Jump to content

Rupununi uprising: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Ce lead. Removing WP:COATRACK Background related to the unrelated territorial dispute and claims by Venezuela. Moving paragraph as new section
Expanding background section. Removing primary source. Ce, infobox.
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox military conflict
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict = Rupununi Uprising
| conflict = Rupununi Uprising
| partof =
| partof =
| image = Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo in Guyana.svg
| image = Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo in Guyana.svg
| image_size =
| image_size =
| caption = South of the [[Guayana Esequiba]]
| caption = Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana
| date = 2 January 1969
| date = 2 January 1969
| place = [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]]
| place = [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo]]
| territory =
| territory =
| result = Guyanese victory
| result = Guyanese victory
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Guyana (1966–1970)}} [[Guyana (1966–1970)|Guyana]]
| combatant1 = {{flagicon|Guyana (1966–1970)}} [[Guyana (1966–1970)|Guyana]]
* [[Guyana Defence Force]]
* [[Guyana Defence Force]]
| combatant2 = Rupununi separatists
| combatant2 = Rupununi separatists
⚫
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
'''Support:'''
* {{flag|Venezuela}} {{small|(alleged)}}
⚫
| commander1 = {{plainlist|
* {{Flagicon|Guyana}} [[Forbes Burnham ]]
* {{Flagicon|Guyana}} [[Forbes Burnham ]]
}}
}}
| commander2 = [[Valerie Hart]]<br>Averrel John Melville
| commander2 = [[Valerie Hart]]<br>Averrel John Melville
| units1 =
| units1 =
| units2 =
| units2 =
| strength1 = 200 soldiers<ref>[http://www.monografias.com/trabajos/rupununi/rupununi.shtml], La insurrección de Rupununi.</ref>
| strength1 = 200 soldiers<ref>[http://www.monografias.com/trabajos/rupununi/rupununi.shtml], La insurrección de Rupununi.</ref>
| strength2 = 120–300 rebels<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=T43ABgAAQBAJ&pg=PT241&dq=Rupununi++venezuela&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCwQ6AEwA2oVChMI_YXCucrxxgIVC6KACh2liw5h#v=onepage&q=Rupununi%2520%2520venezuela&f=false], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).</ref><ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/trail_diplomacy.html Ishmael, Dr. Odeen. "The Trail of Diplomacy - A Documentary History of the Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue"]</ref>
| strength2 = 120–300 rebels<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=T43ABgAAQBAJ&pg=PT241&dq=Rupununi++venezuela&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCwQ6AEwA2oVChMI_YXCucrxxgIVC6KACh2liw5h#v=onepage&q=Rupununi%2520%2520venezuela&f=false], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).</ref><ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/trail_diplomacy.html Ishmael, Dr. Odeen. "The Trail of Diplomacy - A Documentary History of the Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue"]</ref>
| casualties1 = * 5 police officers killed
| casualties1 = * 5 police officers killed
* 2 civilians killed
* 2 civilians killed
* 20 total wounded<ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/postindependence/chapter7.html], The Rupununi Revolt.</ref>
* 20 total wounded<ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/postindependence/chapter7.html], The Rupununi Revolt.</ref>
| casualties2 = * 70–100 indigenous [[Pemon|Makushi]] killed
| casualties2 = * 70–100 indigenous [[Pemon|Makushi]] killed
* 326 indigenous Makushi and [[Wapishana]] wounded<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=T43ABgAAQBAJ&pg=PT241&dq=Rupununi++venezuela&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCwQ6AEwA2oVChMI_YXCucrxxgIVC6KACh2liw5h#v=onepage&q=Rupununi%2520%2520venezuela&f=false], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).</ref>
* 326 indigenous Makushi and [[Wapishana]] wounded<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=T43ABgAAQBAJ&pg=PT241&dq=Rupununi++venezuela&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CCwQ6AEwA2oVChMI_YXCucrxxgIVC6KACh2liw5h#v=onepage&q=Rupununi%2520%2520venezuela&f=false], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).</ref>
| casualties3 =
| casualties3 =
| notes =
| notes =
| campaignbox =
| campaignbox =
}}
}}


Line 35: Line 33:


