The National Assembly last night unanimously endorsed a motion brought by Opposition Leader Robert Corbin to give due recognition to the work and contribution of Guyana’s first Executive President, Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
Corbin, leading off debate on the motion, said its approval – particularly the archiving of his speeches and works – would promote a dispassionate analysis of the contribution of Burnham for the benefit of posterity’s own judgment. Speaking for the government, Prime Minister Hinds also endorsed the motion and it was fully supported after hours of debate.
Corbin added that the pursuit of these objectives at the height of the Cold War was considered to be dangerous by the West for the Caribbean region as the successful efforts could have empowered other leaders in Latin America and Africa to follow similar socialist policies in opposition to the West.
Consequently, Corbin noted, Burnham faced severe obstacles both internal and external as he introduced economic policies and programmes to lay the foundation for the psychological, cultural and economic liberation of Guyana.
Corbin took the opportunity to assert his conviction “I believe… that Guyana has nowhere to go and has no realistic chance of revitalization without peace and reconciliation, a peace that is based on justice and a recognition of the rights and aspirations of all Guyanese whatever their ethnic or racial origins or whatever the social background and religious beliefs. This indeed was part of the vision of L.F.S. Burnham.”
Corbin recollected that four years ago in his first address to his party congress as leader, he had stated, “If Guyana is to move forward, there must be a paradigm shift. We cannot continue in this vicious cycle. For cohesion to be achieved, we have to close the chapter of the past… let us have a Truth and Reconciliation Commission.”
Burnham had assumed political power in Guyana in 1964 with a PNC/UF coalition subsequent to the imposition of Proportional Representation by the departing colonial machinery. His tenure has been the subject of much controversy with respect to the issues of rigged elections, repression, the killing of historian Dr Walter Rodney, the banning of food staples and economic malaise. He died in office in 1985.
The 23rd anniversary of his passing was observed on Wednesday.
Prime Minister Hinds, registering the Government’s support for the motion, said Burnham’s career was an extraordinary one which was due mainly to the personal skills and abilities which nature had blessed him in extraordinary huge proportions.”
Hinds quoted a work from Ashton Chase which posited: “He was a failure, he was a success, he was a builder, he was a destroyer, he was a strategist, he was a schemer.”
Hinds posited that the unity of the Guyanese political landscape in 1953 with both Forbes Burnham and Cheddi Jagan forming a major democratic entity constituted great potential. However, subsequent occurrences which resulted in the split along with the damaging corollaries are deeply regrettable.
Other parliamentarians including AFC Leader Raphael Trotman also spoke in support of the motion in the context of Guyanese 20th century political history.
One of the resolve clauses calls for the National Assembly to give “due recognition to the service of Mr. Burnham to the National Assembly and Guyana by requesting the Government to have prepared and published a collection of his speeches spanning his tenure in the National Assembly for display in the Library of the National Assembly.”
The resolve clause had moreover recommended that the National Assembly “calls on the Government to designate a State Institution to be responsible for historical Research and Documentation to chronicle and archive all of the works of each of the Presidents of Guyana for the benefit of future generations of Guyanese.”
Another resolve clause called for the mounting of full sized portraits of each of the Presidents of Guyana in the Chambers of the National Assembly.
