Burnham’s remains finally committed
“HE has done his work and done it faithfully and well. We must now do ours...” the words of President Desmond Hoyte during his short statement at Sunday’s committal of the last mortal remains of Guyana’s first elected President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham.
The committal started precisely at 16:15 hrs. and lasted ninety minutes under overcast skies and drizzles at the Seven Ponds — Place of Heroes in the Botanic Gardens in Georgetown.
The glass capsule containing the remains of Burnham was draped in the national flag. There was also an Honour Guard in attendance made up of members of the Disciplined Services and representatives of the Women’s Revolutionary Socialist Movement, who later gave way to more members of the Forces who eventually bore the capsule to the place of entombment.
Unlike the funeral service for Burnham last year August, the Methodist church was responsible for conducting the religious aspect of the ceremony with three priests officiating. Hymns were sung, and there were readings from the Bible and a sermon by one of the Methodist priests.
There were also readings from the Quran and the Bhagwat Gita.
Seated close to the glass capsule were the family of the late Founder-Leader of the People’s National Congress, including his widow Vice-President and Deputy Prime Minister Viola Burnham and son-in-law Dr. Richard Van West- Charles, Senior Minister of Health, together with his children and their husbands.
Among the specially invited persons to the enclosure outside the mausoleum that houses the tomb where the late President’s remains lie, were Ministers of the Government, members of the Judiciary, the Diplomatic Corps, former Government Ministers, the Speaker, Members of Parliament, executive members of the ruling People’s National Congress and Opposition Leader Dr. Cheddi Jagan, among others.
President Hoyte in his statement, which came after the Massed Bands under the baton of Police Superintendent Leon Waddell had played “O Beautiful Guyana,” and readings by two of the Burnham children, said the late President Burnham had taught us that ours is the primary responsibility for building our country.
“He warned us against the dangerous folly of idleness and disunity and emphasised that the goal of development could be attained only by patience, selfreliance and sustained disciplined work,” the President said.
Reminding those present that Burnham is no longer around to lead the Guyanese people, President Hoyte continued, “we must follow our own impulses and chart our own course.”
Referring to Burnham’s contribution to Guyana, Hoyte said the late leader “found us a mere miscellany of colonial subjects, confused, directionless, lacking in self-consciousness and purpose. He left us a proud, cohesive, independent nation, with a common destiny and today we are a people fit for freedom, lords of ourselves capable of functioning with exceptional grace and exceptional versatility,” Hoyte concluded.
As the commendation and committal ceremony ended, the drizzles ceased and the small crowd made up mainly of women and young people outside the enclosure closed their umbrellas to join in singing the National Anthem which came after the sounding of the Last Post and the paying of final respects by President Hoyte and Prime Minister Hamilton Green.
The ‘Stabroek News’ learned that for the time being the site in the Botanic Gardens will be under tight guard by the military and the Police.