The Coalition for the 1823 Monument has objected to plans by the Government to erect pavilions and other structures at Parade Ground – the site of the 1823 Demerara Revolt Memorial.
Three members of the group recently picketed at the site of the 1823 Demerara Revolt Memorial – a stone’s throw away from where the Government, through the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, has begun the construction of two pavilions and other structures.
President of the Coalition for the 1823 Monuments, Penda Guyan said Parade Ground is sacred and ought not to be touched or desecrated. The 1823 Demerara uprising was the largest slave rebellion recorded in Guyana’s history, spanning from 1823 to 1824.
In the end, 51 slaves were sentenced to death and 31 were executed on the gallows located on Parade Ground.
“They brought our foreparents here, gave them a mock trial, after they pulled their own black coffins along Main Street and along Middle Street, which was at that time a dam. They brought them here, executed them, beheaded, put their heads on staves all around the Parade Ground, which extends from New Market to Quamina. So all around here our foreparents’ heads were hung and their bodies hung on the trees which bothered the ground and they were buried right here,” Sister Penda explained.
Maintaining that Parade Ground is sacred, Sister Guyan said the coalition cannot sit back and allow the ground to be desecrated at the hands of the Government or anyone else.
She contends that the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport went ahead with the project without consulting the coalition, and from all indications, the Georgetown Mayor and City Council was also left in the dark.
“This is a heritage site, National Trust knew nothing about it, absolutely nothing. The Mayor and City Council under whose jurisdiction this ground falls knew nothing about it. So, upon enquiring we then found out that it was the Minister of Culture who instructed the contractor to put these things here. So, he has usurped the position of the City Council and the National Trust. So, it is totally, totally unacceptable,” Sister Penda said.
Dr Rudi Guyan, Member of the Coalition for the 1823 Monument, questioned the ministry’s rationale for erecting pavilions near the monument. He said it appears to be a case of provocation on the part of the Culture Minister, Charles Ramson Jr.
“I am saying that the Minister of Culture is on a rollercoaster of provoking the Africans in this country. He disrespects us for some reason I don’t know why because we have to respect everybody,” Dr Guyan said.
Contending that this is not the first case of provocation, Dr Guyan accused the Culture Minister of attempting to dismantle the annual Emancipation Celebration hosted by ACDA twice. He warned that the desecration of Parade Ground will not be tolerated.
Elton McRae, a resident of Triumph on the East Coast of Demerara, said the ground should remain sacred.
“The Parade Ground should be a monument to the 1823, it is a monument in itself, you shouldn’t disturb it at all. We will allow was is there, but further disturbance of the Parade Ground is a disturbance of the resting places of our ancestors, of my ancestors. So, I am here today to say stop the desecration. Do not touch the ground,” McRae said.
Attempts to seek clarification from the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport were futile.
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