A WARRIOR FALLS:
THE DEATH OF PRESIDENT CHEDDI JAGAN
Dr. Cheddi Jagan
1918 - 1997


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Our beloved President Cheddi Jagan died in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington DC, at 12:23 am (Eastern time) on Thursday, March 6 after suffering a serious heart attack three weeks earlier.

A great man and a legendary leader was lost to the reaches of the heavens. It was indeed a very sad day for all of Guyana and for Guyanese around the world.

On the morning of March 6, 1997, the Guyana Chronicle front page carried a thick black border in mourning. On the front page was a large color picture of President Jagan. The banner headline read "A WARRIOR FALLS".

Photographs of Dr. Jagan's Funeral



SPECIAL EDITION: An Appreciation of Dr. Cheddi Jagan

Pictures From the Funeral on Monday!

LATE PRESIDENT'S ASHES GATHERED
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 14, 1997)
"People from all over the country and of all ages and races waited hours in sweltering sun for the arrival of the corpse and stood steadfastly watching the last rites even under a sudden heavy downpour."

A FALLEN WARRIOR'S LAST RITES
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 13, 1997)
"The fall of their warrior and hero has cut them deeply and they showed it by countless numbers in a long, thunderous symphony of silence that seemed to move the heavens to tears on a windswept piece of Guyana seashore."

THANKS, PORT MOURANT
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 13, 1997)
"Above all, we heard the footsteps of the largest numbers of Guyanese ever to come together in our history, putting aside all differences, united at last in sad but warm embrace of Cheddi Jagan and his message of peace and unity." -- Ralph Ramkarran

PRAYERS FOR THE FALLEN WARRIOR
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 13, 1997)
"The final moment has dawned. We are here to bid farewell to the greatest son of this soil, a heroic and dedicated leader. . .He was truly a Mahatma. The unity and solidarity which have been shown at this time is testimony to the people's love and support for him. No doubt he will inspire us to continue his outstanding work." -- Reepu Daman Persaud

THE MOMENT ARRIVES
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 12, 1997)
"The hush that began with the news of Dr. Jagan's death at 1:23 a.m. last Thursday at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington still lay across the land yesterday."

UNBELIEVABLE SCENES AT ALBION
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 12, 1997)
"Officials said an estimated 10,000 persons had thronged the ferry stelling at Rosignol early in the day resulting in a severe restriction on the number of vehicles usually allowed on board. Way into the afternoon, persons were still grabbing the opportunity for a last look at Dr. Jagan's body."

"WE WILL CARRY THE TORCH HE LIT" -- Mrs. Jagan
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"They have been his students; those who have stood by him faithfully all these trying years struggling for the people's rights, know his wishes, his dreams his plans. All of us will carry the torch he lit so many years ago." -- Janet Jagan.

ENMORE RESIDENTS PAY LAST RESPECTS
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"Hundreds of sugar workers left the production line at Enmore Sugar Estate yesterday and, with many other residents, lined the East Coast Demerara Public Road to pay homage to a man who fought tirelessly for the cause of those in the sugar belt."

HOYTE HAILS DR. JAGAN AS "HEROIC, NOBLE"
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"We think of the distinguished line of all those valiant men who, in their time, exerted an incalculable but enormous influence on our political progression and the development of our national ethos. Our late President was of that heroic lineage" -- Desmond Hoyte.

TRIBUTES AT THE FUNERAL CEREMONY
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"They quoted the Bible, Shakespeare, Khalil Gibran and Indian scholar and philosopher, Dr. Radhakrishnan yesterday. And they all concurred: he was a great man, a fighter of the working class and the downtrodden. Some called him the greatest Guyanese of the 20th century."

FAREWELL WARRIOR
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"They came from all races, classes, creeds - men, women, and children, the rich, the poor, the disabled, the strong, the old and the young, waving black flags, clutching posters with his portraits, strewing the path of the truck bearing his casket with flowers and showering the coffin with petals."

THOUSANDS SWARM ALBION GROUND
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 11, 1997)
"Throughout the stretch to Albion, transformed into a one way, other than in the uninhabited areas, an endless number of lit candles were placed in paper bags on the grassy roadside . . .Thousands who had waited for several hours lost control, defied all orders to queue, stormed the ground and broke several protective wooden barriers placed by the Police."

STATE FUNERAL TOMORROW
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 9, 1997)
"The function will feature inter-faith prayers, poetry readings by Education Minister, Dr. Dale Bisnauth and excerpts from Dr. Jagan's speeches and writings by Mr. Vic Insanally, Public Relations Adviser to the late President."

A NATION HONORS A FALLEN HERO
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 9, 1997)
"In death he lay in his casket under a striped green and white canopy on the lawns of State House - his official residence in Georgetown after he returned to power at the historic October 5, 1992 general elections and proceeded to put his unique stamp on the presidency of the Republic. And the thousands filing past as his body lay in State on the lawns of a compound he and his wife Janet had thrown open to the public in a demonstration of a presidency for the people, showed how deeply Dr. Cheddi Jagan has etched his mark into the fibre and fabric of the Guyanese society."

FAMILY TOUCHED BY OUTPOURING
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 9, 1997)
"I don't think it is time for him to die...I want him to come back...I love him badly...I don't want him to go." -- 13 year old Cheddi Bharrat Jagan II, Eldest grandson of the late President.

A FALLEN HERO COMES HOME
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 8, 1997)
"Holding aloft black flags of mourning and clutching posters of Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Guyanese turned out in their thousands yesterday afternoon and last night to pay tribute to their fallen warrior and hero as he returned home form his final battle."

A CAPITAL IN SORROW
(Courtesy of the Guyana Chronicle -- March 8, 1997)
"A mournful chant filled the air as outriders escorting the body of the late President swung into Main Street in Georgetown for the last lap towards his home just after 7:00 last night. Murmurs form the crowd that built up outside the official residence during the afternoon grew louder as the flashing red and green lights slowly grew nearer."

A FINAL JOURNEY HOME
(by Safraz Waseem Ishmael)
"It was indeed a very emotional day and tears flowed even from U.S. personnel moved by the ceremony. As the GAC jet rose into the cloudless, blue sky, I said a silent and final goodbye to the man who has inspired not only myself but my entire nation."

REACTIONS FROM GUYANESE IN GUYANA

(People in Guyana have been emailing me, telling me about the atmosphere in Guyana following the President's death. Here are some of their letters.)