BURNHAM FLOUR CONSPIRACY AGAINST INDO-GUYANESE’ MYTH HAS OUTLIVED ITS USEFULNESS
May 16, 2013
(Reprinted from http://brutalfactsgt.com/)
Like clockwork and tin soldiers, the purveyors of “the great Burnham flour conspiracy against Indo-Guyanese” will appear with their “Burnham made Indians suffer” message of victimization, in response to any attempt; serious or otherwise, to reminsce, educate or discuss LFSB’s accomplishment during his time in office. It is sometimes incredulous, how well timed the interventions are and, the interventions are frequent and varied. They often come from the most ‘outwardly’ rabid ‘anti-PPPC critics’ and expectantly from the most loyal PPPC supporters, but come they do.
And so, in the past twenty years, no real serious intellectual discourse on Burhnam and his accomplishments have been allowed into the social sphere. By and large, the anti-Burnham cabal of mostly PPPC Jaganites and their media agents have been successful in intimidating the PNC party, Burnham family members and former Burnham associates; Indian or non-Indian from sharing their experiences and or documenting for history, Burnham’s goals, challenges and shortcomings. The alleged destruction by bonfire of most of his videos archived in the custody of the government at the dawn of this much heralded democracy by well known PPP apparatchiks would have been the first salvo in this vicious plot to destroy the public record. However, with the usual overconfidence which accompanies a successful and devious plot, they overplayed their hand by unfolding their evil plan to foil LFSB’s recognition by the South African government.
fact tThe most disgusting assumption in the “great Burnham flour conspiracy is that only Indians suffered from the Government’s banning of a wide list of food imports. To hear the purveyors of the victim theory tell it; roti was the only product made with flour at that time in history. In fact, they are adamant that Burnham’s banning of flour impacted only Indians. Sadly the perspective, often advanced by the PPPC race-baiters like Jagdeo, Ramotar, Nandilall & Persaud, is not only understandably simplistic, but it ignores the that all other Guyanese ate roti, and bread, and pastries, and pasta and all the other foods derived from flour.
What is so often missing in these innane interventions is a recognition of the fact that the options available to Guyanese people at that time was not Socialism v Democracy; it was Burnham’s Socialism v Cheddi’s Marxism-Leninism, both options despised by the Western powers that worked against Burnham’s economy, the same way they would have worked against a Cheddi Jagan Maxist-Leninist economy. So at that time in history, Guyanese were destined to be subject to the effects of Western economic sanctions resulting in foreign exchange shortage and thus the banning of a wide range of food items.
Further, what the PPPC will never admit is that Cheddi Jagan give his blessing to the banning of the food items which both leaders believed could be produced locally in Guyana [or at least substitutes].
What is even more clear is that all people of Guyana paid the price for Guyana’s economic estrangement from the West. In fact, it was the new PNC government of Desmond Hoyte that introduced reforms like the Economic Recovery Program which opened up the markets and returned the country to a Democratic political and more acceptable Capitalist economic system.
Today of course, one expects the crass, largely uneducated PPPC minions to spout the party line ‘flour victimization’ theory in order to shore up its support base, but what one finds inexcusable is that relatively intelligent people who should know better, who should be more intellectually curious continue to allow themselves to be bombarded with such a grossly ignorant and racist perspective.
Thankfully, this recent, egregious attack against Burnham’s legacy, coupled with the benefit of social media communication channels have allowed supporters of Burhnam’s legacy another medium to have their say; and have it they do. The truth is finally beginning to see the light of day as more and more Guyanese citizens step forward to share their truths and as more young Guyanese read various perspectives for themselves and realize the backward propagandistic drivel they are continually fed by PPPC minions in Guyana. The shades have been lifted
