Press Releases

The first of three volumes of speeches made by former President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham was today handed over to Speaker of the National Assembly, Hon. Raphael Trotman, by the publication’s editor Professor David Dabydeen in Committee Room 2 of the Parliament Office, Brickdam.
The publication is a result of Resolution #46 passed by the National Assembly on December 14, 2007. It was a resolution that came to the National Assembly mandating the Government to designate a state Institution to be responsible for historical Research and Documentation and to Chronicle and archive all of the works of each President of Guyana for the benefit of future generations of Guyanese.
Speaker Trotman said that he was extremely happy to receive the first copy of the speeches and noted that he has read speeches made by Mr. L.F.S Burnham, Dr. Jagan and others, and was impressed with the level of decency and decorum displayed in the House during Mr. Burnham’s era. He said he hopes the volumes will be utilized by politicians, students and the wider public as, like Dr. Jagan, Mr. Burnham played a vital role in the development, democratisation, and transformation of our country.
Professor David Dabydeen, who in recent years, has been at the forefront of resuscitating Guyanese historic and literary heritage, apologized for the miscommunication which he said caused the delay in his presence to hand over the books.
He noted that piles of documents provided by the Parliament Office amounted to three volumes of Mr. Burnham’s speeches being compiled so far. Professor Dabydeen explained that while he was only handing over a copy of the first volume, the second is currently on its way to Guyana while the third is in the process of being published. The books were published by the Caribbean Press, and edited by Professor David Dabydeen.
The professor also noted that the first volume of speeches contained insights into the kinds of struggles that took place in Parliament before Guyana became independent.
He said only about 100 copies of the volumes were published and these are expected to be handed over to the Parliament and the diplomatic corp, but members of the public can access them the speeches free of charge on the Caribbean Press website www.caribbeanpress.org.
Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923–6 August 1985) led Guyana from 1964 until his death, first as Premier from 1964 to 1966, then as the Prime Minister from 1966 to 1980 and finally as President from 1980 to 1985. He was awarded Guyana's highest national award, the Order of Excellence (O.E.).