A stamp was yesterday unveiled to commemorate the 100th birth anniversary of the late former President Janet Jagan, OE.
According to a press release from the Office of the President, President Irfaan Ali during a ceremony held at State House to unveil the stamp, reflected on the life and works of the late president and noted that her legacy is still a driving force today.
The Head of State also used the forum to make a pitch for unity which he said is a responsibility of leaders.
“Janet Jagan was a torch bearer for freedom and democracy… Janet Jagan imbued her party with her fighting spirit. It was her example of resilience and resistance that her party turned to during the period from March to August of this year when there was a criminal conspiracy to steal our elections. Inspired by her tenacious spirit, her party resisted the attempts to deny the democratic will of the people,” the release quoted Ali as saying.
Mrs Jagan was President from 1997 to 1999 when she resigned because of ill health. She passed away on March 28, 2009.
President Ali pointed to her lifelong dedication towards ensuring that the rights of others were respected and protected, the release said and in so doing highlighted her role as a pioneer of women’s rights and her struggles while championing the cause of the working class as well as her advocacy for press freedom.
He said that her entire life was one devoted to the rights of others and that she fought for a fairer and more equal society; while adding that she used the political offices held at various times to work particularly for the improvements of workers.
The President, the release said, also called on those gathered to remember the former President’s role as a “trailblazer” on the path to Guyana’s liberty, first from the stronghold of colonial rule and later from the vice-like grip of dictatorship when she joined her husband, former President Cheddi Jagan, on the political frontlines.
The release said that the Head of State lauded the late President’s achievements as monumental and immeasurable and called on those present to not only pay homage to her legacy of freedom and democracy, but to work tirelessly towards the unification of the people of Guyana.
The release quoted Ali as saying “the time has come for us in this country to reflect with honourable intentions, to reflect with a passion, and a commitment to achieve what those who struggled selflessly wanted to achieve. And that is the unification of our people. It is the most pressing issue for us as a people. We talk a lot these days about economic bonanza that will come about, the great wealth that will come, about lifting our people from poverty. But today I say to you, the greatest of tasks and challenge for all of us, is unification of our people.”
The President the release noted said that it is the country’s leaders who will have to take up the responsibility and lead the charge towards achieving unification.
On this point he was quoted as saying, “this does not rest on the people out there. This rests entirely on the shoulders of leaders. We cannot lead without dignity. We cannot lead in a way that is disrespectful to the laws of our country. I assure you, every single day of this government’s life will be spent dedicated to this task, it will be achieved. It must be achieved. We have to break down those invisible walls and bring our people together, we owe this to the legacy of those who worked tirelessly, and selflessly, we owe this to our future generation, and we have to fix it now and fix it in this generation, and to not leave this burden upon those who will come after us. So today, as you reflect, I ask us to reignite in ourselves that spirit which saw us victorious so many times in our country. We are at our best when we’re united.”
Janet Jagan was one of the founders of the People’s Progressive Party and served in various capacities in the party. She was sworn in as Guyana’s first woman Prime Minister and First Vice-President and was later sworn in as the first woman President of Guyana.
She was also a founder of the Women’s Progressive Organisation (WPO).
