–by seeking to lay blame on citizens

OLD Kai is not amused by the latest effort of David Granger to rewrite our history in Guyana; he has been doing that for five decades. What is shameful about his current agenda is that he seeks to escape blame for the party he now leads, and his mentor in orchestrating the ‘disturbances’ during the 1960s.

During a recent visit to East Berbice, according to an APNU press statement, Mr. Granger visited the gravesite of someone killed during that period, and as he stood there, he had the gall to call on Berbicians to “commit themselves to national unity and racial reconciliation.” This is where the subtle aspect of revisionism comes into play, as he is, in effect, unloading the blame of this dark period from his party to each and every citizen of our country (except the PNC leaders, including himself).
Nowhere in the statement is any mention made of the PNC or APNU being remorseful for their actions, as we now have the benefit of declassified information from the US CIA during that period to understand that the PNC leadership was the main architect of that violent period, in their effort to overthrow the legitimate government of Dr. Cheddi Jagan. This information, along with other valuable materials, is readily available on the Internet for all to read at: http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter169.html
We are told that in 1962, Dr. Jagan, as Premier, is credited with making a ‘prophetic’ statement after the opposition (PNC/UF) walked out of the House of Assembly to begin their campaign of destruction, using their illogical opposition to the budget proposals by Dr. Jagan’s Government.
Said he, “It has come to the knowledge of the government that violence is actually being planned on a general scale by certain elements acting for a minority group… These acts of violence are intended to secure the overthrow of the legally elected government by force, and the tax proposals in the budget are being used as a screen for the general strike for Monday, February 12, 1962…
“Every step possible is being taken to bring the civil service in on this strike, and if these designs are successful, the total result will be to cause widespread dislocation of the colony’s economy. Such a course of action will be very likely to end in riot and violence. The people who plan this operation must be aware of this. It seems that they are seeking to cause turmoil and unrest in order to halt our march to independence, and the economic wellbeing for all.”
That was Dr. Cheddi Jagan over six decades ago. Have you noticed how the general plan of the Opposition has not changed? As today, their focus remains on crippling the economy through any and every means, so they can acquire political power.
Further, the violence which followed on February 16, 1962 was forever to be known as “Black Friday”. We are told that “the toll was 56 buildings destroyed by fire; 21 damaged; and 66 both damaged and looted. 29 market stalls were damaged and looted, and five (5) vehicles burned, and five (5) other police vehicles severely damaged. One police officer died; four (4) looters were killed; and 41 others injured.”
After the violence had subsided, Dr. Jagan immediately requested the British Government to appoint a commission to investigate the causes, which in turn appointed a Commonwealth Commission on May 11, 1962.
That commission, in publicly handing down its findings in early October 1962, laid full blame for the disturbances on the PNC, UF and the TUC. The commission declared that the Opposition used the budget “to form a veritable torrent of abuse, recrimination, and vicious hostility, directed against Dr. Jagan and his government, and each day gave fresh vigour to the agitation.”
The TUC–many of whose members were also PNC leaders–decision to call a general strike was criticised as “a breach of faith, and a display of irresponsibility.”
The commission further stated: “The story put forward before us was that the unbending and indeed the provocative attitude of the government was the sole reason for the decision to call a general strike or at any rate of precipitating that decision. We find it difficult to believe this version and we are of the opinion that the facts have been greatly distorted by the trade union leaders for the purpose of placing responsibility of arousing the workers’ hostility upon the government…”
The commission had also pronounced on the source (the budget) of the illegitimate concerns by the PNC Opposition. “The budget provoked fierce opposition from several quarters, and was made the excuse for sustained and increasingly hostile demonstrations against Dr. Jagan and his government. It will be seen that there is nothing deeply vicious or destructive of economic security in the budget. It had been drawn up on the advice of an experienced economist…”
Here is where we come to Mr. Granger’s mentor, then Opposition Leader Forbes Burnham, as the commission dealt in detail with his role in the ‘disturbances’. “The real motive behind Mr. Burnham’s assault was a desire to assert himself in public life, and establish a more important and more rewarding position for himself by bringing about Dr. Jagan’s downfall.”
Even more damning is the fact that we are also informed that the Commission stated, on the evening of February 15, Burnham, at a public meeting, worked up his audience into a “state of frenzy”.
It declared: “He began by congratulating his listeners on the splendid performance of the morning when there had been a wholesale breach of the Proclamation. In his peroration, he declared that ‘Government could not be got rid of by merely saying ‘Resign’ or ‘Down with Jagan’. Those are useful slogans; but more than slogans are required in the present circumstances.’”
The PNC leader was also described by the Commission as “callous and remorseless”. The commission revealed that “the Governor had appealed to Burnham to use his influence to advise the crowd to refrain from violence, and to use his public address system to ask the people to leave the streets. Burnham, however, declared that he could not assist.”
There you have it! Just as what occurred in the Linden unrest in 2012, when the people were instigated by the political Opposition of the PNC/R (APNU) and AFC, and then abandoned when it was time to be held accountable for their actions.
This is how the Opposition, particularly the PNC, has been using and abusing their supporters all along, to the extent that Mr. Granger can now travel to East Berbice and, like a saint, look down and try to pin the blame on citizens there, and by extension, all across Guyana for the ‘disturbances’.
But Mr. Granger’s attitude is not new; in fact, the Commonwealth Commission had noted in 1962 that the Opposition leaders’ refusal to appeal to the crowd to desist from violence was a “strangely unfeeling attitude of political leaders when passions aroused by them had been let loose on the town.”
While our people have moved on from that period, this diabolical attempt by Mr. Granger and his party on Saturday, March 8, 2014 to shift historical responsibility of this period onto our citizens must be condemned by all.
David Granger has clearly shown that he at least is not ready for ‘national unity and racial reconciliation’ in our country, with his steadfast refusal to come to terms with the role his party and leader played during this dark period in our history.
It is primarily because of this rigid, unrepentant mindset, and their almost identical actions today, including their multi-pronged attack on the economy which has seen the Opposition losing support among the masses.
Clearly, Guyanese have made enormous strides in the area of ‘reconciliation’, the PNC/APNU and others under the control of Opposition Leader David Granger clearly have a lot of catching up to do.