Dear Editor,
Reference is made to your news report and missives on Sir Shridath Ramphal. There were glowing tributes. Is that all the public knows about Sir Shridath? Colleagues involved in the struggle against the dictatorship and election rigging pondered whether this was the Ramphal they battled against for free and fair elections, restoration of democracy, and the campaign against racism in Guyana.
I don’t wish to be an odd person in offering the lone critique of Mr. Ramphal but some aspects of truth must be told. People and the media tend to write positively about the deceased. But the media and the public must be honest and objective when reporting on and paying tributes to towering personalities of the past so that present and future generations can learn about them and have an accurate history of their (political) life, especially their role in consolidating and perpetuating the dictatorship and all the attendant effects of that system of governance that oppressed a nation. The truth would assist future politicians from avoiding a repeat of the past. And I don’t think the family of Mr. Ramphal would be offended if the public is informed of a balanced assessment and truths surrounding Ramphal especially on the rise of the dictatorship, oppression, racism, and other negativities.
Ramphal’s life and legacy were marked by controversy. Yes, he made significant contributions to the (British) Commonwealth and Caribbean integration, but he also supported and was a beneficiary of a dictatorship in Guyana. There is no doubt Ramphal was an eminent person. What led to his eminence? Ramphal was a beneficiary of the removal of Dr. Cheddi Jagan from office and the rigging of elections. The removal of Dr. Jagan in December 1964 led to the replacement of Sir Fenton Ramsahoye by Shridath Ramphal as Attorney General and Foreign Minister. Dr Ramsahoye was approached by Forbes Burnham to defect from Jagan for the position of Attorney General, but on principle he declined the offer. If the 1968 election was not rigged, would Ramphal have continued being Attorney General? So Ramphal was a beneficiary of that election rigging against Jagan and the PPP. Ramphal also benefited from the 1973 election rigging after he which he became Foreign Minister that led to his international career as Secretary General of the Commonwealth. He never condemned riggings and never offered an apology for his role in the rise of the authoritarian state and of denying Jagan his rightful place as the legitimate Prime Minister.
It is noted that Cheddi and Janet Jagan never fraternized with Ramphal and had nothing flattering to say about him, only words of condemnation for his role in the dictatorship. I joined Janet, Cheddi, Kwayana and others picketing Ramphal (July 1991) and Caricom team in front of Pegasus Hotel focusing attention on fraudulent elections and suppression of freedom. Ramphal mocked and ridiculed us grabbing a picket and illustrating how we should hold picket signs. When we picketed him in New York (April 1991) in front of Medgar Evers, he did not mock us because in USA picketers and protesters have rights quite unlike in then Guyana. The following day, we were threatened with arrest if we continued the picketing as Janet, Kwayana and other PCD leaders met with Ramphal and his CARICOM team making a case for return of democratic rule and free and fair elections (FFE) in Guyana.
He never condemned election rigging or the assassination of Rodney, Father Darke, Edwin Dublin, Ohene Koama, and others
Yours sincerely,
Vishnu Bisram
