38th death anniversary of Walter Rodney (Pt 1)

Dear Editor,
June 13th, 2018 represents the thirty-eighth year since the assassination of Walter Rodney, which occurred on June 13th, 1980. Thirty-eight years should be sufficient time for Guyana and its leadership at its highest level to be able to have a dispassionate and objective discussion on the role of this great son of the soil regarding the contribution he made to the political life of this country.
However, thirty-eight years later, in Guyana, we are still not yet positioned to do so, and this in spite of the fact that the party of Rodney, the WPA, is a partner in the APNU and a party in the coalition Government, which has been in office over the last three years.
I believe that the failure to have this profound discussion in Guyana underscores the extent to which the political process and political leaders have failed the people, and represents a serious indictment of those who claim the right to lead and to make decisions on our behalf.
It should be recalled that Guyana made a major step forward as a nation when the Corbin-led PNCR and the WPA supported an amended motion in Parliament to establish a Commission of Inquiry into the death of Walter Rodney. It is important to note that the PPPC, which sponsored the motion, abstained when the vote was taken, because of the amendment which saw the word “death” substituted for “asssassination”. The PNCR had objected to the use of the word assassination on the grounds that its retention in the motion was prejudging the issue. WPA agreed, and the motion in its amended form was passed, thereby demonstrating tremendous political maturity on the part of the two historical antagonists. Importantly, their actions created the genesis of a public political detente between the two parties that led to the subsequent birth of the APNU and a decisive shift in the politics of the nation.
Rodney returned to Guyana in 1975, and the role he played in the Civil Rebellion resulted in profound changes in the politics of the country at that time. WPA and Rodney were able to exploit the existing political contradictions and the legitimacy of the rulers’ right to govern, given rigged elections. Unfolding events shattered the myth that effective unity and collective political actions by the African and Indian working people were unlikely, given the historical political and racial polarisation in the country.
The effectiveness of Rodney/WPA’s activism scared the rulers, who, when faced with massive multiracial street protests and demonstrations by the masses, resorted to grave acts of oppression, violence, and political murders in an effort to stem the tide of change. While they were able to hold on to political power, they were unable to reverse the new political reality created by the WPA and Rodney, which subsequently led to the PNC being voted out of office in the 1992 General and Regional Elections. The rejection of the PNCR at those elections was made possible in no small way by the legacy of Rodney, which ushered in a new chapter in the country’s politics.
Ironically, the return to free and fair elections brought with it a rebirth of the old race-based politics, which profoundly reversed the gains made by Rodney and the WPA. The rebirth of the race/political contradictions resulted in new challenges, which the nation failed to address effectively in its best interest. Dr Jagan and the PPP, after having come to power, quickly lost their way and returned to the old politics of domination. In doing so, they squandered the democratic dividends produced by the anti-dictatorial struggles. Things got significantly worse after the demise of President Cheddi Jagan.

Sincerely,
Tacuma Ogunseye