The PPP remembers Dr Walter Rodney
Guyana Chronicle
June 13, 2004
'It is unfortunate that some of those who were closely associated with Dr. Rodney during those dark years are today appearing on the platform of their erstwhile oppressors.'
JUNE 13, 2004 marks 24 years since the assassination of Dr. Walter Rodney, who at the time of his death was the leader of the Working People's Alliance (WPA), the People's Progressive Party (PPP) said in a release yesterday.
"Dr. Rodney died in a mysterious explosion, which was widely linked to the People's National Congress. The PNC ruled the country with an iron fist and openly boasted of its capacity to inflict terror on anyone who dared to oppose its draconian rule.
"Not only was the PNC intolerant of criticism of its brutal rule, but also practised the worse form of state-sponsored terrorism, which saw the killing and torturing of political opponents on a scale never seen before.
"The PPP recalls those dark days in our history, when suppression of freedoms and denial of fundamental rights were the order of the day. Such was the extent of the suppression that leading academics of the caliber or Dr. Walter Rodney was denied appointment at the University of Guyana, despite being eminently qualified for the job.
"In the case of Dr. Rodney, he was a world-renowned historian, having taught in several universities in Africa, Europe and other parts of the world. Despite being recommended for a teaching job by the Appointments Committee of the University of Guyana, the University Council, which at the time was dominated by the PNC, refused to ratify his appointment.
"The deaths of Dr. Rodney, Fr. Darke and many others were the work of a well coordinated plot by the then ruling party carried out in part by the Aqua Platoon, headed by a leading PNC activist, who is still prominent today. Its purpose was to stifle political opposition to its repressive rule, even if it meant the physical assassination of persons it considered a threat to its undemocratic rule.
"Were this not the case, the PNC would not have stubbornly refused to entertain calls for an independent inquiry into the circumstances, which led to the assassination of Dr Rodney. Instead the alleged assassin was allowed safe heaven in another country.
"The list of victims of state-sponsored terrorism under the PNC is indeed long. Under the "our steel is sharper" posture by the PNC, scores of opposition activists were jailed, beaten and tortured and in a number of instances, even killed. It is unfortunate that some of those who were closely associated with Dr. Rodney during those dark years are today appearing on the platform of their erstwhile oppressors. Whether this represents a case of selective amnesia or a betrayal of the revolutionary ideas of their slain leader remains to be seen.
"The PPP salutes the memory of Dr Walter Rodney and calls on all Guyanese to spare a moment to reflect on all those, who fell victims at the hands of an oppressive PNC regime. The return to democracy in October 1992 marks a break with the authoritarian past and must become irreversible if the democratic gains of the Guyanese people are to be preserved and consolidated," the PPP statement concluded.