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The Dalhousie Gazette. by Paul Clark Former Dalhousie president

Henry Hicks knew about the human rights violation and op-

pression in Guyana when he

nominated that countryis

president for an honorary ,

degree, says Busines Ad- ministration professor Yassin Sankar. ~ “I know it all, but he (Guyanan president Forbes Burnham) was my friend,” Hicks is alleged to have told Sankar at a cocktail party in

* 1978.

Sankar has recently been calling for the revocation of Burnham’s honorary degree, citing numerous political

' assassinations, human rights

violations, and riggings of elections ,as making the Guyanese leader unworthy of holding a degree for “outstan- ding public service.” He plans to have the matter raised in the Dalhousie Senate in the near future.

Hicks had longstanding relations with the Burnham regime, first as a financial ad; visor,to the University of Guyana, later as a member of the University’s Board of Governors, and would travel there annually.

The Gazette could not reach Hicks at press time, but he told the CBC last week that Burnham was awarded the degree for promoting post- secondary education in Guyana.

Sankar .dismisses this answer, claiming Hicks was simply rewarding friendship,

and perhaps a little more than ‘

that. “When he'd visit I would think-they entertained him like extent. .

Hicks’ wife, ne Hicks, speaks warmly of Guyana as a country with a mixed ethnic heritage and praises Burnham’s efforts to in- vigorate the economy.

“l.think if he really was rigg- ing elections he was doing it in a desperate attempt to save the country,” she said.

Meanwhile Senate chair-

.to. he]. continued .nextweek

man Alisdair Sinclair, unable to predict how a 293 member Senate will react to Sankar’s proposal to revoke Burnham’s degree, said he can imagine circumstances where a degree might be withdrawn.

For example, if someone ob- tained a degree fraudentiy, this might motivate Senate to take it away, he said. But Sinclair said dishonourable actions committed after a degree is awarded (like a doc- tor’s conviction for malprac- tice) would not seem to affect the status of that degree. Respecting the Burnham case, Sinclair said he did not know whether the transgressions Burnham has been charged with are alleged to have been committed before or after Dalhousie honoured him.

When it was pointed out Burnham was charged with rigging elections as early as 1968, Sinclair said he couldn’t- remember ifwthis issue was raised in Senate in 1978. He said if these charges were public knowledge someone in Senate probably would have raised them and, if they were raised, Senate may have had an' overriding reason for bestowing Burnham with the

_ degree.

He said it might be ap- propriate for a Senate commit- tee to address the issue. Con-

fronted with worries that a fear

of bad publicity might cause Senate to obstruct the taking of just action on the issue, Sinclair defended Senate’s democratic procedures and its

.concern to look at any Issues

without hesitation.

Sinclair said Senate’s . Honorary Degrees Committee employs a variety of criteria in ' awarding honorary degrees and has honored a number of personages, including politi- cians and artists. Former Yugoslavian president Tito and American black activist Julian; Bond are among Senate’s other past selections from outside Canada: