Articles by Janet Jagan
Will Carry the Torch He Lit
by Janet Jagan(Text of Janet Jagan's tribute at the State Funeral for President Jagan held at the Public Buildings on March 10, 1997)
We have all been deeply moved by the demonstrations of love, respect and genuine grief which we have seen demonstrated by so many Guyanese of all strata of our society, of all faces and religious groups, and from the young and old.
That in itself tells the tale of the man who today we mourn. I have known him longer than any other except than his brothers and sisters.
I can testify to the very special qualities that helped make him what he has become in the hearts of all Guyanese.
He was above all a fighter, a man dedicated to win advances, not only for the people of his native land but for all humanity.
He was a man who never gave up. When the odds were high against him, in betwixt of all those hopeless situations, he never lost strength, never lost the will to achieve his goals.
I can testify to his goodness, to his honesty and integrity, to his lack of concern for the material things of life; to his remarkable intellect, always seeking the truth.
He was constantly analysing, looking at two, three of four sides of a problem in order to arrive at the correct answer.
My greatest regret at his death, aside from the loss of my companion of over half a century, the father of my two children and the grandfather of five, is that he was not given the time to complete his plans to fulfill his dreams.
He had many dreams for Guyana, to eradicate poverty, to build a strong and independent nation, to consolidate the democracy he had struggled to restore, and above all, to unite the nation.
He fervently sought unity and never succumbed to pessimism. He always knew that the battle for unity would be achieved.
Today we are seeing his hopes come true.
Those who carry on despite this great loss, have worked under his leadership and know his direction.
They have been his students; those who have stood by him faithfully all these trying years struggling for the people's rights, know his wishes, his dreams his plans.
All of us will carry the torch he lit so many years ago.
We say farewell to our dear comrade, our friend, our hero.
Cheddi, rest in peace. Your name will live on."
© 1999 Janet Jagan
Hindsight and a Truth Commission
by Janet JaganSometimes hindsight seems to provide better answers or decisions than those made at the time a matter arose. This is always a difficult matter to resolve. Was the decision at the time of making, correct, or has knowledge afterwards proved that the decision was wrong?
This came to mind when looking back at all the damage and hurt to the nation which has taken place by the wrong-doings, perversity, violence and sheer unadulterated hate perpetuated through the last eleven years by the People’s National Congress.
The question I ask is: Would Guyana have been better off if, instead of being kind and forgiving, the PPP/Civic led by Cheddi Jagan in 1992 had taken a different decision?
It could have gone the way of South Africa with the setting up a truth commission and bringing before the commission all those who had killed, raped, stolen, lied and swindled, taken massive bribes and wrecked the country. The commission would have had the right to cause charges to be laid against those guilty of crimes against the State and who would have to face the courts for their crimes.
Instead, and guided by our late President Cheddi Jagan, forgiveness was the decision, forgiveness in the hopes that those guilty of dastardly crimes would never repeat them and mainly as an effort to heal the nation. I stand by Dr Jagan’s hopes of healing and reconciliation as a means of bringing unity to Guyana.
However, when one considers the behaviour of the PNC in all these years, one can only wonder if the forgiveness was merely converted into a feeling that children as well as criminals sometimes get - that it is licence to behave even worse.
That is our experience so far. The lackey media - sections of the print media and TV, have conveniently forgotten everything, even what the PPP/Civic has done to rectify the evils perpetrated by the PNC, and do their damndest to vilify the PPP and provide comfort and solidarity to the wickedness of the PNC.
Is it possible to forget the violence of the 1997 and 2001 post election period, the specifics of violence against a racial group and the projection by Mr Hoyte that he would make it impossible to govern and, as well, the glorification of Mr Hoyte by the media?
Is there anyone in Guyana or the diaspora who can forget the politics of the wave of terrible crimes following the infamous jail break? Find me one person who can say, without tongue in cheek, that the PNC was not responsible for this wave of criminal violence which also had its racial context.
And now, boldly, like the thief, who is being chased by the police, points a finger and says "He’s gone that way." The thief becomes the accuser and the lackey press becomes his defender.
In my article last week about the world furor on the issue of weapons of mass destruction being a myth for ill-usage by the US and UK, I mentioned that just as President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair are now accusing faulty information as the reason for going to war in Iraq, it’s quite possible that the same will happen and the faulty or false information about phantom gangs in Guyana will turn out the same. At least the CIA and M15 made reports but in Guyana, no such reports are made, only hearsay and flimsy excuses by criminals and others within and without the PNC that they won’t make reports to the police. Only a fool could accept such a stupid excuse, and yet one sees the Stabroek News holding on to its story, telling the public that now there’s someone else who knows about the so-called phantom gang but won’t go to the police.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
© 2001 Janet Jagan
