Bissember Jr. revives call for ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ as Guyana marks 60 years of independence

As Guyana reflects on 60 years of independence, attorney and former diplomat Neville Bissember Jr. is urging the country to confront its political and ethnic history more honestly, reviving calls for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help heal long-standing national divisions.

Speaking during a panel discussion titled “Guyana at 60: The Next Bridge Challenges,” Bissember said Guyana cannot truly move forward without first reckoning with its past, including foreign intervention, political distrust, constitutional weaknesses and racial tensions that have shaped the country since independence.

“I think if we really want to be sovereign, we have to own our own history and our own destiny,” he stated.

While acknowledging that the idea is not new, Bissember argued that Guyana has reached a stage in its development where difficult national conversations can no longer be avoided, especially as the country experiences rapid transformation from oil wealth and increasing geopolitical attention.

Drawing comparisons with countries such as South Africa and Rwanda, Bissember pointed to mechanisms used in those nations to address painful periods of conflict and division.

“Look at South Africa… they brought everything out,” he said while referencing that country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission established after apartheid. He also referred to Rwanda’s community-based Gacaca system, which was used to address atrocities following the 1994 genocide.

“We are nowhere near what happened in Rwanda,” Bissember said. “If those people could come together and find systems to address their issues, surely Guyana can have honest conversations about its own divisions.”

He suggested that any Guyanese model should focus less on punishment and more on truth-telling, accountability, compensation and national healing.

Throughout his presentation, Bissember reflected heavily on Guyana’s political history, including the 1964 constitutional changes that introduced proportional representation, foreign involvement during the Cold War era and what he described as longstanding questions surrounding sovereignty and governance.

He argued that many Guyanese still feel disconnected from the political system, criticizing the current constitutional arrangement in which citizens vote for party lists rather than directly electing parliamentary representatives tied to constituencies.

“You don’t know your parliamentary representative,” he said, adding that reforms to governance structures and judicial appointments should also form part of broader national discussions.

Bissember’s remarks come amid renewed public debate about national identity, ethnic relations and governance as Guyana commemorates its 60th independence anniversary while simultaneously undergoing unprecedented economic transformation driven by oil revenues.

Though calls for truth and reconciliation processes have surfaced periodically over the years, particularly after periods of political unrest and ethnic tension, no formal national mechanism has ever been established.

Bissember said political leaders must begin speaking more openly and honestly to citizens if the country hopes to strengthen unity moving forward.

“People want to hear the truth from our politicians,” he said. “That would help us get along a little better.”