GUYANESE congregated by the thousands and encircled the Square of the Revolution, site of the 1763 Monument, which served as a drill square of sorts for the Disciplined Forces, as the nation, led by Executive President, Brigadier (Ret’d) David Granger, paid homage to its Independence Heroes at the adjacent Independence Arch.

Addressing those gathered to commemorate Guyana’s prestigious 49th Independence Anniversary, the Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces affirmed a national duty imbued on all Guyanese to actualise the vision of “our nation’s Founding Fathers.”

LIVES LOST
With the official Independence Day memorial observance hosted for the first time in recent memory at the Independence Arch, President Granger proclaimed, “We are assembled at this National Monument in solid remembrance of the lives and labour of our heroes; we’re assembled here to pay homage to those that agitated for decades to achieve national independence.”

Brigadier Granger, in his first address in his capacity as Head of State at Guyana’s Independence Day Commemoration Flag-Raising Ceremony, told the nation: “We are their heirs,” meaning those that would have agitated for and even lost their lives in the struggle for freedom.

As such, President Granger is of the firm belief that “We have a duty to actualise the vision of our nation’s Founding Fathers who fought to create a new State; we have a duty to continue the work they started to transform the divided colony into a united nation.”

Attired in neutral charcoal black, the President reminded his audience that independence was not won in one fell swoop, but rather is the result of a process and years of a struggle fought by generations, hundreds of whom lost their lives to free Guyana from 350 years of Dutch and British rule.
GIVE THANKS
As President Granger rightly said, Guyana’s Independence Day is, in fact, a day of thanksgiving. “We give thanks for the gift of Independence,” he declared, adding:
“Workers were the true pioneers of Independence, since it was they who rebelled against the British-imposed colonialism….Today, we pay homage to the workers for their sacrifice.”
The President also acknowledged the legislators of the time for their contributions to the cumulative effort that eventually secured freedom for all Guyanese.
President Granger, a respected historian and retired military commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), recalled in his address that it was the ordinary people who bore the brunt of the destruction in the years leading up to the then British Guiana attaining its independence, particularly during the disturbances of 1964.
PPP ARSON/MURDER
Blaming those disturbances on the then People’s Progressive Party (PPP) government of the day, he said they employed “every devious device, including arson and murder, to delay elections.”

Noting that many did not live to enjoy the freedoms they fought so long and hard for, President Granger said: “Today, we pay homage to the 176 persons who were killed during that awful year during the struggle for Independence.”
Reminiscent of the proverbial ‘olive branch’ he extended to his predecessor after he took the oath of office two Saturdays ago, President Granger said: “Let us not now dwell on the pains of the past, but look with faith to the future.”

SACRIFICE/INSPIRATION
Though thousands in their numbers, those in attendance remained riveted in silence as President Granger implored that they reflect on the nation’s Independence. “Let the sacrifice of those who struggled and died, inspire us today and guide generations to come, tomorrow and beyond.”
He said Independence means change. “Change from colony to nation, change from subjects to citizens, change from subjugation to liberation, change from discrimination to lives of dignity and equality.”
Imparting, “the wise words of our first Prime Minister (Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham),” President Granger quoted: “Independence is a means to an end, the end must be the changing of our society and the revolutionizing of our economy.”
President Granger expanded, saying that change indeed is never ending and so, “Let us resolve therefore to work together to change our society into one of greater equality, let us strive to change our economy to one of greater prosperity, let us change our country to nation of love, a nation of unity.”
To the reception of a thunderous, standing ovation, President Granger concluded his first address to Guyana’s Independence Day Commemoration Celebration: “Happy Independence Day, may God bless you, may God bless our country.”

By Gary Eleazar