Dear Editor,
Goethe once professed that “the writing of histories is one way of getting rid of the weight of the past, writing of history liberates us from history”. There is much to be gained from the “lost” pages of our political history if we hope to transgress beyond our past predicaments and future trepidations. Rishi Thakur’s response to the FRUS revelations on Forbes Burnham’s active role in constructing the dictatorship as fantasy and fable, ignores the possibility that there are still many mysteries associated with Guyanese politics (11/18/21). Our leaders, of all stripes and shades, have their political demons, with skeletons yet to be discovered. Burnham’s denial of the CIA involvement during his tenure was debunked, years after his death, by revelations from previously classified British and American documents, despite earlier denials to the contrary. Nothing surreal about that. Nothing in what I wrote was intimated to “allow Uncle Sam a free ride”, or to directly contradict the excellent studies examining US intervention in Guyanese politics by David Rabe and Colin Palmer. Indeed, the US involvement in Guyana was primary on the list of direct interventions in the 1960s, so were accusations of Cuban and Russian involvement.
Undeniably, as the “28 years” represent one chapter in our lives, so too were the subsequent 23 years. But it is not fable or fantasy when one contemplate deeply on the destruction wrought upon this young nation by external forces, acting in collaboration with native forces at home. The denial of democracy for 28 years and the murders of Walter Rodney, Father Darke, Vincent Teekah, et al, are not fabled history. The takeaway, however, is that while the US has overshadowed Britain in this area, ever since its promulgation of the Monroe Doctrine of 1823, the US (and now China!) has a more compelling reason for overseeing events in its geographical backyard today and in the foreseeable future. That is our geopolitical reality, and destiny. Burnham’s political tenure demonstrated an ability of little Guyana to play the chess game, allowing the Machiavellian chess master to engage the superpower, with success in some cases. That should bring comfort to Thakur. Thakur raised a pertinent question when he queried as to whether we have it within ourselves to disavow the demonization of each other. We absolutely do, and it is incumbent upon the inventive adults in the room to point the way forward. He said it best, when, as a staunch defender of APNU, in response to questions about the “ballot box killings in 1973” he cautioned “we need to have the true story of what happened in Guyana for the next generation” (SN, 10-14-11). Perhaps a good place to start is with a condemnation of APNU’s attempt to hold the country hostage after the 2020 elections. A public acknowledgement regarding this perfidious moment will set the historical record straight, in posterity, for the younger folks. History should never be buried, lest it becomes a burden on our memory.
Sincerely,
Baytoram Ramharack
