Dr. J was a natural internationalist - Dr. Odeen Ishmael
Guyana Chronicle
March 25, 2004
THE late President of Guyana, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, because of his socialist oriented outlook was a natural internationalist.
This view was expressed by Guyana's Ambassador to Venezuela, Dr. Odeen Ishmael, when he delivered a lecture entitled "Cheddi Jagan's Vision For Caribbean and Hemispheric Integration" at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre yesterday in observance of the 86th birth anniversary of Dr. Jagan.
"I believe that it was natural for Cheddi Jagan to look beyond Guyana in the shaping of his political and economic views," Dr.Ishmael asserted.
He related that his view has been reinforced by popular Hollywood actor, Danny Glover whom he met recently at a social function hosted by Venezuela President Higo Chavez in Caracas, the Venezuela capital.
He said Glover revealed to him along with some Caribbean and African diplomats how he was deeply influenced by the tireless struggles of Dr. Jagan in the fight against colonialism and democracy.
Dr. Ishmael recalled that the late President was a vocal supporter for West Indian unity supporting the decisions of the 1943 Montego Bay conference, which determined how the proposed West Indian Federation should be shaped and developed. Of special note, he added was that the Montego Bay conference involved leaders and representatives of the British government who agreed that each unit territory would be granted self-government status and the new federation would have been given dominion status as was enjoyed by Canada and Australia.
Dr.Jagan, he recalled, consistently demanded that only if the unit territories were self-governing would the federation be able to survive. The federation as predicted broke up within four years because of disagreements among federation leaders themselves.
Two of the leaders at that time Eric Williams and Grantley Adams former Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados respectively belatedly admitted that Dr. Jagan's position on the constitutional framework of the federation was correct, Dr. Ishmael posited, adding that such was the vision of Dr. Jagan. (Chamanlall Naipaul)