As Guyanese prepare to celebrate the New Year, the President of Guyana H.E David Granger has announced his decision to revoke the lease for the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre from its permanent home at Red House.

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre is dedicated to the preservation, conservation and research into the life and works of the late President of Guyana Dr. Cheddi Jagan (1918 to 1997). It was officially opened on 22nd March 2000 at Red House. Dr. Jagan lived at Red House in 1961 to 1964, when he was Premier and Minister of Development and Planning.

The Cheddi Jagan Research Centre is home to a large collection of papers, documents, photographs, audio and videotapes related to Dr. Jagan’s involvement in political life of Guyana. This unique archive has been available to all Guyanese, free of cost. Those who have visited over the years and utilized the facilities have certainly developed a greater appreciation of our contemporary political history. They would have developed a better appreciation for Dr. Jagan’s political service to Guyana, starting with the formation of the Political Affairs Committee (1946), the formation of the Peoples Progressive Party (1950), service in the Legislative Council (starting in 1947), service to rice farmers (president of Rice Producers Association), service in government (1953, 1957-1961, 1961-1964, 1992-1997), service in opposition (1964- 1992), service to sugar workers (honorary president of GAWU) and service to the PPP as General Secretary (1970 to 1997) and so much more.

Dr. Jagan was loved nationally, and a person of immense stature in the Caribbean and Globally. His advocacy for the new Global Human Order to eradicate world poverty is still a viable option that is engaging the United Nations.

The decision by the President Granger to revoke the lease of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre is an attack on Dr. Jagan's legacy. It is a deliberate attempt to undervalue his role, to erase his significance and to prevent the Guyanese, home and abroad, from having access to information pertaining to him. We strongly believe that this action is ill conceived, wrong and vindictive:

1.       Revoking the lease is effectively closing the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre, which has been in existence for sixteen years.  It is a most grievous act and the greatest insult to the memory and legacy of Cheddi Jagan.

2.       Closing the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre threatens the archival material, which includes documents from the 1940 to 1997, video and audiotapes and important photographs that is housed in the Centre.

3.       Closing the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre denies researchers access to these important historical records.

4.       Closing the CJRC disrupts the annual Cheddi Jagan Memorial Lecture.

5.       Closing the CJRC disrupts the publication of “The Journal of the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre.”

We call on all fair-minded Guyanese to sign this petition asking the government to immediately rescind this decision.