Guyana: Pressure Groups Material

Pamphlets, memoranda, bulletins, leaflets, flyers, letters, guides, notices, reports, press releases, programmes, cards and addresses, 1950-1987, issued by the British Guiana Rice Producers' Association, the Civil Liberties Action Council (Guyana), the Committee Against Repression in Guyana, the Guyana Human Rights Association, Guyanese Against Dictatorship, the Pan-African Secretariat, the Women's Progressive Organisation (Guyana), and the Women's Revolutionary Socialist Movement (Guyana).

As the Burnham administration moved to consolidate its power in the years following independence in 1966 groups like the Civil Liberties Action Council emerged challenging the erosion of rights in Guyana and disputing the fairness of various national and local elections. This criticism provoked further repressive measures which in turn stimulated the formation of the likes of the Guyana Human Rights Association and groups affiliated to the major political parties such as the Women's Progressive Organisation (linked to the PPP) and the Women's Revolutionary Socialist Movement (linked to the PNC).

Alphabetically by group, and then in rough chronological order.

Open to all for research purposes; access is free for anyone in higher education.

Institute of Commonwealth Studies

Records at item level on library catalogue (SASCAT)

Description compiled by Daniel Millum, Political Archives Project Officer at the Institutes of Commonwealth and Latin American Studies.

Copies can usually be obtained - apply to library staff.

The Commonwealth Political Parties Materials collection was begun in 1960-61, with special emphasis being placed then, as now, on "primary material such as party constitutions, policy statements, convention reports and election manifestos." (ICS, Twelfth Annual Report 1960-1961). Since then, the main method of gathering material has been to appeal directly to political parties throughout the Commonwealth, though contributions from Institute members and staff following visits to relevant countries have been significant.

No further accruals are expected

See also Guyana: Political Parties Materials (PP.GY) and Guyana: Trades Unions Materials (TU.GY), as well as Political Party, Trades Unions and Pressure Group Materials for other Commonwealth countries and related material in the library's main classified sequence, all held at the ICS.