Dear Editor,
In her pathetic Part 2 effort to re-write Guyana’s history in the October 8, 2009 edition of SN, Estherine Adams noted, “The spate of social upheavals during the period of 1962 to 1964 had made British Guiana ungovernable and militated against the grant of independence for the country prior to 1966.” Space may have forced Ms Adams to omit very vital facts in her missive.
The Truth: There were players who were known and not shielded by history. It was not just the “social upheavals” which made the country ungovernable. The Leaders of the PNC and UF were the ones who made the country ungovernable when they set out to overthrow Dr C.B. Jagan. Note: the word “ungovernable” which seems well-known nowadays was the mantra of the late H.D. Hoyte who pledged to make the country “ungovernable” sometime before his demise.
Although Ms Adams’ Part 1 sought to lay a foundation for the narrative beginning with the struggle of Dr. C.B. Jagan, she gave the impression that the “social upheavals” of the sixties came suddenly out of thin air. But we who live through the suspension of the Constitution in 1953 knew since then that the removal of Dr. Jagan was the goal of the Colonials and their local lackeys (Burnham and D’Aguiar) citing Communism (the Red Herring) as the reason. The British and US with their agents used Burnham and D’Aguiar to overthrow Jagan and in the process had to delay Guyana’s Independence.
Burnham never let up in his bid to overthrow Jagan since 1953. I read and re-read Part 1 hoping to see some impartiality, but the writer was bent ever since in glossing over those who were the culprits in the crucial stages of the history she was trying to re-write. Furthermore, the readers must know that it was not simply the supporters of Burnham who wanted him as their leader. It was Burnham who tried since 1953 to take over the PPP but failed.
So in 1955 Burnham took away a faction of the Vanguard Party (the PPP) leaving Jagan with the others, a mixed bag who stayed with him (including Sydney King and other Mixed/Black Leaders). Immediately I see the drift of the writer in seeking to rewrite our history to form an opinion on who started the racial divide in British Guiana.
Many have since tried to label Dr. Jagan as a racist, but the facts speak for themselves. The man could not be a racist seeking to forge a working class struggle.
Ms Adams desperately sought to shield the real culprit of the racial split from the jury of history. And because that verdict was muffled by the guilty Colonials, the willing party continued to vie for control of the nation using every method possible. Tim Weiner, Arthur Schlesinger, The Declassified Documents (Washington and UK) would reveal more than what Ms Adams is seeking to peddle to the unwary readers.
She wrote, “The first in a series of crises occurred in 1962, the occasion being the presentation of the Government’s budget, which became known as the Kaldor budget, after its formulator. It attempted to raise funds for economic development mainly through tapping domestic sources of capital. The budget encountered very strong opposition from the PNC and UF, some of the business interests, newspapers and the trade union movement which called a strike.
“The disturbances culminated in widespread violence and arson in Georgetown on February 16, 1962. When the disturbances, which came to be known as “Black Friday”, came to an end there were serious consequences for the country. The biggest damage was, however, done to the PPP regime, which was unable to maintain order in Georgetown, and had to call on British arms to assist in maintaining control.”
The Truth: There are lots of gross omissions. The writer must realize that many of us lived through every phase of the ’social upheavals’ which did not just happen. They were deliberately caused. And as the one who is educating us Ms Adams should know the movers were the ones who did not want Dr C. Jagan to gain Independence and be the first Prime Minister.
Those movers include L.F.S. Burnham and P. D’Aguiar, who were covertly supported by the CIA, the X13 Plan, the TUC, the AFL-CIO, the ICFTU, the Scharwtz-led Christian Anti-Communist Crusade and others. We cannot overlook the fact that the Disciplined Services (Police, Riot Squad and Volunteer Forces) were virtually up front in aiding the violence.
The February 16, 1962 “Black Friday” was initiated by both Burnham and D’Aguiar, pictured in the front page of the Guyana Graphic, joining hands as they led the riotous mobs against the Kaldor Budget.
E.A. wrote, “The following year, 1963, witnessed further disturbances. The 80-days strike, as it was dubbed, stemmed from the introduction of the Labour Relations Bill. One of the key political objectives of the Bill was to replace the company union, the MPCA, with GAWU, which was controlled by the PPP. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) called a general strike. This strike was supported by the MPCA, the PNC, the UF, the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce, the police force and mainly by the American-controlled, Interna-tional Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), of which the TUC was an affiliate. During the strike, the ICFTU organised a general blockade of air and sea traffic to Guyana and supplied money and food to the strikers, which aided in prolonging the strike…”
The Truth: EA omitted that the MPCA was in cahoots with the planter class in suppressing sugar workers. That GAWU was enjoying majority support of the sugar workers but was not allowed to be their bargaining agent. That in May 1963 the infamous X13 Plan was hatched to put a stop to the efforts of the PPP and GAWU which showed their advantage in numbers. The Plan was leaked but not shut down.
E.A. wrote, “The third crisis was somewhat different in nature. It was also the most serious in nature. In late January, 1964, the PPP launched what Dr. Jagan called “a hurricane of protest” in order “to afford our supporter the opportunity to demonstrate their confidence in the leaders of the party in the face of the British Government’s betrayal at the London Conference.”
In her obvious agenda she indicts the PPP, “The PPP sought to create widespread disruption in the colony to dissuade Britain from implementing the Sandy’s decision, which had decided all issues against the PPP at the London Independence Conference.”
The Truth: E.A. suddenly came to knowledge of who was creating trouble. She omitted to accuse the PNC and UF of creating widespread violence in 1962, 1963 and 1964. They were not so blatantly indicted for February 16, Black Friday 1962. The simple question is who was seeking to oust the PPP? The answer would account for who was behind the violence in the nation. In May 1964, the X13 Plan was unleashed first in Wismar against the minority Indian population there with the Volunteer Force looking on as some of the most bizarre crimes were committed on unarmed Indians.
EA wrote, “Incidence of violence broke out in January and by the end of July, over 170 persons, mainly people of African and East Indian ancestry, had died. There was widespread destruction of property and thousands of persons fled their home districts. Conditions had deteriorated so badly that a State of Emergency was declared. Eventually the volatile civil disturbances, which featured prominently during the 1962-1964 period, became a major obstacle in Britain granting political independence before 1966.”
The Truth: GAWU strikes began in Berbice where sugar workers tried to stop a truck load of scabs (strike breakers). Gunraj and Monroe were killed in the attack on the truck at Tain Public Road. Kowsilla was killed when a strike breaker drove a tractor into a group of women sitting on a Sugar Estate bridge in West Demerara. By May, 1964, the X13 Plan was put into action in Wismar.
E.A. wrote “Inability of the three main political parties to agree on an independence constitution and a date for independence also militated against the granting of independence before 1966…”
This just glosses over the entire issue if not to dismiss it with the “inability of the three main political parties to agree.” Oh, after all the efforts at destabilization, violence and bloodshed, we see it was much more than disagreement on political issues. The Independence of British Guiana was deliberately stalled by the moves to overthrow Dr C.B. Jagan with the attendant moves to install (to the regrets of the world) a most despised Dictator who virtually brought Guyana to ruins.
Yours faithfully,
Seopaul Singh