“Dr. Cheddi Jagan adopted the slogan “cheated not defeated,” and he refused to demit office as Premier. He had to be removed by an Order-in-Council of the British Crown. This behaviour was preceded, while Dr. Jagan was Premier, by violence, racial strife, labour disputes, and ideological polarization. And Dr. Jagan left the Treasury bare.”
Source: PNCR 60th Anniversary Souvenir Magazine
In order to fully appreciate the achievements of Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham and his Government during the first ten years in office, one needs to have a clear understanding of the situation which was inherited. Although the Government headed by Forbes Burnham held a majority of the seats in the National Assembly as a result of the 1964 elections, Dr. Cheddi Jagan adopted the slogan “cheated not defeated,” and he refused to demit office as Premier. He had to be removed by an Order-in-Council of the British Crown. This behaviour was preceded, while Dr. Jagan was Premier, by violence, racial strife, labour disputes, and ideological polarization. And Dr. Jagan left the Treasury bare.
The priority policy objectives were made clear by Forbes Burnham. They can be described as follows:
• The security of the country and its people;
• Healing the racial wounds, reconciliation and peace and structured national economic and social development;
• The application of the process of decolonization internally involving inter alia the restoration to the people of their dignity, self-respect and sense of self-worth;
• A foreign policy which would advance the national interests and accordingly facilitate the achievement of the abovementioned objectives.
It is in respect of the last names objective, that of foreign policy, in which I was deeply involved, that I will focus my comments.
Before he became Head of Government, Forbes Burnham had by his statements indicated certain critical foreign policy prescriptions. Two examples are illustrative. Firstly, in 1958, Burnham introduced in the Legislative Council a Motion calling for Guiana to enter into negotiations to join the West Indian Federation. The Motion was opposed by Dr. Jagan’s Government and was, therefore, not approved. Secondly, addressing the Trades Union Council in the early 1960’s, Burnham stated that an administration under him would be “no pawn of East or West.” These examples were harbingers of Burnham’s commitment in the first instance to regional cooperation and in the second, to his conviction that an independent Guiana should eschew bloc entanglements and pursue a foreign policy which was geared to the advancement and protection of Guyana’s national interests.
A necessary task in this regard was acquiring the infrastructure, including importantly appropriate skills, to effectively carry out and implement the policy assignments to, and responsibilities of, the Foreign Service. Recruitment of staff of a high caliber and their training were undertaken.
Very early in his tenure as Head of Government, Forbes Burnham outlined characteristics he expected of a Guyana diplomat. He also specified some cardinal foreign policy objectives. In addressing a Diplomatic Training course in January 1966, he opined that a Guyanese diplomat would not have “armies, navies, air forces or nuclear weapons” to add persuasion to his words. The diplomat also had he said “no deep purses with the contents of which he can buy friendship, support….” What this pointed to was the need for advocacy skills and capabilities which indeed became a hallmark of the Foreign Service.
As regards to foreign policy objectives, Burnham said to the diplomats in training that one was “to reintegrate Guyana into the Caribbean region ….. and the projection of the Caribbean personality on the international scene”.
