Tributes to Cheddi Jagan

 

Essequibians pay tribute to “Father of the Nation”
- Guyanese celebrate Dr. Jagan’s eight death anniversary.

 

Today was another very historical day for Guyanese, as people from all parts of the country paid tribute to the late President Dr. Cheddi Jagan. Today marked the eight death anniversary of the former President. Essequibians from all walks of life turned up at the Anna Regina play-ground to honour the great leader.

The ceremony included cultural presentations and speeches by several persons and was organised by the Regional Administration and members of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic of the Region.

Guest speaker at the event, Information Liaison to the President Robert Persaud, said people should celebrate the life of the democratic leader and also founder of the PPP. “His thinking will have relevance to the developmental process in the country,” said Mr. Persaud.

He also told the gathering that “one of Dr. Jagan’s initiatives, the New Human Global Order received special attention by the United Nation’ Assembly.”

Mr. Persaud further stated that the late President even in his senior years, stood firm in his ideas and concepts of democracy and fair Governance.

Persaud said that Dr. Jagan’s legacy will live on forever as the journey to progress continues.

Another speaker, Regional Chairman, Ali Baksh emphasized the idealism of the Father of the Nation. He told the gathering that Dr. Jagan’s writings are being used in Caribbean universities. He added that “the young generation will come to recognize this great son of the soil as a national hero.”

Vice-Chairman, Vishnu Samaroo also briefly addressed the gathering. Mr. Samaroo noted that Dr. Jagan’s leadership and desire to improve the lives of the masses, resulted in better education, health, schools, water, electricity, drainage and roads among other facilities.

The ceremony included a wreath-laying service by various officials and representatives of several organisations.

March 06, 2005,

 

Cheddi Jagan remembered.

 

Former President Cheddi Jagan was today remembered as a man who gave his life to the service of the people, a true son of the soil and the father of the nation at a ceremony to mark the 8 th anniversary of his death at the site of his cremation at Port Mourant, Corentyne.

President Bharrat Jagdeo in the feature address said that a young Dr. Cheddi Jagan returned to Guyana in 1943 after studying in the United States of America to find a country where the ordinary people did not have a say in the management of the country.

He said, “If you did not have property, or if you could not read and write you could not vote. If you were not a Christian, you could not get a job in the civil service”.

President Jagdeo said that the late President returnedhome from studying abroad, to face a country where people were living in squalor, with very little infrastructure and faced death if they protested at the hand of the planters in the colonial era.

“He knew what he was coming back into and today we are all, every single Guyanese, grateful, because he could have easily stayed abroad, but he returned to this country because he was committed to it, committed to making changes here”, he said.

The President said that because of this every single Guyanese is better off for it regardless of race or religion. He also stressed the importance of the contribution by the widow of Dr. Jagan, Mrs. Janet Jagan who made sacrifices and struggled for the freedom of this country.

“Cheddi Jagan is respected in Guyana because of his works, not because it is inherited; because he stood for something and did not wait until things got better in this country, like so many others today who are coming back and forming parties”, he said.

President Jagdeo said that these people stayed away from Guyana when many of the leaders of the People’s Progressive Party struggled under the rule of the People’s National Congress.

He pointed out that all of the PPP party leaders were jailed during this struggle while many expatriates were ensconced overseas. The President said that when the PPP took office and freedom returned to this country, these expatriates took advantage of that and are trying to split the party and tarnish its integrity.

“This is not going to happen. We can promise you that and because of you our supporters, we are ready next year for elections. We are going to take on those elections and we are going to come out better than before”.

The President said, “The name and the legacy of Dr. Jagan cannot be carried on only by the PPP or the Government. It must be carried on by all of our supporters.”

He told the large crowd that they have a duty to teach their children about the struggles of the late leader and his role in the history of Guyana, so when people try to re-write history, they will know.

“I want all of us to pledge that we are going to make sure that our history will not be distorted and our struggles would be remembered and if we do that, this party will forever do well and the life and the works of Cheddi Jagan will live on forever more”, he said.

President Jagdeo said that in order for Guyanese to properly understand the struggles of the post-independence period, they must know about the extensive manipulation of our domestic situation by external forces.

He pointed out that documents released by the United States of America State Department revealed that in 1964, a conversation between the then Foreign Minister of Venezuela and an Assistant Secretary of State of the USA, showed that Venezuela was prepared to invade Guyana and kidnap Dr. Jagan and Mrs. Janet Jagan and that they were working with the PNC.

This he said is a little indication of the behind-the-scenes acts that were going on to remove the PPP from office.

President Jagdeo said that the struggle today is a little different and what we have now is a new international order based on selfishness. He said that an example of this is the European Union’s challenge to Guyana’s sugar regime.

He said, “When Dr. Jagan spoke about the struggles that took place at this time and the politics of keeping countries like ours as producers of raw materials for the developed countries of the world and keep us at the periphery of development, that has not changed.”

The President said that Dr. Jagan’s ideas on the New Global Human Order that he dreamed about to focus on the development of the North and South, the rich and the poor and address the global issues such as poverty, disease and today’s terrorism are shared in part by the Presidents of Brazil and Chile who recently visited Guyana.

“The relevancy of Dr. Jagan’s ideas is very important to today’s world,” he said.

President Bharrat Jagdeo also spoke of the late President’s role in the fight to return democracy to Guyana. He said that the Government has managed this country through the legacy of Dr. Jagan, in a way that is fair and progressive and has never pandered to racism and religious sentiments. “We are the only national party”, he said.

The President said that this Government has done well because of the legacy that it is carrying on because it has a very important name and set of principles to live up to. He said that his Government will continue to strive to uphold those principles.

Mrs. Jagan who also spoke at the ceremony said the late President’s ideas and plans continue to influence the PPP. She said that the Party’s leadership is forever reminded of his principles of honesty and integrity.

Mrs. Jagan said that he was a man of the people and remembered that her late husband said that he felt rejuvenated after being among the people.

Wreaths were laid at the cremation site of the late leader by President Jagdeo, Mrs. Jagan, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, Minister of Agriculture (ag), Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Harripersaud Nokta, General Secretary of the PPP Donald Ramoutar, Parliamentary Secretary Philomena Sahoye-Shury, Member of Parliament Cyril Belgrave and other party members.

March 06, 2005

 

 

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) has organized a series of events and activities to celebrate the life and work of our late General Secretary and Guyana’s former President, Dr. Cheddi Jagan.

The activities held annually honour the life of the founder-leader the late Dr. Cheddi Jagan the foremost political leader of the country.

The events and various activities are listed below:

 

March 4	Night of Reflection	Freedom House
March 6	Wreath Laying	Karasabai
March 6	Wreath Laying	Kopinang
March 6	Wreath Laying	Play Park, Anna Regina
March 6	Cycle Race	New Amsterdam
March 6	Remembering Cheddi	Babu John
March 6	Soft Ball competition	Helena #2 Ground
March 19	Bar-B-Que Fun Day	Lima, Essequibo
March 20	Family Fun-Day	New Road Sports Ground, Essequibo
March 20	Fitness Walk	National Park
March 20	Family Fun Day	State House

 

These activities will be complemented by a series of media and community-related activities in all ten regions.

The PPP invitees all Guyanese to join in the reflection on the life of the late President.

The late President Jagan died on March 6, 1997.

 

 

© 1999 Cheddi Jagan Research Centre.  All rights reserved.