Recording Guyanese political history: Memory, `archives’ and narrative overlook
By Nigel Westmaas
This essay is concerned about the politics of memory. As Guyana’s newest political (elections) season unfurls there will be numerous references to events, concepts and phrases that support attendant political narratives, that is, Guyanese political history as mainly defined by the two mass political parties that have been at the helm of the country’s political life since 1953. This contemporary concentration on a convenient nomenclature of Guyana’s political history that devolves primarily on the narrative of the two dominant political forces is hardly surprising given the grasp these organisations have held on national political consciousness up to this point.
The nomenclature of events and concepts by which the two main political parties (the PPP and PNC) define and control the narrative of “modern” Guyanese politics include: the “1950s” and “1960s”; “Disturbances”; Feed, Clothe and House the nation”; Enmore Martyrs”, “First Past the Post “ system; ”Sun Chapman” and the preceding Wismar incidents; “ Power-sharing”; “rigged elections”; “Partition”; “Proportional representation”; and “paramountcy of the party”. These favourites in the local political lexicon, as important as they are separately and collectively, sometimes uncritically legalize the philosophy and actions of one main party or the other in the representation of Guyana’s political history. This dominance leaves in its wake silences or ill attendance to other political narratives, past and present and the need for a thoughtful search for an improvement in our political narrative and culture. [more]
