African freedom fighters. On the occasion of the 33rd observance of the passing of President Burnham, and the 21st for President Jagan, we must honour their contributions to make Guyana a better place, which neither cynics nor foes could deny.

Discover more from Kaieteur News

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Latest News