Dear Editor,
In a letter which appeared in SN on Sept. 10 on the above referenced subject, Mr. Hamilton Green, a Works and Hydraulics Minister in a previous PNC Govt. and subsequently Mayor of the City of Georgetown expressed the view that the late Queen Elizabeth II has earned the admiration and affection of us all and has maintained even in times of stress, an elevated dignity. There is no doubt that she was revered by many. Unfortunately, her death has reignited a different sort of conversation – one that touched on the legacy of the British Empire and the brutality the monarch meted out to people in the former colonies including Guyana.
My children who grew up in a post-colonial world lamented that the Queen never faced up to the grim aftermath of enslavement, colonialism, empire and institutional racism or issued an official apology. They wanted to use the moment to recall the oppression and horrors their parents and grandparents endured in the name of the Crown and entreat that the crown jewels sequestered from the colonies be returned to their rightful owners. There is also another ugly side which Mr. Green has apparently conveniently ignored in his unbalanced and disquieting missive of the Queen. He seemed to be unaware of how her government robbed millions of their basic freedoms. She was head of an institution built up, sustained and living off a brutal legacy of dehumanization of millions of people across the world.
During the PNC governance, a statue of the late Queen Victoria which was erected in-front of the Law Court at the corner of High Street and South Road was removed from its pedestal and dumped at the back of the Botanic Garden with one arm missing. Queen Victoria embodied history, tradition, government and the structure and morality of the British people. Mr. Green seems to have a good memory and a long life. Therefore, he could no doubt recall as to whom in the then PNC Government of which he was part, authorized the removal of Queen Victoria’s statue from its pedestal and dumped in a low lying location at the back of the Botanic Garden. His recollection of this sinister deed would enlighten readers of SN and others beholden to the Royal Family’s wealth, pomp and grandeur as well as strengthen the empathy Mr. Green so eloquently expressed for the Queen.
Sincerely,
Charles Sohan
