Dear Editor,
I would like to add my voice to those who have offered condolences on the passing of Janet Jagan. The Guardian in London has recently published an obituary that represented a whitewashing of history, a racist and patronising account that characterised the 1953 British suspension of the constitution as a necessary move to save Guyanese from themselves, who seemed by their actions not politically mature enough or ready for self-rule. Janet Jagan was a key figure in the building of the multi-racial, anti-colonial coalition that swept to power in 1953 and that offered hope to all Guyanese.
A good friend of mine, who was present in Guyana for the funeral, sent me a moving description, but was also puzzled by the relative absence of the Guyana flag, the Golden Arrowhead, along the route, and the fact that it was the banner of the People’s Progressive Party that fluttered and that was an insistent presence throughout the day.
It is not the presence of the latter flag, but the relative absence of the former, that prompts these questions. Since I was not there, perhaps someone else can correct this impression or clarify. For a state funeral, what is the protocol and what is the significance of the flags that mark the occasion? Does the Golden Arrowhead not suggest that the occasion speaks to all of us (the moment best represented in Janet Jagan’s life by the activism leading up to 1953)? Does deliberately choosing to mark a state funeral with a profusion of party flags not represent a partisan sentiment (the split in the anti-colonial struggle that would happen in the mid 1950s, that has produced the racial divide that hangs like an albatross around our necks to the current day)? Is this not party paramountcy, which the PPP in the anti-dictatorial period opposed so strongly? How short are our memories, how sweet the taste of power!
I really do hope my friend was wrong.
Yours faithfully,
Alissa Trotz
…”relative absence”? alissa … and twice!… absence or presence is always absolute, never relative… strange choice of words… anyway, your friend who was present (absolutely, of course)at the occasion should have given you a numerical count of the relative proportions (ah, that’s the correct term) of the flags in questions … can’t beat numbers …
The national flag, has SANCTITY, which should never be DESECRATED.
big deal! all that matters is the tremendous contribution Janet made for guyana.
which is what exactly
Might this not be an explaination.The so named Golden Arrowhead was the brainchild of an illegal administration, and not the people of Guyana.
… actually it was designed by an american named whitney smith (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_guyana)… want to do some vexillology & replace it with another? … throw in the anthem and pledge and national songs and a couple heirlooms for good measure …
awwww, caesar, that was a low blow, a really low blow. But then I shouldn’t expect better from you given your mindset. Thank God there are not many like you. Anyways, I’m sure that Hackett has enlightened you and you will not persist in your ignorance and hate.
It was a party funeral, not a state funeral that’s why the flag of the party were on the route, sorry to say that’ how guyana is divided amongst party line, anyway it was a good letter.
The funeral was typical of PPP organised National events. Their were no prayers said, the National Anthem was not sung and observering the protocol in terms of persons present was sadly lacking. Even the arrival of the President was not observed and im speaking from what I saw on tv.
Ms trotz’s missive has given rise to meaningless conjecture ,,
and abject speculations !…
my take is ,,,, the “matriarch” asked to sent on her final journey with the least possible pain ,, the flag of her party was enough for her ,, now u say she was divisive ,, and still u ask for why the GOLDEN ARROW HEAD was not aloft to bid her farewell ! such is the hall mark of a great soul ,, SIMPLE !…..
what a nitpicker.
Trotz u aint gat nuthin else to write about? how about writing about the weather?
… Brandon ,, yuh meen whether alissa knows abt de weather or not ????????????????????????????????????????????? she muss still rite abt it ??????????????????????????????????????????????????
…if you put the economist to predict the weather and the weather man to predict the economy, nothing will change…