== Background ==
== Background ==
[[Valerie Hart]], who was a [[The United Force|United Force]] politician and was married to a successful rancher,<ref name=":42">{{Cite book|last=Ishmael|first=Odeen|title=The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue|year=2013|isbn=9781493126552}}</ref> was present at the First Conference of Amerindians Leaders, named the "Cabacaburi Congress" in 1968. This Conference presented demands to Prime Minister [[Forbes Burnham]] who represented the community of around 40,000 indigenous people of the [[Rupununi]] district.<ref>Amerindian News Georgetown: vol 2, No 3, May 15th 1968.</ref>
[[Valerie Hart]], who was a [[The United Force|United Force]] politician and was married to a successful rancher,<ref name=":42">{{Cite book|last=Ishmael|first=Odeen|title=The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue|year=2013|isbn=9781493126552}}</ref> was present at the First Conference of Amerindians Leaders, named the "Cabacaburi Congress" in 1968. This Conference presented demands to Prime Minister [[Forbes Burnham]] who represented the community of around 40,000 indigenous people of the [[Rupununi]] district.<ref>Amerindian News Georgetown: vol 2, No 3, May 15th 1968.</ref> The movement defended the integration of natives to [[Guyana|Guyanese]] society, inconsonant with Bunham's [[afrocentrist]] policies.<ref name=":22" />


Following the controversial [[1968 Guyanese general election]], Valerie Hart declared herself president of the "Republic of the Rupununi", claiming control of the Rupununi region of Guyana.<ref name=":42" /> The rebels were primarily wealthy ranch owners of European descent that were supported by Amerindians, who were mainly ranch employees.<ref name=":42" />
Following the controversial [[1968 Guyanese general election]], Valerie Hart declared herself president of the "Republic of the Rupununi", claiming control of the Rupununi region of Guyana.<ref name=":42" /> The rebels were primarily wealthy ranch owners of European descent that were supported by Amerindians, who were mainly ranch employees.<ref name=":42" />

Factions within the indigenous society in South Esequibo felt threatened by the possible distribution of agricultural parcels among the sectors that had supported the Minister, which caused some of the inhabitants to rebel. According to Hart, the region's population rebelled against the government because their constitutional rights were not respected and because of continuous intimidation and repression directed against them.<ref name=":22" />

== Events ==
== Events ==


=== Preparation ===
=== Preparation ===
Some scholars, including Harold Eugene Davis and Pedro González, have argued that Venezuela supported and sponsored the Rupununi rebels and their secession movement.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Davis|first=Harold Eugene|url=https://archive.org/details/latinamericanfor0000davi|title=Latin American Foreign Policies: An Analysis|last2=Wilson|first2=Larman Curtis|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|year=1975|isbn=9780801816956|pages=[https://archive.org/details/latinamericanfor0000davi/page/191 191]-196|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=González|first=Pedro|title=La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba|year=1991|location=Caracas|pages=14, 45-47}}</ref> According to González, Venezuelan president [[Raúl Leoni]] supported the uprising during the final months of his presidency.<ref name=":22" /> In an effort to receive support from [[Venezuela]], Hart and her rebels stated that they would grant Venezuela control of Guyana's disputed [[Guayana Esequiba]] territory in exchange for assistance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba|last=González|first=Pedro|year=1991|location=Caracas|pages=14, 45-47}}</ref>
At a 23 December 1968 meeting, ranchers finalized plans of a separated Rupununi state.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Braveboy-Wagner|first=Jacqueline Anne|title=The Venezuela-Guyana Border Dispute: Britain's Colonial Legacy In Latin America|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2019|isbn=9781000306897}}</ref> Some scholars, including Harold Eugene Davis and Pedro González, have argued that Venezuela supported and sponsored the Rupununi rebels and their secession movement.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|last=Davis|first=Harold Eugene|url=https://archive.org/details/latinamericanfor0000davi|title=Latin American Foreign Policies: An Analysis|last2=Wilson|first2=Larman Curtis|publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]]|year=1975|isbn=9780801816956|pages=[https://archive.org/details/latinamericanfor0000davi/page/191 191]-196|url-access=limited}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=González|first=Pedro|title=La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba|year=1991|location=Caracas}}</ref> According to González, Venezuelan president [[Raúl Leoni]] supported the uprising during the final months of his presidency.<ref name=":22" /> In an effort to receive support from [[Venezuela]], Hart and her rebels stated that they would grant Venezuela control of Guyana's disputed [[Guayana Esequiba]] territory in exchange for assistance.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title=La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba|last=González|first=Pedro|year=1991|location=Caracas|pages=14, 45-47}}</ref>

