THE year 1963 was a particularly hard year for the government of the day.The opposition PNC in collaboration with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) financed and supported by Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) and US trade unionists called a strike which lasted 80 days. The cause of the strike was claimed to be the introduction of the Labour Relations Bill, which Mr. Burnham had fully supported in 1953 when he was a minister in the PPP government. He admitted later that it was not really the cause of the strike which was political, but was used to carry out its intention of destabilising the government of Dr. Jagan.
The strike was marked by continued violence and civil servants on strike were paid by funds provided by the CIA. Those workers who remained loyal were intimidated and harassed. Violence was directed against Indians, anyone suspected as a government supporter, PPP legislators and ministers of the government. It was a year of explicit calls to race and violence by the PNC and a period of wild and false accusations and information by the press, which acted as a stimulant to further racial clashes and violence.
In early May 1963, the discovery of the existence of Plan “X” 13 ( arms, weapons, assassination plots and plans for extensive military training by the PNC to forcibly overthrow the government) evoked public horror and caused a temporary halt to the violence.
Pictured is the PPP team that was represented as parliamentarians in the National Assembly.