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PYO calls on PNC to come forward and account for Rodney’s death
TODAY marks 32 years since the assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney, an internationally recognized Guyanese historian and scholar who devoted his life to the cause of the oppressed.

Dr. Walter Rodney

“Dr. Rodney’s brilliance transcended all barriers”, the Progressive Youth Organization (PYO), the youth arm of the governing People’s Progressive Party (PPP), said in a statement on the 32nd death anniversary of Dr. Walter Rodney.
From a working class family in Georgetown, Rodney  rose to earn a PhD from the prestigious School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) of the University of London at age twenty four (24) years. Six years later, his much celebrated ‘How Europe Underdeveloped Africa’ was published.
“Dr. Rodney and our parent organization, the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), were fighting a common cause - working class liberation and racial unity,” the PYO stated.
Recognising that Dr. Rodney was a threat to their racist regime, the People’s National Congress (PNC) sought to victimise him and keep him out of Guyana. Firstly, his appointment as a Professor of History at the University of Guyana was revoked before commencement.
The PYO fought hard, including organising and leading protests to have this injustice corrected. The PYO also recalled that Rodney was then falsely arrested for arson. “This trumped-up charge led to restrictions on his liberty to travel,” the PYO stated.
The PNC’s disinformation machinery, including its organ, the ‘New Nation’, did not spare Dr. Rodney  excessive abuse.
“Dr. Rodney was never discouraged; he persisted in his efforts to bring changes to the society in which we live, to destroy the tyranny under which the people suffered. Like the PPP, his energies were unfailing in his resolve to restore democracy and to defend the interests of the exploited people of this country,” the PYO stated.
After Dr. Rodney was charged with arson in 1979, many academic organizations and individuals petitioned the government to drop the charges and also expressed concerns for his personal safety. The Forbes Burnham government on every occasion dismissed the pleas as baseless and claimed that being an intellectual did not mean that Dr. Rodney was above the law.
According to the PYO, it was, and is still widely believed, that the assassination was a set-up by the then PNC. No effort was made to bring the perpetrators to justice. It was only after the PPP won government that a charge of murder was laid against Gregory Smith. Smith was a former Guyana Defence Force Sergeant  who offered to make communication equipment for Dr. Rodney and who planted the bomb in a walkie-talkie that was given to Dr. Rodney on that fateful night of June 13, 1980.
However, the government never succeeded in extraditing Smith from French Guiana, where he escaped to and is believed to have died in 2002, to stand trial in his homeland, since there is no extradition treaty between Guyana and French Guiana.
Dr. Rodney’s was not the only political assassination of that dark period in our history. Father Bernard Darke, then Minister of Education, Vincent Teekah and Working People’s Alliance (WPA) members Ohene Koama and Edward Dublin were also murdered by the “assassins of conversation” as Martin Carter called them.
The PNC has never apologized for the killing of Dr Rodney or sought to investigate the murder. We were shocked when the WPA decided to enter into a coalition with the same PNC to form  A Partnership for National Unity.
Thirty two years ago, the WPA, in a press release, had this to say, “Our talented, inspiring, committed and much loved brother Walter Rodney died last night at the hands of the P.N.C. rulers”. These rulers are still integral members of the PNC.
Like so many years ago, the PYO will continue to fight for justice for Dr. Rodney. “We believe that if this ‘partnership’ truly believes in national unity then they should urge their PNC partner to use this 32nd anniversary to come forward and accept and account for Dr. Rodney’s death,” the PYO stated.
The PYO said anything short of that would continue to be an insult to Dr. Rodney’s family and true supporters.

FM
Originally Posted by God:
In the struggle against The Dictator, 32 years ago today. Your brave efforts were admirable in fighting for democracy for all Guyanese.

Walter Rodney didn't GAVE his life, his life was TAKEN. In other words he was murdered. Like wise Christ didn't die for our sins, he was crucified and nailed on a cross helplessly. OK, God?  

FM
Originally Posted by Cobra:
Originally Posted by God:
In the struggle against The Dictator, 32 years ago today. Your brave efforts were admirable in fighting for democracy for all Guyanese.