At a 23 December 1968 meeting, ranchers finalized plans of a separated Rupununi state.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The Venezuela-Guyana Border Dispute: Britain's Colonial Legacy In Latin America|last=Braveboy-Wagner|first=Jacqueline Anne|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2019|isbn=9781000306897}}</ref> According to [[Odeen Ishmael]], a Guyanese diplomat, about 40 rebels were transported to [[Santa Elena de Uairén]] in Venezuela by aircraft on 24 December 1968 days after the Guyanese general election,<ref name=":42" /><ref name=":0" /> and that following their arrival, the [[Venezuelan Army]] flew the Rupununi rebels to one of their facilities on 25 December 1968 where they armed with [[automatic rifles]] and [[bazooka|bazookas]] and trained for seven days.<ref name=":42" />


=== Attack ===
=== Attack ===
Ishmael states that on 2 January 1969, rebels flew in a [[Douglas C-47 Skytrain]] operated by Venezuelan personnel to Pirara, Guyana, north of [[Lethem, Guyana|Lethem]], the main city of the Rupununi region,<ref name=":42" /> and that Valerie Hart, the rebel leader, flew to [[Caracas]] aboard the Douglas C-47 Skytrain's returning flight.<ref name=":42" /> Rebels began their attacks on Lethem in the morning, killing five police officers and two civilians while also destroying buildings belonging to the Guyanese government with bazooka fire.<ref name=":42" /> The rebels locked citizens in their homes and blocked airfields in [[Lethem, Guyana|Lethem]], Annai Good Hope, Karanambo and [[Karasabai]], attempting to block staging areas for Guyanese troops.<ref name=":0" />
Rebels began their attacks on Lethem in the morning of 2 January 1969, killing five police officers and two civilians while also destroying buildings belonging to the Guyanese government with bazooka fire.<ref name=":42" /> The rebels locked citizens in their homes and blocked airfields in [[Lethem, Guyana|Lethem]], Annai Good Hope, Karanambo and [[Karasabai]], attempting to block staging areas for Guyanese troops.<ref name=":0" />


=== Counterattack ===
=== Counterattack ===
News about the insurrection reached Georgetown by midday prompting the deployment of policemen and soldiers of the [[Guyana Defence Force|Guyana Defence Force (GDF)]].<ref name=":0" /> GDF troops arrived at an open airstrip {{Convert|5|mi|km|abbr=}} away from Lethem.<ref name=":0" /> As troops approached, the rebels quickly fled and the uprising ended.<ref name=":0" /> About thirty of the rebels were arrested following the uprising.<ref name=":42" /> Members of the failed uprising fled to Venezuela for protection after their plans unravelled, with Hart and her rebels being granted Venezuelan citizenship by birth since, according to the Venezuelan government, they were recognized as being born in "the Reclamation Zone", a term widely used by Venezuela.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite book|title=La Cuestión Esequibo: Memoria y Soberanía|last=Briceño Monzón|first=Claudio A.|last2=Olivar|first2=José Alberto|last3=Buttó|first3=Luis Alberto|publisher=[[Universidad Metropolitana]]|year=2016|location=Caracas, Venezuela|page=145}}</ref>
News about the insurrection reached Georgetown by midday prompting the deployment of policemen and soldiers of the [[Guyana Defence Force|Guyana Defence Force (GDF)]].<ref name=":0" /> GDF troops arrived at an open airstrip {{Convert|5|mi|km|abbr=}} away from Lethem.<ref name=":0" /> As troops approached, the rebels quickly fled and the uprising ended.<ref name=":0" /> About thirty of the rebels were arrested following the uprising.<ref name=":42" /> Members of the failed uprising fled to Venezuela for protection after their plans unravelled, with Hart and her rebels being granted Venezuelan citizenship by birth since they were recognized as being born in the [[Guayana Esequiba]] disputed territory.<ref name=":22" /><ref name=":32">{{Cite book|title=La Cuestión Esequibo: Memoria y Soberanía|last=Briceño Monzón|first=Claudio A.|last2=Olivar|first2=José Alberto|last3=Buttó|first3=Luis Alberto|publisher=[[Universidad Metropolitana]]|year=2016|location=Caracas, Venezuela|page=145}}</ref>


