Guyana

VI

History

Before the arrival of European explorers, what is now Guyana was inhabited by tribes of Arawak, Carib, and Warrau Native Americans. It was first charted by Spanish explorers in 1499. By the mid-18th century Dutch settlers and traders had prevailed over rival Spanish and British expeditions. Although formal possession fell to the British in 1814, the Dutch system of administration persisted during most of the pre-colonial period (the colony of British Guiana came into being in 1831). During the years of British rule, the Native American population was reduced to a tiny minority by large influxes of African and East Indian peoples. Guyana received its first constitution under the British administration in 1928, but universal suffrage was not granted until 1953.

In 1961 Guyana achieved full internal self-government, and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), under the leadership of Dr Cheddi Jagan, gained a majority in the legislative assembly. In 1962 Jagan introduced a programme of severe economic austerity that caused violent riots and a general strike. British troops were called in to restore order in February 1962 and again in 1963. In 1963 the disorders took on racial overtones; people of African descent clashed with the East Indian supporters of Jagan. When calm was restored, the nation was left on the brink of economic chaos.

Following constitutional conferences between Guyana and Great Britain in 1962 and 1963, elections were held in late 1964. The PPP again received the most votes, but failed to gain a majority. The British government thereupon called on Forbes Burnham, leader of the minority People’s National Congress (PNC), to form a coalition government.

A

Independence

In 1965 the British Guiana Independence Conference met in London, and a new constitution was approved. On May 26, 1966, Guyana was declared an independent nation. It joined the UN in 1966. Guyana became a charter member of the Caribbean Free Trade Area (CARIFTA) in 1968. Elections that year confirmed Burnham in office. On February 23, 1970, Guyana was proclaimed a republic, and Arthur Chung was named president. The PNC won again in 1973.

In the early 1970s Guyana established diplomatic relations with China and several other communist nations. In the economic sphere, an investment plan was adopted in 1973, calling for expenditure of US$1.15 billion by 1976. The country aimed at self-sufficiency in agriculture, the development of oil resources, and a greater voice in the development of its bauxite deposits and profits from them. The government assumed control of all foreign trade in 1974.

Guyana was the scene of the Jonestown mass suicide and murder in 1978, when more than 900 members of a religious cult, primarily US citizens, took poison on orders of their leader, James Warren (“Jim”) Jones.

In 1978 the term of the National Assembly was extended for a year beyond its five-year limit in anticipation of a new constitution; it was extended again in 1979. After the new constitution was put into effect in 1980, Prime Minister Forbes Sampson Burnham was elected president and given most state powers. The PNC retained its overwhelming majority in the assembly, but an international team of observers questioned the validity of Burnham’s victory. He governed until his death in 1985, and was succeeded by Desmond Hoyte. Elections that same year confirmed PNC control of the assembly and Hoyte as president. Hoyte remained in office until October 1992, when, in an internationally supervised election, Jagan and his People’s Progressive Party (PPP) returned to power.

B

Recent Elections

The elections of December 1997, won by Janet Jagan (wife of Cheddi Jagan, who died in March 1997) and the PPP, were disputed by the PNC, although the elections were declared fair by international observers. The dispute sparked rioting by PNC-supporters. In early 1998 a compromise decision to allow fresh elections in 1999 was agreed and Janet Jagan was appointed president.

In April 1998 the government was forced to declare a state of emergency after prolonged lack of rain led to forest fires, and severely disrupted agriculture, gold mining, and even the supply of drinking water. Political and racial unrest simmered until June when rioters set fire to the finance ministry. The situation was brought under control by a deal brokered by CARICOM, in which the PNC opposition agreed to return to the national assembly after a seven-month boycott.

A Constitutional Reform Commission was established in January 1999. In its report to the National Assembly, it called for greater autonomy and cultural rights for Guyana's indigenous peoples, stronger environmental protection, reform of the electoral system to embrace proportionality, and the creation of an Indigenous Peoples Commission to look into the question of land rights. President Jagan resigned in August due to ill health; she was succeeded by the finance minister Bharrat Jagdeo. Tensions mounted in October when Venezuela resurrected a border dispute, while in February 2000, festivities were held to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the republic's foundation. The border dispute with Venezuela continued into 2000, a year that also saw Guyana close to war with Suriname over an oil-drilling venture by a Canadian company, operating with Guyana’s permission, in the disputed Courantyne river. The company pulled out of the venture as successive rounds of talks failed to resolve the dispute.

In January 2001 the 1997 elections were declared invalid by a high court judge; however, she ruled that the PPP’s government should stay in power until the next election, held in March. The election was closely observed by a number of independent observers, and was pronounced fair. The PPP won the election and, despite opposition protests and episodes of violence, Bharrat Jagdeo was sworn in as president on March 31, 2001. An ethnic relations commission was established by the major parties in an attempt to avoid the violence surrounding the election. In May, Sam Hinds of the PPP was appointed prime minister.

Television presenter Mark Benschop was charged with treason in 2002, accused of encouraging Afro-Guyanese protestors to storm the presidential offices. The jury failed to reach a decision in 2004 and a re-trial was ordered.

Unrest fuelled by ethnic tensions between Indo- and Afro-Guyanese continued across the country. The killing of agriculture minister Satyadeow Sawh in April 2006 was claimed by many as an attempt to stoke ethnic unrest before the elections scheduled for early August. The elections were postponed for nearly a month but at the end of August Jagdeo won a second presidential term, securing more than 54 per cent of the vote.