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Recalling Protests of Guyanese at United Nations

Sep 27, 2024 Letters

Dear Editor,

The United Nations Annual General Assembly (UNGA) opened last September 10 with leaders of countries addressing the world institution. This is the 79th session of the GA since it was founded at the end of WWII. Coinciding with the GA is the Summit of the Future (SOTF) which was on September 22, 23.  Selected leaders addressed the august body.  Prime Minister Modi addressed the body on Sept 22 on SOTF. President Irfaan Ali addressed the GA on September 24.  This week, there were rallies and protests on varied issues but none directly relating to Guyana or our President except generally on climatic matters which the President and the government support in order to reduce green-house effect. Ali has committed to preserving our rain forest and Guyana is being handsomely rewarded for it.

Massive protests have been a norm at the opening session (and continuing for days) of the United Nations annual General Assembly on 44th Street in Manhattan east side especially when prominent global leaders addressed the body – like that of USA, USSR or Russia, Britain, Germany, among others). Nationals of countries would also show up to picket or show support when their leader addressed the body. The assembly usually opened in early or mid-September. I recall Guyanese, me included, being in front of the UN across the street for every assembly during the late 1970s and 1980s thru 1992. They (we) stood in rain or shine with picket signs and bull horns competing for space and world attention among the hundreds of other groups that also wanted their issues addressed.

That was where our Guyanese Brother Arjune Bechu (working in Georgia) held his weeklong fast; several of us took the week off from work in solidarity with Bechu). Bechu, a Gandhian, sent a letter to Hoyte threatening his overthrow with a humanitarian fast and peaceful protest. When Bechu visited Guyana after the protest, he was harassed. The New York Guyanese protests were organized by the support groups of PPP (ACG), WPA, DLM, and an independent group to which I belonged. The Guyanese were protesting against fraudulent elections and human rights abuses in Guyana and appealing for global support for restoration of democratic governance. At times, dozens of Guyanese were at the rally and at times only a handful of us were at the annual rally or protest — Arjune Karshan, Chuck Mohan, Baytoram Ramharack, Vassan Ramracha, and me. Baytoram, Vassan, and me would skip class while in college (at CCNY or NYU) and teaching duty (calling in sick, violating contractual rules) to organize, write and print literature for distribution, and attend the annual rally. Karshan, Chuck, Mel Carpen, David Hinds, Lincoln Van Sluytman, and other Guyanese would also take time off their jobs to be at the annual rally whenever possible. Staff (Kester Alves and others) from the Guyana UN Mission would pass by, collect handout, and mock us for the low turnout and or waved and laughed at us perhaps seeing us as fools wasting precious time on what they may have thought was an elusive goal.

Was it wasted time rally in front of UN for 15 years? Democracy has been restored in Guyana since October 1992. And as best as I can recall, there has not been any rallies or protest relating to Guyana in front of the UN since that year.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram

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