Guyana is at a much better place after a chequered past

May 25, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

May 26, 2024 marks 58 years since the conferral of independence status to the then colony of British Guiana after some 150 years of British colonial rule.

I wish to share some perspectives on Guyana’s independence struggle, especially in light of conflicting narratives on who and which political party can be credited as the architect of our independence struggle.

It is an established fact that British Guiana as the colony was called prior to independence on May 26, 1966, was on the international spotlight due mainly to the leftist orientation of the PPP under the leadership of Dr. Cheddi Jagan. It will be recalled that the British Government suspended the colony’s constitution in 1953 after six months of the PPP in office out of concern that the policies of the PPP were too ‘extremist’. The final straw that literally broke the camel’s back was the attempted passage of the Labour Relations Bill which would have given recognition to the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers’ Union (now GAWU) which was the favoured union by sugar workers, as opposed to the Man Power Citizen’s Association (MPCA) which was seen by the workers as a company union. The Bill, in the words of Dr. Jagan, touched ‘King Sugar’ which eventually led to the demise of the short-lived PPP government.

Interestingly, the PPP went on to win subsequent elections in 1957 and 1961 but there was always an uneasy relationship between the PPP regime and the British Government especially in the context of Cold War politics. The fact that Fidel Castro took power through revolutionary means in Cuba, considered to be the US backyard, exacerbated fears of the potential emergence of a ‘second Cuba’ in the western hemisphere. Based on such fears, the Kennedy administration applied pressure on the British Government to delay independence to the colony until such time that a way was found to remove the PPP from office.

That way was found when the British Government imposed a system of proportional representation in the 1964 elections. The PPP had won all elections since 1953 under the constituency system of voting. The elections of 1964 under proportional representation saw the formation of a PNC-UF coalition government. Two years later independence was granted to the colony on May 26, 1966 even though the British Government had earlier given a commitment that independence will be granted after the 1961 elections. The PPP won the elections but Britain reneged on its promise mainly out of political/ideological considerations.

Independence therefore was handed on a platter to the PNC-UF administration under the leadership of Forbes Burnham, despite the fact that it was Dr. Jagan and the PPP that led the struggle for independence. Dr. Jagan was unrelenting in his advocacy for independence. He had the distinction of being the first leader of a colony to have petitioned the United Nations Decolonization Committee for early independence which no doubt precipitated the decision by Britain to consider the granting of independence to the colony. Burnham, on the other hand, was driven primarily by political opportunism and a desire to assert himself politically in the affairs of the country as was pointed by the Robertson Commission which was set up by the Colonial Office to examine the reasons for the suspension of the constitution.

Be that as may, independence for Guyana was undoubtedly a step forward in terms of our sense of nationhood and was warmly received by the majority of the Guyanese people. The hoisting of the Golden Arrowhead and the lowering of the Union Jack remained etched in the memories of all Guyanese who would have witnessed that epoc-making ceremony.

Guyana is today at a much better place after a checkered past, characterised by undemocratic rule and flawed economic policies by the then PNC regime which ruled Guyana for twenty-six years after the attainment of independence status. The stature of Guyana under the current PPP/C administration is growing and the country is now ranked among the fold of democratic nations in the Commonwealth and the broader international community.

Hydar Ally

British, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Guyana, Hydar Ally, PPP

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