The PNC/R said so in a message to mark Guyana’s 36th anniversary of Independence today.

The full text of the message reads:

“The People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/Reform) sends out greetings to all Guyanese, both those living in Guyana and in the other parts of the world, on the occasion of the 36th anniversary of our independence from colonial rule.

The achievement of independence from British colonial rule was for us a complex and difficult struggle as we laboured to overcome not only the weight of colonial oppression but also the debilitating effects of internal division and instability.

That we were able to overcome these obstacles was a tribute to our wisdom and resilience as a people and the wise, thoughtful and courageous leadership of those of our Founding Fathers who led us to independence.

We note with some sadness that our independence and stability as a nation appears under threat from some of the same forces of divisiveness and instability which plagued our lives before independence. We need to summon, at this time, the wisdom and boldness which served us so well in 1966.

Our vision of a unitary state of One People, One nation, One Destiny should not be a slogan and a dream, but a realistic, political and economic imperative. We have only one destiny. Guyana will not prosper divided and ill at ease with ourselves.

The PNC Reform pledges to work assiduously and unremittingly for the achievement of the substance of that vision, a country with a common destiny, mature cohesion, development and peace. The only alternative, in our view, is a common destiny of failure and poverty.

Let us use the opportunity of this anniversary celebration to think on those things and commit ourselves, regardless of our religion or ethnic background or our ideology, to the goal of a united Republic.

The PNC Reform pledges that this is our priority and our solemn task.”