Statue of Queen Victoria should be removed

Dear Editor, I have long advocated for the statue of British Monarch, Queen Victoria to be removed from in front of the Supreme Court and placed on the grounds of the British High Commission or at the Haags Bosch dumpsite.

This statue is an affront to our ancestors, Amerindian, African and Indian, and our sovereignty - whatever little is left of it. Under the reign of Queen Victoria, the ruthless British Empire expanded, continuing its genocide against the indigenous people in parts of the Americas including Guyana, and throughout Africa and the Indian sub-continent. At one point she referred to herself as Empress of India.

How absurd is it that we have a statue, as if to honour her, on the front lawn of our law courts, where justice and the law is supposed to be upheld. What is wrong with our psyche that there are those amongst us who insist that this statue must stay because it is a part of our history?

Statues are erected to honour persons who have contributed in a positive and uplifting way to our history. When our children ask us who this woman is, and what she did, how will we explain why we chose to erect a statue commemorating someone who was a major player in the genocide of our ancestors and the plunder of our wealth?

We must stop acting in a mindless way with regard to both our past and present, blindly following those who colonized us without any thought for our own dignity and understanding of our right to selfdetermination. It is this type of mental slavery that has us right where we are today. Forbes Burnham had this statue removed. Under President Hoyte it was resurrected.

I am calling on the Pan-African Movement (Guyana Branch), African Cultural and Development Association (ACDA), Guyana Rastafari Council, Indian Action Committee, Amerindian People’s Association to join with Organization for the Victory of the People to seek the immediate removal of this statue.

Let’s at least accomplish this much in this International Decade for People of African Descent.

Yours faithfully, Gerald A. Perreira Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)