Guyana’s preparations to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Independence on May 26 have sparked concerns that some of the nation’s most important living links to the historic achievement—along with opposition parties, organised labour and civil society—have been excluded from the centre of the official celebrations.
Among them are retired Lieutenant Colonel Desmond Roberts and retired Lieutenant Colonel Fairbairn Liverpool, two men whose contributions are inseparable from Independence Day itself.
Roberts, then a 20-year-old Second Lieutenant in the Guyana Defence Force, was entrusted with raising the Golden Arrowhead at midnight on May 25, 1966, at the National Park in Georgetown, formally ushering in Guyana’s Independence.
At virtually the same moment in London, Liverpool, then an Officer Cadet at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, carried the Golden Arrowhead down the aisle of Westminster Abbey during a special Independence service organised by Guyana’s High Commissioner to the Court of St. James, Sir Lionel Luckhoo. Accompanied by fellow Officer Cadets Haydock West and Harry Hinds, he presented the new nation’s flag to members of the Guyanese diaspora gathered in the Abbey.
Together, the two young soldiers symbolised Guyana’s emergence as a sovereign nation—one raising the flag at home, the other presenting it abroad. Yet neither appears to have been given a prominent role in the official Diamond Jubilee programme.
The concerns extend beyond the two military officers.
Also reportedly absent from the list of invitees for the planned Independence flag-raising ceremony is former Prime Minister and former Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green, the last surviving member of the leadership cadre that negotiated and secured Guyana’s Independence. Green participated in the final Independence Conference in London, where the constitutional arrangements and date for Independence were settled before British Guiana formally became Guyana on May 26, 1966.
Equally striking is the reported exclusion of the only surviving member of the legislature elected under the historic 1953 Waddington Constitution. Now a centenarian, that individual represents a living connection to British Guiana’s first experiment with universal adult suffrage and ministerial government—critical milestones on the road to self-government and Independence.
Together, these individuals represent living links to the military, constitutional and political milestones that culminated in nationhood. Yet none appears to have been afforded a central place in the national celebrations.
The issue, observers argue, extends far beyond individual invitations.
Independence was not won by governments alone. It was achieved through decades of sacrifice by workers, trade unionists, political activists, religious organisations, civic groups and ordinary citizens who challenged colonial rule and demanded democratic representation and self-government.
The labour movement’s contribution began long before the emergence of modern political parties. Under the leadership of National Hero Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow, workers launched the campaign for one man, one vote and internal self-government in 1926—almost a quarter-century before the formation of Guyana’s first mass-based political party, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), in 1950.
The significance of that struggle was highlighted on Labour Day (May 1) when the Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC) commemorated the centenary of the campaign under the theme, “100 Years Fighting for One Man, One Vote (1926–2026) – Hubert Nathaniel Critchlow & Workers.“ The movement’s advocacy for democratic representation, constitutional reform, workers’ rights and internal self-government laid much of the foundation upon which the later Independence struggle was built.
Political leaders such as Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham and Peter D’Aguiar played pivotal roles in the constitutional and political battles that culminated in nationhood. Churches, civic organisations, educators, farmers, public servants and countless ordinary citizens also contributed to the creation of the independent state.
However, observers contend that the official Independence celebrations under President Irfaan Ali have become increasingly government-centric, with little visible effort to involve the political opposition, independent civil society, surviving participants in the Independence struggle or the broader trade union movement.
Particular concern has been raised over the apparent absence of any meaningful role for the People’s National Congress (PNC), under whose Forbes Burnham government Guyana attained Independence on May 26, 1966, and which today forms part of the parliamentary opposition. Further, the GTUC has not been given a meaningful role in the national celebrations despite representing the labour tradition that spearheaded the struggle for universal adult suffrage and internal self-government decades before the emergence of modern party politics.
Observers argue that sidelining the GTUC overlooks the historic contribution of workers and organised labour, while exclusion of the PNC ignores the political movement that led the government under which Independence was ultimately achieved. Together, they contend, these omissions diminish the broad coalition of political, labour and civic forces that contributed to Guyana’s journey to nationhood.
Independence is the one national occasion that should transcend partisan politics. A mature national observance would recognise not only those who currently hold office but also those who helped build the nation—whether through constitutional negotiations, labour activism, political leadership, civic engagement or military service.
Sixty years after the Golden Arrowhead was first hoisted in Georgetown and ceremonially presented at Westminster Abbey, Guyana still has the privilege of hearing directly from men and women who participated in that defining chapter of its history. The question is why so many of them appear to have been left on the sidelines during the nation’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
