Biography
of Cheddi Jagan
In January, in the PPP’s official organ Thunder, Cheddi Jagan called on the people, despite the treachery of the British government, the PNC and United Force, to unite the working people "regardless of race, or ethnic origin" and struggle for better conditions as well as exposing the pro-colonialist character of the "PNC – UF marriage." "Let us consolidate our forces, win new support and march forward to victory," he wrote in his statement.
During 1965, Dr. Jagan wrote the booklet "Anatomy of Poverty in BG" and began his monumental book "The West on Trial." He and his family had moved from Red House, his residence as Premier, to a rented house on Camp Street in Georgetown.
In another message in April, the PPP Leader said, "In our struggle for national liberation, to free our country from the shackles of colonialism and imperialism, we must organise, educate and inform. We must tell the world that our struggle is democratic, nationalist, anti-imperialist and anti-feudal. We must rally all patriotic Guianese behind us. We must fight for the preservation of our fundamental rights laid down in our Constitution."
He called for an end to the emergency laws and for the release of all detainees – those PPP members held at Mazaruni prison without trial.
His theme of unity and racial harmony was repeated. "Racism is the greatest curse of our land.. anyone who spreads racial propaganda must be severely dealt with. Such a person is an enemy to himself and his country."
The Party’s 12th Annual Congress was held in April at Zeeburg, W.C. Demerara. Following his address to Congress, the Party declared in favour of taking all necessary steps and precautions not only to achieve national unity and racial harmony, but also unity in ideology, organisation and propaganda. Congress called for an end to the emergency, the restoration of full constitutional guarantees, the release of the detainees and the demand for genuine independence.
Dr. Jagan refused to attend the London Conference on Independence until the detainees were released. In December, he charged that the British government failed to grasp the opportunity to help work out a satisfactory solution to the deep-seated political problems of the country. The British government, he charged, also retained the Constitution and electoral system and thus declared the Conference a "farce."
Three important issues were faced by Cheddi Jagan during 1966 – the continued imprisonment of PPP leaders at Mazaruni Prison where they were held without trial; the May 26th independence of the nation and the Venezuelan border issue.
The People's Progressive Party led by Cheddi Jagan consistently and
militantly led the struggle for Guyana’s independence from Britain from 1950 onwards.
The British Government backed by the USA maneuvered to prevent independence
from being declared when the PPP was in office and manipulated the PPP out
of office in 1964. The People’s National Congress carried the unpatriotic
slogan "No Independence under Jagan" and gave no support to the struggle.
The Colonial Office announced the Independence date for May 26, 1966 and on
that date the Union Jack was lowered and the new Guyana flag was raised.
Cheddi Jagan, despite the reprehensible actions of the British and US
Governments and the PNC to prevent Independence while he was in office,
attended the ceremonies and welcomed the final break with colonialism,
but stated that May 26 would mark a new phase in the struggle against
neocolonialism.
“Independence finally came on a platter to the PNC in 1966. Since then,
under the past administration, it has been 26 wasted years. All we have to
show are the symbols of Independence - the flag, the national anthem and the
coat of arms. For the vast majority, Independence has meant misery, pain and
haplessness... This is not how it could have been.” Cheddi Jagan
1993
The struggle to free the 34 detainees was intensified with countrywide petitions and protests, with the detainees being released in July 1966.
Dr. Jagan accused the Coalition government of the PNC and the United Force of selling out the interests of the Guyanese people when it agreed to establish the Venezuela – Guyana Border Commission. Dr. Jagan stated that the border dispute was settled years ago and the setting up of the Commission was a serious retreat as it gave the Venezuelan claim the status it never had before.
At the 13th Congress of the PPP, Cheddi Jagan declared in his address: "We must carry out a relentless struggle against the government in defence of the people’s vital interests …… We must concentrate on day to day work in every front to achieve racial integration and unity of the working class."
He referred to the unemployment figure which was 17% in the city and 23% in the rural areas and to the cost of living which had jumped 5 points in only 1˝ years compared to 10 points in the 7 previous years of the PPP government. He also noted that when the PPP left office at the end of 1964 there was $5.4 M in the Treasury but at the end of 1965 this was reduced to $0.6 M with a debt of $8 M.
1967This was another year of mobilizing Guyanese to resist the oppressive PNC/UF Coalition government. The PPP appointed its then General Secretary Janet Jagan to the Elections Commission, preparing for the first elections after Independence, 1968.
