Dear Editor,
I wonder if those who oppose Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham obtaining the Oliver Tambo Award remember that he made a crucial decision that tilted the balance in favour of the liberation struggle in Southern Africa.
It must be recalled that the UNITA and FNLA South African backed forces were on the verge of inflicting a significant defeat on Agostino Neto’s MPLA, and the entire liberation movement in Sothern Africa in the now famous battle at Cuito Cunavale in Namibia on the border with Angola.
The liberation fighters requested Cuban military assistance.
The Cuban planes had to refuel somewhere in the Caribbean on their way to Africa. No Caribbean country wanted to incur the wrath of the US government and therefore they refused to allow the Cuban planes to refuel in their territory.
Burnham made that critical decision and allowed the Cuban planes to refuel in Guyana. As a consequence, the Cuban military help arrived in time and the liberation forces and the Cubans defeated the South African forces and changed the balance in Southern Africa in favour of the African liberation movement.
Recall as well that Namibia got its independence in exchange for the withdrawal of Cuban forces,
It is important to note that Guyana and Burnham paid a heavy price for supporting the African liberation struggle at that critical juncture. The US and the rest of the West brought crippling pressure to bear on Burnham and Guyana after that.
The decision made by Burnham to have the planes refuel in Guyana alone makes him deserving of the Oliver Tambo Award. No other Guyanese leader contributed to the African liberation struggle more than Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
Yours faithfully,
Aubrey C Norton
