Dear Editor,
At the risk of Mr Bisram becoming my pen pal, I thought I should respond to his letter published on Friday December 5, 2008, captioned ‘Not rooted in the colonial past.’ Mr Bisram may be unaware that there are no longer British Overseas Dependant Territories.
They are now called British Overseas Territories (BOT) because they are not now dependant on Britain, apart from Montserrat and Saint Helena which receive some budgetary assistance. Dr Ewart Brown, Premier of Bermuda recently told the House of Assembly that though Britain had supreme authority over Bermuda, they did not contribute a penny to its livelihood, and the colonial relationship cost Bermudian taxpayers $2M a year for the Governor and Deputy Governor’s salaries, the upkeep of Government House and all their expenses.
It is untrue that there is rejection of independence in the BOTs.
Those jurisdictions have independence movements, some more vibrant than others. It is only a matter of time before those jurisdictions break the bonds of the colonial past. They receive no significant benefits from Britain and like a child who’s grown, done well in school, is self sufficient with a nagging parent, the time comes to move on.
British Guiana had reached a certain threshold and both Mr Burnham and Dr Jagan felt that it was time to liberate us from colonial domination. Our political leaders infused us with a sense that we were masters of our own fate and that through self confidence we and our nation could move to a higher level. No more political servitude. Of course, mistakes were made and they may have been the mistakes of a pathfinder. The slogans advanced by Mr Burnham had to be embraced by the people.
There’s no political leader in Guyana who would disagree that Guyanese should feed, clothe and house themselves, and that we should’ve been doing this a long time ago. There’s no political leader who would disagree that any Guyanese could aspire to reach the top in any endeavour in Guyana, including becoming the head of state. It is that concept that makes the small man, a real man.
In the jurisdictions that have not attained republican status from the United Kingdom, they are bound by the Act of Settlement 1701. The selection and succession of their head of state still lies within the control of the British Parliament and is identical to that in the United Kingdom. A Roman Catholic, Hindu or Muslim or a person married to either, cannot be the head of state. The head of state is required to hold the position of Supreme Governor of the Church of England and succession is by male-preference primogeniture.
In spite of the difficulties that Guyana has undergone and survived, not unlike the developed world, my generation hasn’t looked to ‘Massa’ with faith, believing that no one is better.
The Privy Council has suggested in no uncertain terms that we should be on our way out, and as Mr Bisram pointed out some time ago, the United Kingdom has no real interest in holding on to its Overseas Territories.
Yet the misguided few continue to oppose for opposition’s sake and seek to convince others that pride and unconditional independence be damned. We must have self respect. We must have that hope and vision to move Guyana forward by our own devices, not believing that we are not good enough, not waiting for handouts. Can we do it?
Yes we can.
Yours faithfully,
Dawn A Holder
