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Presidium of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSČ)
Top secret
3916/13
Help to the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana
Member of the Central Committee of the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana, comrade George David, handed in the recommendation letter from prime minister of British Guiana dr. Cheddi Jagan and he asked in his name for help.
There is attached the proposal for help to the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana.
Prepared by: comrade V. Koucký
15 July 1964
Number of pages: 5
[Attachment]
Appendix I
Č.j. P3916/13
Resolution
Re: Help to the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana (comrade V. Koucký)
RESOLUTION
We approved to give the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana:
2 motorbikes Jawa 250 with trailer
6 loudspeakers for street agitation
12 short 16 mm films about Czechoslovakia
A collection of political, economic and art literature in the English language
Financial cost for this help – 90,000 KČS [Czechoslovakian crowns] will be covered by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia as well as transport cost / about 300 US dollars
V. Koucký and J. Hendrych will be responsible for delivery of this help to British Guiana
[Attachment]
Appendix III
3916/13
On June 13, 1964 the member of the Central Committee of the People’s Progressive Party, Comrade George David, came to Prague as a special ambassador for the Prime Minister of British Guiana. He gave us a letter for the First Secretary of the Czechoslovakian Communist party Antonín Novotný from Dr. Cheddi Jagan empowering him to request assistance. Jagan also asked that the person who delivered this letter be given help.
In the conversation with the employees of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovakian Communist party this Comrade David said his party and Dr. Cheddi Jagan’s government are being attacked by two sides. The attacks by the British Colonial Office are complicated by the activities from the opposition parties and the yellow trade unions [trade unions allegedly controlled by the businesses that employed the workers], which are basically the servants of British and American imperialists. The activities of the parties and trade unions is to create disunity among the Guyanese people. And these colonialist attacks are more and more brutal and there is no day when the supporters of the People’s Progressive Party are not the object of these attacks.
Comrade George David tells us how the British and North American imperialists are creating pressure on the Guyanese people in the hope they will overthrow the government of Cheddi Jagan. In recent times, the British government has used local police, the court apparatus, and all the state’s power. The police commissioner is fully in the British service and as a British agent uses the police to destroy the workers’ movement. He brutally acts mostly during the strikes that the workers of the sugar plantations and sugar factories have participated in for more than three months. Out of 19,000 workers, 16,000 are on strike.
These reactionaries help create racial problems between the Indians and blacks. The owners of these sugar factories want to do everything to end the strike. They hire terrorist bands. This strike is only part of the struggle which British Guiana now faces. In recent times, there were several attacks by these terrorists and police at the workers’ villages. In a very short time 50 men and women were killed. The situation is getting worse. In the mining town Wilsmar [Wismar] these Fascist gangs that are supported by the British burned the houses of the supporters of the People’s Progressive Party and started the terror and for that reason 1,600 people left this town. The police commissioner refused the orders from the Minister of the Interior Mrs. Janet Jagan to send police forces to protect the workers. Mrs. Jagan resigned as a protest.
In the fall of this year the British imperialists want to organize elections in British Guiana under a new system of proportional representation. The aim of this election is to shake the position of Dr. Cheddi Jagan and the People’s Progressive Party. Because of this situation the leaders of the People’s Progressive Party and Dr. Cheddi Jagan decided to empower Comrade George David to ask the Central Committee of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party for help, that was presented at the beginning of this visit as 2 motorbikes Jawa 250 with trailer, 6 loudspeakers for street agitation, 12 short 16 mm films about Czechoslovakia and a collection of political, economical and art literature in the English language.
This help will cost:
2 motorbikes Jawa 250 with trailer 27,000 Kčs
6 loudspeakers for street agitation 31,200 Kčs
12 short 16 mm films 24,000 Kčs
Collection of literature 7,800 Kčs
Together 90,000 Kčs
These prices are only preliminary. It is necessary to add travel costs of about 300 USD for transport to Georgetown in British Guiana
Before his departure to Cuba, George David also asked for weapons, concretely a few pistols, ammunition, hand grenades, and a few small explosive materials.
