I read a letter in another section of the press on Friday where one Aubrey Retemeyer was talking about the “decay” in Guyana and then trying to put Burnham on the same level as “the Jagans, Hinds and Jagdeos”. Retemeyer apparently has a slight relapse of memory.

He praises Burnham. He kept harping in the letter why should we in the present are always criticising poor Burnham. We should look at the true picture, he urges.

Well, to look at the true picture would certainly embarrass Mr. Retemeyer. If you want the true, overall picture you have to bring in the essentially undemocratic and discriminatory rule of Burnham’s regime propped up by rigging of elections which continued under Hoyte, the so called reformer. Then, there was the resulting economic incompetence which made life hell for Guyanese of all races.

Retemeyer makes a good point that we shouldn’t always be harping back to the past. But in this case (of Bunhamism in Guyana) it is absolutely necessary so that we won’t have a repeat of it.

Retemeyer moans “Look at Germany today: they seldom go back to the West Germany/East Germany days”. That may be true but what they do, and which Retemeyer “forgets” to mention is go back to the case of German dictator Hitler who caused World War II and brought untold misery and disgrace to Germany.. Germany has laws in place against the praising of Hitler or mentioning anything positive about that period. The Jews, who lost six million of their people under Hitler, will certainly not let people forget.

There are attempts by some neo-fascist groups in Italy to try and rehabilitate Hitler’s side kick, Mussolini. His daughter is heading a party, for example. Progressive and democratic minded Italians have rightly opposed this rewriting of history and kept the image of Mussoilini where it belongs: in the dustbin for dictators.

We need to have a healing process but we must always distinguish the organised elements, the elite who knew they were doing wrong (and benefitting materially) from the generally decent and open minded followers who may have been misled.

History shall not be re-written. Those that did so much wrong (and their successors refuse to apologise for it) have to be so described so that their system and way of thinking will never again re-emerge.

I do feel most Guyanese of all races have seen what the misleaders did and welcome the new democratic dispensation today in Guyana where all may have freedom of choice and ability to participate equally with other Guyanese to deepen our progress and development.
JOHN REED
Barbados