Rodney could cross racial boundaries but not all his erstwhile colleagues can do so

Dear Editor,

June 13, marked the 37th anniversary of the death of one of our most distinguished sons, Walter Rodney. He was assassinated by the PNC regime as has been revealed by the recently held Commission of Inquiry.

Rodney has been dead now for almost as long as he lived. Yet his name is still being called by many. He is held high by the ordinary people of our country and further afield. This is so because of how he lived his life and the contribution he made to the work for peace, freedom and justice both nationally and internationally. He stood with working people. He returned to Guyana in 1974 by which time he had gained renown regionally and internationally as a scholar and a revolutionary. He is revered in Jamaica and held in high esteem in Africa for his work in those parts of the world, not just for his academic work but for his activism and his stance on the side of working and oppressed people everywhere.

In 1974, when he came back to his homeland it was a time when the PNC dictatorship was consolidating itself. It was also a period of growing resistance to the dictatorship. This was seen in the massive way and the lengths to which the PNC regime went to rig the elections the year before, in 1973. Even before Rodney arrived a huge meeting protested the decision of the PNC regime, through its control of the University of Guyana Council, to refuse a job in the History Department of the university to this distinguished scholar. Actually, the UG Academic Board had given him the job. However, the PNC dominated Council, which included Hamilton Green and Viola Burnham, reversed the decision.

That meeting was held at the corner of Middle and Cummings Streets. It was supposed to be addressed by Cheddi Jagan and Eusi Kwayana, among others. It was brutally broken up, and many persons were injured. The PNC regime was running scared when they saw unity being manifested.

Rodney came back and threw himself in the struggle. His views almost totally coincided with those of Cheddi Jagan and the PPP. However, he did not join the PPP. Some would ask why?

In my view, he would have felt that if he did, the PNC would use race to brand him, the way they used it before to attack the PPP. Being of African descent, the regime could not play the race card against him. Not joining the PPP the PNC could not brand him a sell-out. And that exposed the African Guyanese masses to progressive political views, which the PNC had denied them because of its constant manipulation of race. Rodney was taking their racial trump card.

As I have pointed out before, Rodney was killed not only because of his views. Actually, most of what he advocated was also being advocated by the PPP. He was murdered because he was an African Guyanese advocating those views.

This anniversary of Rodney’s killing is taking place at a time when we see tendencies towards another PNC style dictatorship. In the first place, the regime is dominated by former army officers. As everyone knows an army is not a democratic institution. The training and orientation of