Office of the Historian

427. Memorandum of Conversation1

Washington, January 23, 1968, 10:30 a.m.

SUBJECT

  • Call of Prime Minister Burnham
  • Electoral Situation in Guyana

PARTICIPANTS

  • Foreign
    • L. Forbes Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana
    • H.E. Sir John Carter, Guyanese Ambassador to the United States
  • United States
    • The Secretary
    • Mr. Robert M. Sayre, Acting Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs
    • Mr. John Calvin Hill, Jr., Director, North Coast Affairs

Following his release from a physical check-up at Bethesda Naval Hospital, Prime Minister Burnham paid a 45-minute courtesy call on the Secretary.

After an exchange of pleasantries, the Secretary asked the Prime Minister how he saw the situation in Guyana. Burnham replied that he was “quietly confident” about the outcome of the elections, which could be held at any time before the end of March 1969. Amplifying on this at a later stage in the conversation, he said he thought that the government had picked up support and that, while it would be untruthful to suggest that there was a landslide of defectors from the P.P.P., there were some who had gone over to the government in some areas. He might pick up 3% to 4% of the East Indian vote. He was also counting “heavily” on the overseas absentee ballots, which were concentrated in the U.K. and, secondly, in the U.S. He said that last yearʼs U.S. Supreme Court decision which had the effect of allowing Guyanese citizens who had also become naturalized U.S. citizens to vote without losing their U.S. citizenship would be helpful. The Secretary expressed some uncertainty whether the decision contemplated voting by such citizens while they were resident in the U.S. and whether electioneering in this country would present problems. He said we would look into this. Mr. Burnham indicated that no [Page 944] objectionable electioneering was contemplated and, in substantiation of his assessment that his electoral prospects were good, pointed out that Cheddi Jagan was already setting the stage among his followers for a defeat by claiming the elections would be rigged, he would not be allowed to assume power, etc.

  1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 7 GUYANA. Confidential. Drafted by Hill and approved in S by Shlaudeman. The meeting was held in the Secretaryʼs office. The memorandum is part 1 of 5. Part 2, Caribbean Regional Problems, and part 5, World Situation, are ibid. Part 3 is Document 428; part 4 is Document 429. Sayre sent Rusk a January 22 briefing memorandum for this meeting. (National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Central Files 1967–69, POL 7 GUYANA)↩