Rodney CoI Inquiry…

− Defends Govt’s recent anti-Rodney actions

Leader of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) Dr Rupert Roopnaraine on Thursday defended the PNC-led A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance for Change Government against the claims by former President Donald Ramotar that it appears to be moving to undermine the findings of the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry in an attempt to avoid releasing the truth surrounding the death of the international historian.

Dr Walter Rodney

Former President Donald Ramotar

Ramotar, under whose tenure as President, had established the three member panel to probe the circumstances which led to the death of the WPA founding member back in 1980, slammed the Government, saying that its posture and handling of the findings of the report was an indication it was gearing up to reject the report in its totality.

Government has not yet responded to this accusation, however the WPA leader speaking to Guyana Times Thursday maintained there was nothing done to disrupt the independent work of the commission.

He made this claim even as concerns are growing publicly over statements by the Ministry of the Presidency and Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams which demonstrate little regard for the work of the Commission, as well as respect for the Commissioners who served on the inquiry.

“I regret the inconvenience caused to the commissioners and I don’t believe that any of it was intentional. They were probably victims of some hitches here and there. I don’t think it is major nor there was any conspiracy to thwart the Commission in terms of its work”, Roopnaraine told this publication.

Roopnaraine, whose party, WPA, forms part of the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition, said he has not yet seen the report forwarded to the President over a week ago.

“I don’t know what is happening with the report from the Rodney Commission of Inquiry. I understand there was some hold ups in relation to the finalisation and printing of the report. I am glad that has been resolved. I have not seen a copy of the report as it is still with the President”, he said.

The WPA will most definitely be discussing the details of the report and will be also studying the recommendation as soon as it gets a chance to do so, he said.

This is not the first time Dr Roopnaraine has defended the coalition against criticisms from the public, within the diaspora and further afield, surrounding the handling of the Rodney CoI and related matters. In fact, he has been accused of betraying the Rodney legacy because of the stance he takes on various controversial matters.

The WPA had been among the numerous groups, organisations and individuals that had been calling for an independent probe into the death of Dr Rodney.

When the investigation was finally launched in February 2014, many of the members and those who were closely aligned to the party and Dr Rodney jumped to the occasion of participating by way of providing testimonies.

Among them was Social Activist Karen Desouza, who told Guyana Times that the handling of the report by Government has been “unfortunate”.

Although not a member of the WPA, DeSouza, who had seen the state of Dr Rodney’s body on the evening of June 13, 1980, testified at the CoI that it only could have been the People’s National Congress (PNC) that could have killed Rodney. She said now that the inquiry has come to an end, Government is not doing itself any favour by the way it is treating the report.

“I certainly have an interest in the report being made public. I don’t think the report will be calling on the government to do anything, it’s just a report on the commission’s findings. And those findings need to be made public… The kind of off-handed way the report is being treated does not lend itself in that direction”, she told Guyana Times.

Asked if she thought government was seeking to hide something, DeSouza said nothing in the report will be a surprise.
“I don’t know that the content of the report is necessarily going to be earth-shattering. This was a public hearing so all the evidence is going to be influencing the report. It was aired across the world. So that being the case I don’t know if there is anything at all to fear from this report”, she said.

Guyana Times contacted Political commentator Eusi Kwayana in the United States for a comment but he declined, explaining that the Justice for Rodney Committee would soon be releasing a statement.

Rodney, a political scholar and social activist died in an explosion some 36 years ago. The WPA, the political party he founded, like many other organisations and groups, has since that day been pointing fingers in the direction of the then PNC administration. Rodney was said to be a thorn in the flesh of the government of the day, and was considered an emerging presence of hope for those who were mistreated by that regime.

On June 13, 1980, a bomb, planted in a walkie-talkie exploded on the lap of Dr Walter Rodney as he sat in his brother’s car outside the Georgetown Prisons.

The device was reportedly given to him by an army sergeant, William Gregory Smith, who reports say had been used by the PNC government to assassinate its main political opponent.