Valerie Paul Hart (March 13, 1933February 26, 2021) was an indigenous political leader from the

Wapishana The Wapishana or Wapichan (or Wapisiana, Wapitxana, Vapidiana, Wapixana) are an indigenous group found in the Roraima area of northern Brazil and southern Guyana. Location Currently the Wapishana are located in the State of Roraima, Brazil, n ...

ethnic group and a member of Guyana's Amerindian Party, opposed to the

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Prime Minister from 1964 ...

government; she ran for the 1968 general elections, although she wasn't elected. She was exiled after participating in the Rupununi uprising.

Personal life

Valerie got her last name from her husband (Harry Hart) who was a pilot with whom she had five children. Both Valerie and her husband participated in the celebrations of the Independence of Guyana in 1966 in an aerobatic display.

Separatist movement

Being a member of Guyana's Amerindian Party along with her husband's family, she was present at the First Conference of Amerindians Leaders, named the ''Cabacaburi Congress'', that presented several demands to the Prime Minister

representing the community of around 40,000 indigenous people of the region. In the

1968 Guyanese general election General elections were held in Guyana on 16 December 1968. Dieter Nohlen (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p363 The result was a victory for the People's National Congress, which won 30 of the 53 seats, although ...

, Hart ran for a seat in the

National Assembly of Guyana The National Assembly is one of the two components of the Parliament of Guyana. Under Article 51 of the Constitution of Guyana, the Parliament of Guyana consists of the President and the National Assembly. The National Assembly has 65 members ele ...

under

The United Force The United Force is a conservative and economically liberal political party in Guyana. It currently has no representation in the National Assembly and is led by Marissa Nadir. History Established on 5 October 1960 by Peter D'Aguiar, and was i ...

party. On the morning of 2 January 1969, there was a peasant uprising against the authorities of the district and took public buildings, airports, and hostages. Valerie was named First President of the Essequibo Free State that immediately requested the

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

n protection of the

Raúl Leoni Raúl Leoni Otero (26 April 1905 – 5 July 1972) was the president of Venezuela from 1964 until 1969. He was a member of the Generation of 1928 and a charter member of the Acción Democrática party, and the first Labor minister of Venezuela (d ...

government. That night, the rebellion was violently suppressed by Guyanese Defense Forces, resulting in the destruction of several indigenous homes, around 100 fatalities and the escape of many indigenous to Brasil and Venezuela.

Exile

That same night, Valerie Hart fled with her family to

Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar (; Spanish for "Bolivar City"), formerly known as Angostura and St. Thomas de Guyana, is the capital of Venezuela's southeastern Bolívar State. It lies at the spot where the Orinoco River narrows to about in width, is the sit ...

, before going to Caracas to request military aid from the Venezuelan government; according to her, her goal was, on behalf of the rebels, to create an independent region of Guyana.GONZÁLEZ, Pedro. La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba. Caracas: Miguel A. García e hijo S.R.L. 1991. Valerie Hart had private meetings with Venezuelan Interior and Foreign Ministers, Reinaldo Leandro Mora and , respectively, in search of help, as well as expressing interest in requesting an interview with the President Raúl Leoni and with the winning candidate of the last elections and next president

Rafael Caldera Rafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez ( (); 24 January 1916 – 24 December 2009), twice elected the president of Venezuela, served for two five-year terms (1969–1974 and 1994–1999), becoming the longest serving democratically elected leade ...

. From the interviews conducted with the Venezuelan Foreign and Interior ministers, she said that they had not made any offer, since they told her that they were very sensitive international political issues. Minutes after, questioned by journalists after leaving his office, the Minister declared that "Venezuela is not considering aiding the Guyana rebels". Interior Affairs Minister Reinaldo Leandro Mora declared that "the movement would not have failed if Venezuela had intervened". In a press conference nearby, in the Antímano Lounge of El Conde hotel, Valerie Hart declared indignate that: "I want it to be well understood that if the Venezuelan government, by pressure of the United States, does not lend any help to the Rupununi people, it would be equal to support the Burnham government". Hart became an Evangelical Christian later in life. She died in Vero Beach, Florida, on 26 February 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Valerie 1934 births Indigenous leaders of the Americas Living people Guyanese expatriates in the United States People from Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo 20th-century Guyanese politicians 20th-century women politicians Guyanese women in politics