Comments on: The Rupununi Rebellion, 1969

By: Macushi Piyasang

Macushi Piyasang — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 01:44:36 +0000

Isn’t on 3rd Jan.1969 ?

By: Bricks

Bricks — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:35:49 +0000

Tony ,as a former army officer and having served in Lethem ,I would to compliment you on what you did,landing at Manari under those crazy conditions,I served with the first officer who landed in Lethem and he described some of the conditions there thank you for updating me on what went down.

By: Tony Man Son Hing

Tony Man Son Hing — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 01:53:20 +0000

A well documented and accurate account by David Granger.Here is a short addendum to the military campaign .

On 3rd Jan 1968 GAC pilots Tony Man Son Hing and Gerry Sutton operated 3 flights from Atkinson airport to Manari transporting GDF troops and arms with Col Cecil Martindale on board the first flight.The Manari airport was secured by the GDF who arrived the evening prior and short field landings of the DC3 were done successfully with a section of the airstrip blocked by a disabled Cessna 172 which was allegedly damaged by a firearm which was accidentally discharged .
The Lethem airport was secured by the GDF later in the day and the DC3 piloted by Captain Tony Man Son Hing and F/O Gerry Sutton landed at night without runway lights and vehicles were positioned at each end of the airstrip with lights on .Those wounded along with refugees and those shot and killed were boarded and flown to Atkinson that evening then transported to Georgetown.

By: Bricks

Bricks — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:57:17 +0000

Thank you David for your Information ,I never knew that my Father-in-law was a part of the Main Party .He only said that he was burnt during the quelling of the uprising. I hope the GDF now teaches their young officers the history of the army(The landing in New River). Mr Kissoon Jonestown was a mass Suicide ,I cannot recall any Guyanese involvement,but I know you have a different take on history.

By: Latchman Kissoon

Latchman Kissoon — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 19:10:45 +0000

Mr Editor
This is a beautiful article by David Granger. That rebellion started the decline of the economy of Guyana followed by the senseless destruction of our national railways and the countrys bad image after another uprising at Jonestown The banning of essential food items caused all our energetic and brilliant citizens into exile.
According to President Fidel Castro of Cuba
When an energetic and forceful people Cry Injustice trembles
Congratulations Mr Granger on your style and scholarship Latchman Kissoon Barbabos

By: Trevor A. Norton

Trevor A. Norton — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:06:35 +0000

On January 22 my mother, Eileen Norton, will celebrate her 74th birthday. I offer this privileged information to make a point; widowed twenty days shy of her 34th birthday by the still-unpunished actions of the Rupununi rebels, in three days time she will have celebrated 40 birth anniversaries, each 20 days after her husband, my father, William Egbert Norton, was murdered. During that time she has successfully educated and raised six children – irrefutable witness to the power of the God she serves, but also a powerful testament to the faith and fortitude of a phenomenal woman. I offer my unabashed praise of my mother in direct contrast to the grudging admiration of Valerie Hart offered in the excerpt of Cecelia McAlmont’s March 24, 2005 article that was reprinted by SN on January 2, 2009. That McAlmont’s arguable paean to the “…tremendous courage and determination” of Valerie Hart on the 40th anniversary of her treasonous acquiescence to murder was published instead of the thoughtfully-written article submitted by my younger sister, Thula Norton-Lambert, is a thoughtless dismissal of the sacrifice of the Uprising victims and an unconscionable affront to their surviving relatives. Valerie Hart is not the unsung hero of the Rupununi Uprising – her actions then, and since, provide ample evidence of her real character. The true women of “tremendous courage and determination” are Eunice McKenzie Lawrence, Eileen Norton, and the other widows, mothers, and daughters of those slain policemen and civilians. Bernadette Norton-Charles, my eldest sister, who at the tender age of twelve undertook the task of ‘mothering’ her five younger siblings while my mother, out of tragic necessity, entered the job market, has more courage and heroism in her toenail clippings than does Ms. McAlmont’s heroine.

The Norton family is extremely grateful to David Granger for this most recent attempt to put the events of the Uprising in proper historical context. Much has been written and said about the events of that sad day forty years ago, but Mr. Granger should be commended for his effort to offer objective detail. Eileen Norton, still sharp enough to both read Mr. Granger’s article and draw my attention to same, has maintained the clear-eyed sense of justice that makes it impossible for her to miss any published comments about the events surrounding her husband’s murder.

To the extent that the Rupununi Uprising remains a crime without legal resolution, please accept our thanks for your paper’s efforts to keep discussion of this issue alive.

Trevor A. Norton