In a message to mark Republic Day today, the Mayor said Guyanese, irrespective of their ethnicity, “must advance the cause of unity, for in unity there is strength.

“We must never concede ground to division, in none of its forms and facets; we must do everything to ensure harmony and tranquility for all Guyana. Remember, you, citizens, are the real custodians of this society and it is up to you to decide whether or not you want an environment of goodness, love, and peace, or tensions and uncertainties,” Green said.

The full text of the message follows:

“We have come to another period of our history when we celebrate our coming of age as a sovereign nation thirty-three years ago, Guyana attained nationhood with all the rights and responsibilities to charter its own course and purse its own destiny.

Today, our various symbols of our nationalism, remind us of the struggles and sacrifices of our national heroes, who worked committed and diligently, to ensure Guyana the right towards its own destiny with hope and success. Our National Anthem, our Flag - the Golden Arrow Head, our National Songs and other symbols will be on display to show the world that we are truly one people, one nation, one destiny. Unless we really understand the deep meaning and symbolism of these events, we would not appreciate their importance.

And that is why it is necessary for us all to begin to accept that unless we work together and move forward as one people we would not see our progress. I believe that our heroes are looking down from above to see our performance and anyone who attempts to intervene to prevent the achievement of our national motto must be seen as unpatriotic and must not be allowed to succeed.

The status of nationhood has rights and responsibilities as I indicated earlier. We would not attempt to divorce the two - rights and responsibilities without consequential implications to the general pace of progress and development. In any case, there can be no real development in the absence of unity. The rights and responsibilities are son intricately linked that in a sense; they are indispensable of and depend on each for sustenance.

One such responsibility of nationhood is to secure and maintain the interest and well being of all the people of Guyana. This must be facilitated by and environment of peace and harmony. This is exceptionally necessary in our current circumstances where, though we are different, we must be united; we must find in ourselves the strength, the discipline and the wisdom to resist the temptation of being divisive and un-accommodative of each other. Regardless of ethnicity, we must work together for the common good of our city and nation, and as a whole unless we did that, we could not say that we are truly a nation, and our people would continue in the doldrums of poverty and backwardness. I am sure that no concerned Guyanese would want such a negative situation.

Therefore, we, irrespective of our ethnicity, must advance the cause of unity, for in unity there is strength; we must never concede ground to division, in none of its forms and facets: we must do everything to ensure harmony and tranquility for all Guyana. Remember, you citizens, are the real custodians of this society and it is up to you to decide whether or not you want an environment of goodness, love and peace or tensions and uncertainties.