Kaieteur News editor attempts to prop up Forbes Burnham’s image
… at a time when evidence of the brutality under his dictatorship is now coming to light

OLD KAI nearly fell off his ‘Berbice chair’ and spilled his coffee, thanks to the Kaieteur News editor. The source of my alarm was an editorial on June 16, 2014 which sought to project the late Dictator as a ‘National Leader’.
Now I understand everyone is entitled to his opinion; but gosh man, trying to convince Guyanese that the oppression and brutality they endured under Burnham was somehow justified is a gross insult to not just the old, but the younger generation.
We are being indoctrinated by the Kaieteur News editor to somehow believe that Forbes Burnham, “…saw how laid back the people were and he tried to motivate them, but many did not take kindly to his approach.”
Well, many today have experienced this type of ‘motivation’ at the hands of the man the Kaieteur News now proclaims a ‘National Leader’.
Old Kai is tempted to ask if the ongoing independent Inquiry into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney was one source of this ‘motivation’, or for that matter the death of Father Bernard Darke, and so many countless others.
The grisly details of the X13 terrorist files of the PNC are further testimony to this ‘National Leader’, where operatives were indoctrinated to ‘destroy even their brothers’ if they did not fall in line with objectives of the dictatorship.
The KN editorial comes across as a naked piece of whitewashing when reference is made of others who could have been regarded as ‘National Leaders’, but only the Dictator’s name is mentioned and confirmed as someone with such a legacy.
Is it by coincidence that this editorial was crafted for public consumption at a time when the grisly details of the Forbes Burnham era are being documented by some of his operatives during that period?
The scorn with which the crafter of the editorial views the present era of leaders in the Government is evident with this one sentence, “Now we take a look at what passes for leadership today.”
Well, it’s unfortunate that the KN views on what constitutes national leadership are so perverse when during Burnham’s reign opposing positions by media entities were not tolerated. However, maybe they do have a point as all other Guyanese, including their supporters, became poorer during this period except the PNC leadership and associates. Bankrupting the country apparently is another criterion to be considered a National Leader for the people over at KN. Old Kai will not even attempt to contrast this with what occurred post 1992 as the evidence is all around us, and one cannot whitewash the progressive strides of our nation and the effective job at repairing the damage which was done.
But for all the sacrifices successive PPP/C leaders have made to provide a better future for all our people, they, in the eyes of the Kaieteur News, are not worthy to be considered ‘National Leaders’ as such a position is only reserved for the man which history has shown was willing to do anything, including destroying his own country and those in his way, so he can enjoy ultimate political power.
And for us and the fact that we were reduced from one of the most strongest economies in the Caribbean to one of the poorest during his administration, well apparently that was his way of ‘motivating’ us if we are to believe the Kaieteur News.