The international division recommends to consider the first part of this request and to support it if possible. It does not recommend the second part of this request [the weapons] because the only means of transport which Comrade David recommends, is from one of the harbors in the German Democratic Republic with the delivery of Czechoslovak beer, which it considers risky and unrealistic.
From the point of view of the Central Committee of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party, it is possible to inform Dr. Cheddi Jagan through the representative of the People’s Progressive Party of British Guiana through the Central Committee of the British Communist Party.
1st Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior Prague, August 17, 1962
Č.j. A/1–00317/21–62
Top secret
Minister of the Interior
Comrade Lubomír Štrougal
Re: business trip of Jaroslav Mercl to British Guyana – report
Annex: 26 sheets
Dear comrade minister,
From 12 July 1962 to 26 July 1962 the agent of the 1st Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior comrade Jaroslav Mercl made a business trip to the English colony British Guiana as the member of a legal business delegation.
Before his departure from Czechoslovakia he contacted via our fellow-worker in Košice, a scholarship holder with the code name BLACK [Rudolf David]. He gave him several contact letters to the prominent leaders of British Guiana, including the prime minister’s wife Janette [sic] Jagan.
During his stay in British Guiana he was in touch with these people: Mrs. Jagan, who is also the general secretary of the PPP (People’s Progressive Party), prime minister dr. Cheddy [sic] Jagan, the minister of industry, the minister of trade and several others members of the British Guyana government and PPP.
In conversation with them he gained information about the political and economic situation in this country, including information about gaining independence, perspective on developments in British Guiana after gaining independence, particularly the perspective of political and economic relations with Czechoslovakia after gaining independence. Besides this, he focused on gaining as much information as possible about the possibility to penetrate British Guiana through the Czechoslovakian secret service.
Mercl wrote a final report about his trip, but, I present to you comrade minister, for your information, the most important conclusions:
1. Jagan’s party and his government are trying to gain independence as soon as possible. Their activities are paralyzed with the policy of the British government, which initiated internal political and racial struggles and under this pretense is shifting to [postpone] giving British Guiana independence.
2. The movement for independence in British Guiana is strong and therefore it is probable that the British government will give independence. According to the prime minister Jaggan [sic] it will be at the latest in spring 1963.
3. Jaggan’s [sic] government is planning that when British Guiana gains independence, it will declare as an independent republic which will still be formally part of the British Commonwealth as are some African countries. However, dr. Jaggan [sic] suggested that if the English postpone granting independence to BG, his government could change this opinion.
4. British Guiana’s government is preparing the intensive building of industry with some socialistic features after BG gains independence. However, it will be necessary to calculate with the strong economic influence of British and US capital.
5. Jagan’s government shows strong interest in gaining economic help from socialist countries, especially from the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia. From a political perspective it would be suitable to give BG this help after it gains independence. The next political development and stability of the relatively progressive Jaggan [sic] government will depend on how this government will solve economic problems in this country.
6. There is some possibility in foreign trade between BG and Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia could buy from BG oil, rice, bauxite etc. The BG market is open for our engineering industry and consumer goods.
7. As to mutual relations – it would be best to establish a branch of our foreign trade enterprise in Georgetown. It would be a branch of our office in London. After BG independence the BG government wants to open in Prague a trade mission that will operate in Eastern Europe, including the Soviet Union. This mission could be, at the convenient time, changed to a consulate. Jaggan’s [sic] government doesn’t think about establishing diplomatic relations between both countries at this time.
8. Mercl researched in British Guiana that there are good conditions for work by the Czechoslovakian secret service. Workers of the Czechoslovakian secret service could put effective pressure on the BG government and members of PPP to get rid of British influence and US imperialism. There are also good conditions in this country for work against our main enemy [i.e., the United States]. Thus, it would be convenient if our branch of the foreign trade enterprise, later consulate, was from the beginning filled by one worker of the 1st Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior who would be officially an employee of the Ministry of Foreign Trade or Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Head of the 1st Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior
Plk. (colonel) Houska
This letter was written twice:
Original copy was sent to the minister
Copy was sent to the file no. 1667.