Latest update December 2nd, 2024 12:58 AM
Re-evaluating Freddie Kissoon’s assessment of Burnham
DEAR EDITOR,
Kaieteur News columnist Mr. Freddie Kissoon’s analysis (KN Nov. 23, 2019) of the PNC and its Founder/ Leader the late Forbes Burnham did not portray the really true image of Forbes Burnham.
While Mr. Kissoon correctly depicts Burnham as a true anti-imperialist in his early sojourn in office, he however failed in his analysis to highlight some salient attributes of the late comrade leader.
The 1964 election which inserted the PNC/UF coalition to power was barely over when rifts evolved between Mr. Peter D’Aguiar, the Finance Minister and leader of the UF in the coalition government and the Kabaka.
The UF was maneuvered out of the coalition government, followed by alleged rigged elections in 1968. In 1971 Burnham embarked on a programme to feed, house, and clothe the nation by 1976. Like countless ill-fated programmes, this one was a colossus failure.
But Burnham also outmaneuvered the Marxist PPP leader, the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Nationalization of the commanding heights of the economy (bauxite and sugar) perpetuated a specter of doom over institutions like the commercial banks and other private companies. Incidentally, Jagan urged further nationalization of foreign companies and in his own words declared “We have forced the PNC to accept Socialism, so while they will be pulling the cart, the PPP will be holding the reins”.
He then embarked on a most bizarre programme of ‘Critical Support’ for Burnham. What a decision from a man who more than half the people of Guyana idolized! Jagan’s skewed political antics had rivaled nothing seen in Guyana before.
Not long after, the Burnham regime, in the midst of a semi starving nation, boldly embarked in the creation of a vast array of para-military organizations such as the Young Socialist Movement, National Service, Tactical Services Unit, and Peoples’ Militia, among others which securely entrenched him in power. National Service caused huge numbers of University of Guyana students to quit studies. Burnham used these entities to entrench himself deeper in power and to suppress the opposition; notwithstanding, these entities wreaked havoc on the country’s finances, which led to a partial collapse of the economy. The end result was huge shortages of food items and other basic human amenities.
Cornered by the imperialist forces and international financial institutions, Forbes Burnham found redemption in the Non Aligned Movement (NAM) which was formed in 1961 and became the second largest grouping of states worldwide after the United Nations.
The NAM provided the opportunity for Forbes Burnham to vent his frustration on the neo-imperialists and the western financial institutions which provided little or no financial assistance to Guyana, due largely to his nationalization and socialist policies.
The PNC Leader used the NAM platform to condemn apartheid in South Africa, but practiced his own brand at home. At the regional level, most of the CARICOM leaders embraced Burnham’s socialist philosophy, because the alternative was Marxism under Cheddi Jagan.
That said, it is true that ‘Burnham was essentially driven by narcissism, self-awareness of his exceptional qualities, and was a serious embracer of authoritarian philosophy’ as adumbrated by Mr. Kissoon.
Burnham had a vision to develop Guyana, but he was also vindictive to the point where his vindictiveness overshadowed his vision. He was caught up with the egotistical need to brandish power and the logical course to develop a country. But he was caught up between the racial politics in Guyana, the Cold War era, and the toxic international environment.
Leyland Chitlall Roopnaraine
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