Dear Editor,
WE read that one of the readers of your newspaper is questioning again the Queen Victoria statue in our Victoria Law Court compound.

One of history’s most iconic monarchs, Queen Victoria (1819-1901) ruled for more than sixty years. She was Empress of the world’s largest ever empire, and her name denotes an entire era of British history that that statue at the Guyana High Court compound should therefore be respected, preserved and cared for in a dignified manner for generations to come.

It was during her reign as Queen of England that she abolished slavery, and put an end to the undignified slave trade that some European governments and monarchs started and enriched themselves with the exploits. She also abolished, to her credit, the inhuman indignities of slavery. Here in Guyana, her statue was at one time while our nation was in a nationalistic mood, during the sixties, pulled down and placed at the back of the Botanic Gardens to gather moss and grime. I think that her majestic statue in the Victoria Courts compound should be cleaned and preserved to remind future generations that while Europe had some despots as head of state, she was a unique Queen.

Many of us would be pleased if that statue would be cleaned and left to be preserved in dignity worthy of Queen Victoria. Guyanese should at least respect her statue as a reminder of this unique worthy erstwhile royal empress.

Regards,
Rooplall Dudhnath