Walter Rodney didn't GAVE his life, his life was TAKEN. In other words he was murdered. Like wise Christ didn't die for our sins, he was crucified and nailed on a cross helplessly. OK, God?  

OK Cobra, if you want to get technical, then Rodney's life was taken. There's no doubt in my mind that he was murdered.  

 

"Gave" is used for emphasis in a metaphorical way, not in the literal sense. It's used in the same way in the Bible where it mentions many times that Christ gave his life. It does not in any way suggest that Rodney was not murdered.

 

 

 

Mars
Last edited by Mars

ya'll full ah shyte , now alyuh callin Rodney Christ ? The man was an idiot. True , the only man to shake the PNC in their boots but an idiot . The entire WPA rank and file were idiots . I asked one of their senior members - no names - why the party had an open door policy and they told me they were being true socialists . What utter crap ! and they wondered how the PNC was able to check mate them at every move ? I told them to close ranks and create a militant arm but Rodney refused until it was too late. What an idiot.

FM
Originally Posted by kidmost:

ya'll full ah shyte , now alyuh callin Rodney Christ ? The man was an idiot. True , the only man to shake the PNC in their boots but an idiot . The entire WPA rank and file were idiots . I asked one of their senior members - no names - why the party had an open door policy and they told me they were being true socialists . What utter crap ! and they wondered how the PNC was able to check mate them at every move ? I told them to close ranks and create a militant arm but Rodney refused until it was too late. What an idiot.

You're getting carried away now. Nobody is calling Rodney Christ. At least, not me. 

 

It's stretching it a bit to call the man an idiot. Reckless yes, but an idiot, definitely not. 

Mars

No one is calling the man, Christ. I was making a reference of a natural death as apposed to being killed. Even if Rodney was an Idiot or not, he is a historical figure of Guyana that spans many decades and that will always remain in the Guyanese psyche. I beg to differ that he is not an Idiot. I would considered what you've said as your humble opinion.

FM

Rodney is an international figure and is probably the most well known Guyanese internationally.  When I took an African history course at a Canadian University my German Professor who speciaized in Swaziland history had the book "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa" as compulsory reading to pass the course.  When some white South Afican female students in the class objected to the book based on it having no bibliography my Professor stated that it was internationally known ground breaking research, the first of its kind therefore it does not need a bibliography.

Prashad
 

- Roopnaraine
Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Co-leader Rupert Roopnaraine has admitted that the party was accumulating weapons long before the murder of Dr Walter Rodney—the first admission of the kind by any member of the party leadership.

Dr Walter Rodney

“We were accumulating weaponsâ€Ķ we were accumulating equipment of various kinds. A certain amount of that was coming from the, from the military,” Roopnaraine said during an interview included in a recent documentary film, W.A.R Stories: Walter Anthony Rodney.

When contacted by Stabroek News, Roopnaraine, who is currently overseas, confirmed his remarks and said he was speaking about activities the party was engaged in well before June 13, 1980. He also said he would not retract anything he said in the film.

The documentary, made by Guyanese Clairmont Chung, was first screened here publicly by him two Saturdays ago at the Theatre Guild Playhouse. He said it is clear that the WPA was never in a position to overthrow the state by weapons and he noted that while no one was killed by the activities of the party, the same could not be said of the actions of the state at the time.

Rodney, a historian and co-leader of the WPA, was killed in mysterious circumstances on June 13, 1980. The PNC, the party in government at the time, has long been accused of assassinating Rodney, in a plan hatched by the Forbes Burnham-led administration, but it has denied all responsibility. Rodney’s political agitation had been seen as a threat to the PNC’s rule.

Roopnaraine’s comments have, in part, prompted the Rodney family and the Walter Rodney Foundation to issue a notice and disclaimer. “Both the Walter Rodney Founda-tion and the Rodney Family disagree with statements made by one or more of the interviewees and the inferences and conclusions that are or can be drawn therefrom,” they stated in the disclaimer, which they requested be, either in whole or in part, noted and reproduced whenever and wherever the film is promoted, reviewed, shown or shared.