By May 1967, Ms. Jagan reported in the Party’s official organ "THUNDER" that plans were already being put in place by the PNC to rig the elections. The Registration Officer was being handpicked by the PNC and the Elections Commission was not being allowed to supervise the registration of voters. These fears she had reported to the Governor General, but he said he had no authority to deal with such matters. In a public statement, the PPP said that all the moves confirmed the suspicion that there would be "fraud and tampering of the electoral process by the parties of the Coalition Government." Said the PPP – "the question of free and fair elections is fundamental to the future peace and welfare of the nation.
In June, Dr. Jagan addressed the Guyanese West Indian Association at the Town Hall, Georgetown. He said: "Unity like peace is highly desirable. There can be no doubt about it. In peace, there is the peace of the police state, with its concentration camps, detention centres and prisons. And there is the genuine peace based on respect for parliamentary democracy, democratic institutions and civil liberties. So too with unity. Because of frustration, there has come a renewed call for Caribbean unity."
He spoke of Caribbean history and "Caribbean nationalism with one voice demanded political freedom." At the meeting Dr. Jagan spoke: " From a position of ersatz - Englishmen we are now becoming ersatz – Americans. We seem to have forgotten our roots. There must be a new search for our identity, what we are, where we come from, where we are going and how we must get there. And the initiative must come not from the labour aristocrats and prosperity – corrupted professionals who have failed the people, but from the revolutionary masses, the students, youth and intellectuals who are prepared to challenge the money changers and thought controllers."
The People's Progressive Party under Cheddi Jagan’s leadership called a Week of Solidarity with Vietnam from July 8-16, 1967.
At the Party’s annual Congress this year, in his address, Dr. Jagan referred to the victory of the workers in forcing the government to desist from enacting anti-strike legislation in the form of compulsory arbitration, which was altered to voluntary arbitration. He said: "Unity of the working class regardless of race is vital. If we are to go forward, the Party must have the backing of the working class, the peasantry and the intelligencia, not of one race, but of all races … it is necessary to have a Marxist and not a racist approach to our problems, to fight for genuine democracy and an anti-imperialist programme… Our future is bright and full of hope. This is no time to despair … We must now take the offensive. We must combat racism mercilessly and build a disciplined party of quality rather than mere quantity. We must relentlessly expose and attack the Coalition government for subverting the Constitution and making plans to rig the next elections."
The PPP in a statement published in Thunder, the Party’s official organ, warned that electoral rigging would take place in the 1968 elections. It said that the PNC regime was giving Guyanese residents overseas the right to vote and anticipated that some 42,000 would be given the right to vote. The PPP also charged that proxy voting would be used to rig the elections and that the PNC was in control of the election machinery. The Party deemed these acts "the final assault on democratic principles and the parliamentary process."
Dr. Cheddi Jagan, this year, wrote and published "Anatomy of Poverty in Guyana" which advocated that Guyana’s future depended on simultaneous agricultural and industrial development. He pointed out that Latin America was a perfect example of world poverty and food shortages. Food shortages, he said come from feudal land ownership coupled with capitalistic ejection of farmers from occupied lands and dumping them into the growing labour market.
PPP Leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan led a protest march to protest the many irregularities in the National Registration for voters which denied thousands of their right to vote. Units of the Police and Army were called out to stem the protests.
The December 16, 1968 elections, were, as predicted, rigged. The PNC which by this time had dumped its coalition partner the United Force, claimed 55.%, the PPP 30% and the UF 7%. The 1964 elections had given the PPP 46%, the PNC 40% and the UF 12%.
Dr. Jagan in an article in Thunder said that extensive fraud, including fabricated padded voters’ lists, extensive proxy voting, fake votes and ballot box tampering led to the fraudulent elections.
He referred to the exposure of fraudulent overseas voting by the British Grenada Television Company entitled "The Trail of the Vanishing Votes" which disclosed that in a sample of 551 voters registered in London, there were only 117 genuine names and in another sample in Manchester of 346 registered, only 19 were genuine.
In a second programme entitled "The Making of a Prime Minister" Grenada Television reported that only 4,700 of the 11,750 registered voters in USA were genuine and 13,050 of the 44,300 registered in UK were genuine.
And Peter D’Aguiar, United Force leader stated: "to call it an election is to give it a name it does not deserve; it was a seizure of power by fraud, not elections."
Dr. Jagan urged the PPP to "carry out a policy of unity and struggle – struggle against those who vacillate and support imperialism and with those who will fight in defence of democracy, freedom and socialism.