Allegations that Guyanese forces had attacked and possibly killed Amerindians in the region were reported by indigenous groups.<ref name=":42" /> Bishop of Georgetown R. Lester Guilly traveled to the area and stated "I am happy to say that I am quite satisfied that there have been no atrocities".<ref name=":42" /> Opposition leader [[Cheddi Jagan]] attempted to send two of his Amerindian personnel to the region in order to observe possible atrocities, but they were held at the airfield Lethem by GDF troops and flown back to Georgetown.<ref name=":42" />
Allegations that Guyanese forces had attacked and possibly killed Amerindians in the region were reported by indigenous groups. Opposition leader [[Cheddi Jagan]] attempted to send two of his Amerindian personnel to the region in order to observe possible atrocities, but they were held at the airfield Lethem by GDF troops and flown back to Georgetown. Bishop of Georgetown R. Lester Guilly traveled to the area and stated "I am happy to say that I am quite satisfied that there have been no atrocities".<ref name=":42" />


== Aftermath ==
== Aftermath ==

Revision as of 13:04, 13 March 2021

Rupununi Uprising

Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana
Date2 January 1969
Location
Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo
Result Guyanese victory
Belligerents

Guyana (1966–1970) Guyana

Rupununi separatists
Commanders and leaders
 Valerie Hart
Averrel John Melville
Strength
200 soldiers[1] 120–300 rebels[2][3]
Casualties and losses
  • 5 police officers killed
  • 2 civilians killed
  • 20 total wounded[4]
  • 70–100 indigenous Makushi killed
  • 326 indigenous Makushi and Wapishana wounded[5]

    • The Rupununi Uprising was a secessionist insurrection in Guyana that began on 2 January 1969. It was recognized as the largest threat to Guyana's national security since the territorial dispute with Venezuela over the Guayana Esequiba. Occurring less than two years after Guyana’s independence from the United Kingdom, it constituted the country’s earliest and most severe test of statehood and social solidarity. The uprising was ultimately dispersed by the Guyana Defence Force.

    Background

    Valerie Hart, who was a United Force politician and was married to a successful rancher,[6] was present at the First Conference of Amerindians Leaders, named the "Cabacaburi Congress" in 1968. This Conference presented demands to Prime Minister Forbes Burnham who represented the community of around 40,000 indigenous people of the Rupununi district.[7] The movement defended the integration of natives to Guyanese society, inconsonant with Bunham's afrocentrist policies.[8]

    Following the controversial 1968 Guyanese general election, Valerie Hart declared herself president of the "Republic of the Rupununi", claiming control of the Rupununi region of Guyana.[6] The rebels were primarily wealthy ranch owners of European descent that were supported by Amerindians, who were mainly ranch employees.[6]

    Factions within the indigenous society in South Esequibo felt threatened by the possible distribution of agricultural parcels among the sectors that had supported the Minister, which caused some of the inhabitants to rebel. According to Hart, the region's population rebelled against the government because their constitutional rights were not respected and because of continuous intimidation and repression directed against them.[8]

    Events

    Preparation

    At a 23 December 1968 meeting, ranchers finalized plans of a separated Rupununi state.[9] Some scholars, including Harold Eugene Davis and Pedro González, have argued that Venezuela supported and sponsored the Rupununi rebels and their secession movement.[10][8] According to González, Venezuelan president Raúl Leoni supported the uprising during the final months of his presidency.[8] In an effort to receive support from Venezuela, Hart and her rebels stated that they would grant Venezuela control of Guyana's disputed Guayana Esequiba territory in exchange for assistance.[11]

    Attack

    Rebels began their attacks on Lethem in the morning of 2 January 1969, killing five police officers and two civilians while also destroying buildings belonging to the Guyanese government with bazooka fire.[6] The rebels locked citizens in their homes and blocked airfields in Lethem, Annai Good Hope, Karanambo and Karasabai, attempting to block staging areas for Guyanese troops.[9]

    Counterattack

    News about the insurrection reached Georgetown by midday prompting the deployment of policemen and soldiers of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).[9] GDF troops arrived at an open airstrip 5 miles (8.0 km) away from Lethem.[9] As troops approached, the rebels quickly fled and the uprising ended.[9] About thirty of the rebels were arrested following the uprising.[6] Members of the failed uprising fled to Venezuela for protection after their plans unravelled, with Hart and her rebels being granted Venezuelan citizenship by birth since they were recognized as being born in the Guayana Esequiba disputed territory.[8][12]