Rupert Roopnaraine

Additionally, they say that the views expressed in the documentary are solely and respectively those of Chung and those of the individual narrators and/or interviewees. Further, they point out that notwithstanding the film’s credits, the Walter Rodney Foundation did not collaborate on the project and has requested that the producer/ filmmaker cease and desist from using the name of the foundation and remove its reference therefrom. “The Rodney family, in part, was interviewed during the earlier phase of the film’s research, but did not review, edit, accept or release the final product,” they state. “The statements made by the family within the production are clear and limited in both time and context. The inclusion of interviews of the family does not infer, presume or conclude that the family concurs, agrees or otherwise supports the film, in part or in its entirety.”

Rodney died in a car near John and Bent Streets, after a walkie-talkie—given to him by Gregory Smith—exploded. His brother, Donald, who was sitting in the driver’s seat, escaped serious injury. Donald Rodney later explain-ed that an acting sergeant in the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) had given his brother the walkie-talkie and instructed him to test it near the perimeter of the Georgetown Prison, in order to observe whether the extensive metal wall would interfere with the transmission.

Smith, believed to be responsible for Rodney’s death, died in 2002, after a prolonged illness in French Guiana. He had fled Guyana soon after Rodney’s death and later surfaced in French Guiana. How Smith left the country and the army’s role in Rodney’s death remain unclear. However, in 1987, in interviews with Stabroek News and CANA Radio, he said Rodney’s death was the result of an accident. He did not offer any evidence in support of the claim.

Smith was charged, in absentia, with Rodney’s murder in 1996, however the PPP/Civic administration never succeeded in extraditing Smith from French Guiana to stand trial, owing to the absence of an extradition treaty between Guyana and France. French law also prohibits the extradition of persons in French territories to countries where capital punishment is in force. The French government had, however, indicated that it would be prepared to return Smith if it were satisfied that the information on which the murder charge had been based, met the criteria of France’s judicial system.

In May 2005, the PNCR said it would support an international probe of Rodney’s death, giving the party’s first commitment to an international investigation.

Full text of Notice and Disclaimer about W.A.R. Stories: Walter Anthony Rodney

“The views expressed in W.A.R. Stories: Walter Anthony Rodney and related publications, communications are solely and respectively those of the Producer and Filmmaker Clairmont Chung and those of the individual narrators and/or interviewees as they so state.

On information and belief, the film’s credits note that the Walter Rodney Foundation collaborated on the film.  The Walter Rodney Foundation did not collaborate on this project and has requested that the producer/filmmaker cease and desist from using the name of the Foundation and remove its reference therefrom.

“The Rodney family, in part, was interviewed during the earlier phase of the film’s research, but did not review, edit, accept or release the final product.  The statements made by the family within the production are clear and limited in both time and context.  The inclusion of interviews of the family does not infer, presume or conclude that the family concurs, agrees or otherwise supports the film, in part or in its entirety.

“Both the Walter Rodney Foundation and the Rodney family disagree with statements made by one or more of the interviewees and the inferences and conclusions that are or can be drawn therefrom.  The Walter Rodney Founda-tion and The Rodney family have requested that this disclaimer, in whole or in part, be noted and reproduced whenever and wherever the film is promoted, reviewed, shown or shared, to the extent it is within the control of the producer/filmmaker, its agents, successors and assigns.

“In addition, the Walter Rodney Foundation and the Rodney family assume no responsibility or liability, direct or indirect, arising from the content of the film, its reviews, publications, communications and archives for any error, defamation, libel, slander, omission, falsehood, danger, or inaccuracy contained in any such information.

FM
Originally Posted by martin Carter:

This is water in the Mazaruni. Deal with the issue. Roopnarine is in bed with the PNC, the same bunch that is alleged to have wiped out Rodney. Now Roopnarine talking about weapons build up. Why now when he is in Parliament? Politics make strange prostitutes.  

Well, you guys are in bed with half of House of Israel, not so!!

FM
Originally Posted by baseman:

If Rodney had pulled off a military coup, the US would have intervened as they did in Grenada.


The US did intervene.  They helped take out Rodney and some others who were planning a coup against Fat Boy.  You have to be a complete fool to think French Intelligence did not know that Gregory Smith was in French Guiana.

Prashad

THE GRAND BETRAYALS OF WALTER RODNEY!!!

