Dear Editor,
I write with reference to a letter to the editor by Eric Moseley (KN March 2, 2023) intended to defend the fantastic, if not outrageous, claims and propositions made by the Hon Member of Parliament Annette Ferguson (SN, 26/2/2023). I am happy to enjoin this debate, even though there is not much substance to respond to in Mr. Moseley’s missive.
First, Ms. Ferguson’s defender states that Burnham deserves praise because he took us to independence. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Burnham helped to delay Guyana’s independence for several years because he was busy helping to overthrow the sitting PPP democratically elected Government. Evidence for this claim could be found in a July 12, 1962 letter by Secretary of State Dean Rusk to President Kennedy, which stated the following – “I recommend that you approve specifically the following: – “That it is an objective of U.S. policy to bring about the replacement of the government of Cheddi Jagan by one friendly to the West…” (FRUS, 1961-1962). We know who that friendly one was; L.F.S. Burnham, of course.
Moseley claims that Burnham helped to bring about good relations among different political and ethnic groups in Guyana. Wrong again. British and American intelligence internal documents clearly state that Mr. Burnham was a divisive figure driven by ethnic nationalism. Moreover, Burnham and his Cabinet Minister Hamilton Green (now a so-called elder) were feared throughout the country. When Burnham needed further assistance with his slow but steady violence against the people, he brought in the dangerous American fugitive David Hill, aka Rabbi Washington.
The Rabbi was a gangster with full state support, including in the areas of state intelligence, weapons, transportation and targets. Ask the WPA, NAACIE, GUARD, etc. if you think these are lies. Ask the nurses who went on strike and were harangued by the Rabbi. Ask the families of Walter Rodney, Father Darke, Cletus Henriques and Vincent Teekah. And don’t forget the families of Maikhram Sawh and Sampersaud Taranauth and Sister Rowtie. Ask Indra Chandrapal, Clement Rohee and Gail Teixeira. The children of Ali Baksh can also testify. By all means, do not forget to ask Mr. Hamilton Green himself.
Moseley is right that the oil crisis of the 1970s posed massive challenges to Guyana. That is a fact, and no one should doubt that. But He, like the Hon. MP Annette Ferguson, forgets that 1974 and 1975 were actually among the best years for Burnham. Here is the evidence – GDP grew by 7.7% in 1974 and by 8.4% in 1975! What is remarkable is that the economic performance occurred immediately after the most massively rigged elections that took place on July 16, 1973. This demonstrates beyond a shadow of a doubt that no one was sabotaging the economy, a claim often made by PNC supporters.
MP Ferguson’s point on education was not missed by Moseley. PNC folks love to talk about how great education was during the Burnham years. I agree that great gains were made. I know from experience, and I did attend one of Mr. Burnham’s proud accomplishments of Co-operative Socialism, namely, Leonora Primary School. I was in the first Common Entrance class of that school in 1970.
But Moseley, like Ferguson, either willfully forgets or simply does not care that Burnham politicized the teaching profession by placing Party Comrades as agents of the state constitutionally enabled by the doctrine of Paramountcy of the Party.
They also ignore the most well-established fact of higher education, namely, you had to be a party comrade to either get a job at UG or to be spared the dreaded National Service. I have never heard a single individual, other than a high PNC Comrade, praise National Service.
Finally, Editor, in her original piece, where Ms. Ferguson told us that Burnham was sent by God to Guyana, she also intimated that we are still reaping the blessings of the Cde. Leader’s brilliant contribution. I respectfully challenge the Honourable Member of Parliament to square that with the attempt to openly rig the 2020 National and Regional Elections, or on a lesser charge, to reconcile Mr. Burnham’s legacy with stealing the Speaker’s Mace in Parliament. If I am not mistaken, Ms. Ferguson has intimate knowledge of those occurrences.
MP Ferguson and Eric Moseley’s basic case on behalf of LFS Burnham is that he was no ‘autocrat’. True, but he was an authoritarian. To find out the difference I recommend Nic Cheesman and Brian Klass, How to Rig an Election (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2019).
Sincerely
Dr Randolph Persaud
