IN this historic month of March, as our nation remembers the ‘Champion of the Poor’, Dr. Cheddi Jagan and as accolades are in order, please allow space for quotations from his various speeches:

IDEOLOGY
” … I am told that I am a controversial figure. I think therefore the first duty today is to put my personal position before you as briefly and clearly as I can.

“…I am, I believe, generally dismissed in this country (USA) as a communist. That word has a variety of meanings according to the personal views of the man who makes the charge.
“…But first of all, I am a passionate anti-colonialist. I, like your forefathers, believe that colonialism is wicked. I believe so strongly that colonialism is utterly wrong that I would gladly accept any help from whatever quarter to help me in my fight against it.
“…I wish to see my country prosperous and developing, its people happy, well fed, well housed and with jobs to do. Second only to my passion for the independence of my people, is this dedication to their economic advancement, so that their lives may be more abundant. Now, in this I am a socialist. By this I mean that I am in favour of the workers reaping the full fruits of their labour through public ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange.
“… I have won my place in the political life of my country in three successive general elections. I have not come to power by revolution or coup d’etat. I believe in parliamentary democracy, by which I recognise the rights of opposition parties, freedom of speech, freedom of worship, regular and honest elections, an impartial judiciary and an independent civil service. I have been accused of plotting the destruction of freedom in my country. The truth is that those who accused me of this have themselves been responsible for the denial of freedom to the broad masses of our people. I have struggled for these freedoms and it was I who first proposed that a Bill of Rights guaranteeing every citizen his fundamental rights, including the right to hold property, but buttressed by an appeal to the courts, be entrenched in the new constitution of British Guiana.” – (1961)

“As a passionate anti-colonialist, I am interested in the independence of my country – political independence; as an anti-imperialist, I am interested in putting an end to the domination and subjection of the economy of my country; as the democrat, I am interested in preserving the liberties and freedom of the people – not only in preserving but in enlarging them; as a socialist, I am interested in the creation of a new society which will lay the basis for the end of exploitation… It is because I have stood up for the working-class, that they have voted for me. I have not put a bayonet on their backs and said      “Come vote for me”. I am interested in creating a free Guiana and a new society – a society free from exploitation, a society of equality and brotherhood where truly human relationships will prevail.” – (1961)

“Today, any serious attempts to look at alternative strategies are looked upon with suspicion and some continue to raise the communist red herring. But those of us who have to answer to the masses of poor people must be able to find answers lest our people fall prey to those who would give them a false sense of security. Good governance, a democratic culture and accountability must be accompanied by concrete plans to solve real problems faced by real people.” – (August 2, 1996)
“The word “Communism” means different things to different people. This explains why I have consistently refused to answer “yes” or “no” to the question. The term Marxist is a more apt description of my position.
“For us, politics is an art, based on principles, programmes and policies with a high ethical and moral content.
“My opponents say ‘Jagan, you are honest and sincere, but we don’t like your connections and associations and methods. Your goals, your ends may be good, but your means are foul, wicked and bad.’ My answer to that is very simple. If I am honest and sincere, it is because of my beliefs, my ideology. For me, there is a unity of ends and means. Every means must be good in itself, no matter in what stage of struggle. Freedom is inseparable from struggle.
“I have always associated myself with the ideology of the working class and I have led a strong working-class party for the past 47 years. Different people see and call working-class ideology by different names. But what was important were the concrete historical conditions in Guyana and the creation of a programmatic platform that caters to the needs of the working class. In many ways we were different from the mould in which many people placed us …. For me Marxism neither was nor is a dogma, but a scientific guide to action. It gave me strong ethical beliefs in social justice, particularly in helping the poor, the underprivileged and the exploited.” – (Feb. 1997)