PEEPING TOM: The WPA should cease pulling wool over the eyes of the Guyanese people. It latest ploy that it can use its leverage within APNU to push for a motion calling for an international inquiry into the death of its founder leader smacks of barefacedness and stinks of hypocrisy.
It is the WPA that betrayed the memory of Walter Rodney, and not because it entered into an alliance with the party that murdered him but because it was the WPA which was responsible in the first place for there not being an inquiry. That was the first betrayal.
The WPA betrayed Rodney a second time when it sold its political soul in return for a place at the table of A Partnership for National Unity.
While the party is still holding to the line that Rodney was the victim of an assassination plot orchestrated by the then PNC government, it must be recalled that the WPA itself objected to the wording of a motion in the National Assembly in which the word “assassination” was used.
It may have then had a fair basis for such an objection since the language of the motion could have been deemed prejudicial.
But it was not that motion that halted the promised inquiry. It was the failure of the WPA to develop the terms of reference for the inquiry that eventually brought an end to a process that was initiated during the 25th anniversary of the historian’s assassination. At that event the wife of the slain WPA leader called for closure to be brought to his death. The Bharrat Jagdeo administration agreed to bring closure by having an inquiry.
The government asked the WPA to develop the terms of reference, no doubt because of the historical attitude of that party which claims Rodney for itself and which has always behaved as if Rodney belonged to the WPA and the WPA alone.
But the WPA was not keen at all, despite the promises made to the Rodney family, to go ahead with the inquiry.
And the reason was clear. The 25th anniversary of Rodney’s assassination was in 2005. It was then that the promise was made for an inquiry into his death. The next year was however an election year and the WPA, which by then had become miniaturized as a political party was interested in the leech politics. It wanted to suck political nectar from the PNCR as part of a Big Tent arrangement.
If the WPA had moved ahead with the development of the terms of reference of the inquiry it would have jeopardized its chances of being part of the Big Tent and so it simply forgot about the request of the family for closure to be brought to Rodney’s death. This was the first betrayal of Rodney and it was done in order to safeguard the possibility of the WPA linking up under the Big Tent with the PNCR.
The Big Tent never got off the ground. The AFC and ROAR put paid to those hopes. The WPA therefore could not latch on to any party to find its way into parliament.
In order to enjoy some degree of political relevance, the party, five years later made the long leap into the arms of the PNCR in preparation for the 2011 polls. But it was required to pay a price and that price was the second betrayal of Walter Rodney.
This time it was forced to make a confession that would lend to the perspective that Rodney got what was coming to him because he decided to wage war against PNC.
To give credence to this view, the WPA made what was called a confession that the party had been stockpiling arms just prior to Rodney’s death. It was a most shameless betrayal, and all for a place within APNU.
The WPA made no attempt to qualify the confession which caused divisions and an uproar in what remained of the party.
It did not try at all to explain that this stockpiling of arms was for defensive purposes following the campaign of terror and murder that Burnham had publicly declared against the leaders of the WPA when he told them to go and make their wills.
In that campaign the WPA lost Ohene Koama, Edward Dublin and later, Walter Rodney.
It lost its co-leader Rodney at a time when the party was trying to recuperate from the onslaught of the dictatorship and when attempts were being made to reorganize the party.
The leaders of the party know fully well that hours before Rodney was assassinated that a decision was taken to prepare for some of its activists to go into hiding because of the fear of repression. In fact, one of the leaders of the WPA was mandated to undertake this task.
Burnham was therefore gunning for the WPA and Rodney’s death was a direct result of Burnham declaring war on Rodney.
Rodney probably could never have imagined what his party would have come to, that it would pay such a price to jump into bed with the PNCR.
Even the WPA perhaps could not have predicted the level of opportunism to which it eventually descended when it made its infamous confession about stockpiling arms.
And yes, this was the same party which accused the PPP of betraying Rodney by entering into national unity talks with the PNC five years after Rodney’s assassination.
Today it is the same WPA that sits with the party of Forbes Burnham in a lopsided partnership called A Partnership for National Unity. And it is the same party which still has the temerity to suggest that an international inquiry into Rodney’s death can still be undertaken

FM

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