    Allegations that Guyanese forces had attacked and possibly killed Amerindians in the region were reported by indigenous groups. Opposition leader Cheddi Jagan attempted to send two of his Amerindian personnel to the region in order to observe possible atrocities, but they were held at the airfield Lethem by GDF troops and flown back to Georgetown. Bishop of Georgetown R. Lester Guilly traveled to the area and stated "I am happy to say that I am quite satisfied that there have been no atrocities".[6]

    Aftermath

    At a press conference in Caracas on 8 January 1969, Hart, speaking through Venezuelan government-provided interpreters, stated "If Venezuela does not intervene right now with troops they would have in their hands a situation similar to the Bay of Pigs".[6] The Guyanese government sent a letter to Venezuela on 8 January 1969.[9] The letter condemned the "hypocrisy" of the Venezuelan government for attempting to "interfere" in Guyanese affairs, expressing "disgust" at Venezuela's acts to "advance its spurious territorial claim under the cover of subversion and terrorism".[9] Venezuelan Minister of Internal Affairs Reinaldo Leandro Mora admitted publicly that Guyanese individuals received military training in Venezuela under the direction of their parents.[9]

    In early-March 1969, 160 Amerindian leaders gathered with Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, expressing their loyalty and condemned Venezuela for "instigating" insurrection in Rupununi.[9] When it was apparent that the uprising movement had failed, the Venezuelan government refused to further assist with the uprising[6] and all support ended with the inauguration of Rafael Caldera on 11 March 1969.[8] In his final address to the Congress of Venezuela, President Leoni criticized the Government of Guyana for "cruelly smashing" the rebels.[9]

    Venezuelan maps produced since 1970 show the entire area from the eastern bank of the Essequibo, including the islands in the river, as Venezuelan territory. On some maps, the western Essequibo region is called the "Zone in Reclamation".[6]

    Reactions

    According to professor Basil Ince in 1970, "Venezuela, to signify that it has come of age, is behaving in a blatantly imperialist fashion", writing that "Venezuela's expansionist activity has caused general concern for the peace and security of the Western Hemisphere" and that Caribbean and Latin American countries were "anxious" for a peaceful resolution and the respect for treaties.[13] Ince expressed the importance that many boundaries within Latin America were formed through treaties, arguing that Venezuela rejecting "the Arbitral Award of 1899 ... would be tantamount to opening a Pandora's Box in Latin America" and that "The gravity of the situation is even more apparent when it is realized that Venezuela is attempting, by force, what has already been settled by a treaty".[13]

    References

    1. ^ [1], La insurrección de Rupununi.
    2. ^ [2], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).
    3. ^ Ishmael, Dr. Odeen. "The Trail of Diplomacy - A Documentary History of the Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue"
    4. ^ [3], The Rupununi Revolt.
    5. ^ [4], The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue (Volume Two).
    6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Ishmael, Odeen (2013). The Trail of Diplomacy: The Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue. ISBN 9781493126552.
    7. ^ Amerindian News Georgetown: vol 2, No 3, May 15th 1968.
    8. ^ a b c d e f González, Pedro (1991). La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba. Caracas.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Braveboy-Wagner, Jacqueline Anne (2019). The Venezuela-Guyana Border Dispute: Britain's Colonial Legacy In Latin America. Routledge. ISBN 9781000306897.
    10. ^ Davis, Harold Eugene; Wilson, Larman Curtis (1975). Latin American Foreign Policies: An Analysis. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 191-196. ISBN 9780801816956.
    11. ^ González, Pedro (1991). La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba. Caracas. pp. 14, 45–47.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
    12. ^ Briceño Monzón, Claudio A.; Olivar, José Alberto; Buttó, Luis Alberto (2016). La Cuestión Esequibo: Memoria y Soberanía. Caracas, Venezuela: Universidad Metropolitana. p. 145.
    13. ^ a b Ince, Basil A. (1970). "The Venezuela-Guyana Boundary Dispute in the United Nations". Caribbean Studies. 9 (4): 5–26.
    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Rupununi_uprising&oldid=1011893341"