- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - Hier 03:52

Dangerous president and PM

JEROME TEELUCKSINGH ALMOST six decades ago, in 1964, Cheddi Jagan lost his democratically elected position as leader of British Guiana (now Guyana) in a rigged general election. Devious British officials, who were influenced by the local conservative elite and coerced by the diabolical American State Department, decided to commit this shameless act. This collusion and suspension of the colony’s constitution, and fraudulent elections, were unforgettable atrocities of Caribbean history. Who was this legendary Indo-Caribbean leader? Cheddi Jagan was born in 1918 at Port Mourant, Corentyne Coast and was the son of Indian indentured labourers. In 1946, Dr Jagan, his wife Janet, HJM Hubbard and Ashton Chase founded the Political Affairs Committee. This was the forerunner of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which was founded in 1950. Within the PPP, Cheddi served as leader and his wife (a US citizen) as secretary. His remarkable leadership resulted in a landslide victory in the 1953 general election with the party capturing 18 of the available 24 seats. As a result of this electoral success, the iconic Cheddi would serve as chief minister in 1953 and later as premier from 1961 to 1964. Unfortunately, the party’s term in office was short-lived. Two developed nations, that falsely promoted democracy, formed an alliance and conspired to overthrow Jagan and his government after only 133 days in office. Declassified files containing confidential correspondence, from 1962 to 1971, revealed that covert assistance from abroad, including funding, was given to the People’s National Congress headed by Forbes Burnham. It was a cunning divide-and-rule tactic regularly implemented to create a dependency syndrome and keep Guyana divided along ethnic lines. On August 11, 1961, Dean Rusk, US secretary of state, contacted Lord Home, the British foreign secretary, seeking advice to prevent Jagan and his party from victory at the polls. The British minister reluctantly replied that it would be a better option to try and encourage Jagan to change his ideology. A few months later, Rusk wrote to Home calling for “remedial steps” to counter Jagan’s “Marxist-Leninist policy,” adding that “I have reached the conclusion that it is not possible for us to put up with an independent British Guiana under Jagan.” It is laughable that the two mighty empires of Great Britain and the US would quietly waste their time and financial resources to employ the CIA and MI5 to undermine the PPP. Not surprising, a president of the US, infamous for adulterous affairs, approved a covert Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) campaign to rig British Guiana’s national elections. In mid-1962, president John F Kennedy (JFK) informed the British prime minister of the threat of Jagan winning the 1964 election, “We must be entirely frank in saying that we simply cannot afford to see another Castro-type regime established in this hemisphere. It follows that we should set as our objective an independent British Guiana under some other leader.” After JFK was assassinated in 1963, subsequent administrations of Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969) and crooked Richard Nixon (1969-1974) continued the secretive campaign against the charismatic Jagan. The CIA also funded protests and strikes during 1962 and 1963. In 1979, the fearless Jagan, in his publication Caribbean Revolution, boldly condemned imperialism and colonialism: “Super-exploitation and drain of capital overseas result in an ever-widening gap in living standards between the underdeveloped countries and the capitalist-imperialist states, and to deepening economic and social problems.” In the chapter "Transnationals plunder Caribbean," Jagan lists the huge profits made by Tesoro Pertoleum Company and Texaco Oil Company (Texaco) in Trinidad. Cheddi, the visionary politician and brave anti-colonial fighter, never wavered. This iconic personality would remain steadfast and resilient. He would eventually triumphantly return in his latter years to govern Guyana – from 1992 to 1997. In retrospect, the dangerous president was certainly not Jagan. In reality, the dangerous and delusional presidents and prime ministers were from developed nations who claimed Jagan’s ideology was a serious threat to the region’s security. Undoubtedly, a significant reason for his removal was that the US and Britain wanted to continue exploiting resources of British Guiana. After Jagan and his government were forced to demit office, one wonders about the deafening silence among most of the premiers, chief ministers, presidents and prime ministers in the Caribbean. Maybe these cowards sought to protect their turf and were afraid of ruffling the dirty feathers of Uncle Sam and Her Majesty’s government. Or was the silence and inaction in the Caribbean due to Jagan being of Indian descent? The post Dangerous president and PM appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.