Fifty years ago this week, the then fledgling Cooperative Republic of Guyana attracted the world’s attention when it hosted its largest international event to date. The occasion was the Foreign Ministers Conference of the Movement of Non-Aligned Countries, scheduled for 8th to 11th August at the Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston. It was the first gathering of the movement held in the Western Hemisphere and it was also the first Foreign Ministers Conference.
Our capital, Georgetown, the Garden City, was a hive of activity, as a fleet of brand new Austin cars affixed with licence plates bearing the letters GUY and numerical digits, buzzed the visiting delegates around the then immaculately manicured grid of avenues and streets. The meeting was attended by representatives from 59 full member countries and observers from ten countries, while nine countries were invited guests. At its conclusion a Declaration, a Statement on International Security and Disarmament, and resolutions on a number of topics including decolonisation and coordination were adopted.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashleigh Jackson, (who also served as our Permanent Representative to the UN – 1973-78), then the Permanent Secretary in the Foreign Affairs Ministry oversaw the coordination of the secretariat which organised the conference. Reflecting on the occasion in his book Guyana’s Diplomacy (2003), Jackson stated, “To my mind, the most significant achievements of the conference were the decisions regarding economic cooperation. Those decisions converted into a concrete programme of activities the principles on economic cooperation among developing countries which were adumbrated at two [previous] conferences [Cairo 1964 and Lusaka 1970].”
Mr Jackson noted that the four subgroups highlighted for priority attention for advancing economic cooperation among non-aligned countries were (i) Trade, Transport and Industry, (ii) Financial and Monetary matters, (iii) Private Sector Investment, (iv) Research, Science and Technology. Guyana was duly assigned the responsibility for the first area which gave rise to the APEC/TTI Secretariat, staffed by international experts.
The former diplomat did not sidestep the nadir of the conference which fell into dispute with the walkout staged by the delegates from Indonesia, Laos and Malaysia. They were protesting the agreement reached after extensive debate to recognise the Royal Government of National Union of Cambodia as the sole legitimate representative of Cambodia and the admission of the PRG of the Republic of South Vietnam as a full member. Both of these countries had been invited to the conference as observers. As a result the meeting was extended an extra day – until August 12th – to complete the agenda.
At the time of hosting the Non Aligned Foreign Ministers Conference, the government of the day placed heavy emphasis on international relations and diplomacy. In fact, as Mr Jackson acknowledged this point in an interview with the Institute of Commonwealth Studies in July, 2015, “In terms of the claim by Venezuela, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the first line of defence. We had to use diplomacy in order to advance our case…” When Venezuela formally applied for full membership of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1982, Guyana was able to garner support to stymie the bid “on the ground that actions taken against it [Guyana] by Venezuela in prosecuting its territorial claim were inconsistent with the principles and policies of non-alignment.”
A cursory glance at the then list of our Ambassadors and High Commissioners and their diplomatic aides revealed a line-up of the best and the brightest minds whose collective sharp intellect was quickly able to put our infant country’s name on the map of foreign affairs. Our active participation in other international fora including the Commonwealth, the organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), and closer to home, Carifta and Caricom, coupled with detailed planning and intense lobbying led to our country earning prestigious positions on the world stage.
During this period of ‘riding high’ in terms of diplomatic exposure and standing, Guyana served two terms – 1975/76 and 1982/83 – on the UN Security Council, had one of its sons, Sir Shridath Ramphal, appointed as the second Commonwealth Secretary General (1975 -1990) and another, Dr Mohamed Shahabuddeen, elected to a seat on the International Court of Justice (1988 – 97). Mr Jackson noted that in addition to the aforementioned efforts these successful candidatures were boosted by, “Guyana’s successful hosting of the Conference of Foreign Ministers of Non-Aligned Countries in 1972 and the active and positive role Guyana played in the establishment of the ACP…, as well as its role as a spokesman for the Caribbean in the negotiations with what was then the European Economic Community.”
Fifty years on, there are two landmarks which commemorate our hosting of that historic meeting. Firstly, there is the Non Aligned Monument, one of our nine national monuments, located in Company Path Gardens, just west of the world famous St George’s Cathedral. On the structure there are four busts bearing the likenesses of the founders: Gamal Nasser (Egypt), Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Jawaharlal Nehru (India) and Josip Tito (Yugoslavia), complemented by four large quartz stones from Orinduik Falls. Secondly, there is the Umana Yana (Amerindian word for meeting place) benab which was constructed on the grounds of the former Mariner Club just across from the Pegasus Hotel, by a group of 60 Wai Wais from the village of Konashen in the Deep South Rupununi. It served as a lounge and recreation centre during the conference. Unfortunately ravaged by a fire in 2014, the structure was completely rebuilt in 2016 and continues to serve as a place for gatherings, meetings, conferences, exhibitions, and all manner of functions.
Unfortunately, the absence of bipartisan politics in our history has allowed this formidable legacy of our presence on the international arena to be dissipated. We should all be hanging our heads in shame that local politics was the deciding factor when our country was denied the distinction of having Jackson serve as the President of the United Nations General Assembly. Perhaps, one day, we can dispense with all the petty politics, sit down as a mature nation and live up to our country’s motto. The Umana Yana would be the perfect venue.
