As calls continued for an extension of the work of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the death of Dr Walter Rodney, lawyers for the politician’s family and party yesterday argued that the Forbes Burnham-led PNC government and agents of the state were culpable.
However, attorney Selwyn Pieters, the newly-appointed counsel for the People’s National Congress (PNC), maintained that the party did not kill Dr Rodney nor did the state nor did late former president Burnham.
At the CoI’s final public hearing yesterday, attorneys Andrew Pilgrim and Christopher Ram, who represent the interest of the immediate family of Dr Rodney and the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), respectively, advanced that it was the Burnham-led PNC government that was responsible for the politician’s June 13, 1980 death.
Rodney died after what was believed to be a walkie-talkie that was given to him exploded.
Ram, in his arguments, said that suspected assassin Gregory Smith played the part he did as part of an elaborate plan by the Burnham-led government, which was responsible for Rodney’s death.
Smith had been identified as the man who gave Rodney the device and he was later whisked to Cayenne, French Guiana under a different name and he lived there until December, 2002.
Ram dismissed the notion that it could have been the WPA which was responsible for the killing as it did not have the power, resources nor influence as did the government of the day.
In examining Smith’s flight from Guyana after the killing and a number of other pieces of circumstantial evidence, Ram stressed that it was the Burnham-led government and agents of the state which were responsible.
Pilgrim argued along similar lines in his submissions. He cited the urgent flight of Smith, which was facilitated by the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and the fact that he was allowed to leave Guyana on false travel documents as amounting to state involvement in the killing.
Pilgrim noted also that Smith’s family was also allowed a flight by the authorities of the day. He questioned the disappearance of the manifest of that flight as well as other documents and asked the commission to find that there was a conspiracy on the part of the then government and Smith to have Rodney killed.
He said too that there is no evidence and could not have been any infiltration by the WPA as it would not have been in a position of power and influence to have achieved that end when one looks at the flight of Smith, which could have only been achieved by government agencies—the GDF and the Guyana Police Force.
‘Threat to national security’
Meanwhile, Pieters said that Dr Rodney was a threat to national security. When asked by Chairman of the commission Sir Richard Cheltenham against what backdrop he sought to make that statement and whether that meant that Rodney should die, Pieters answered in the negative.
Pieters suggested that the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) would be a party of interest to look at in Rodney’s death. Asked by the Chairman, however, whether there was any such evidence before the commission, Pieters did not respond.
He began his submissions by referring to the March 27th testimony of Anne Wagner, the sister of Smith, who had agreed with a suggestion that the PNC being held responsible for Dr Rodney’s death was a hoax.
At that time, Wagner was being cross-examined by then attorney for the PNC, Basil Williams, who is now the Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs. Resultantly, Williams had suggested that the hoax was “the greatest hoax in the history of this country,” to which Wagner had replied, “I would say so too.”
Pieters referred to aspects of the book, “Assassination Cry of a Failed Revolution: The Truth About Dr Walter Rodney’s Death,” which Wagner said that she co-authored with her brother. Sir Richard cautioned Pieters that he needed to address the many criticisms which the book has attracted, since he was seeking to rely on it.
Pieters, however, advanced that it would be left solely to the commission to decide what weight or credibility it would attach to Wagner’s testimony, while noting that one cannot say that the entire book is a piece of rubbish but rather accept it as it is since it can be corroborated.
The Chairman asked Pieters whether he would provide the corroboration since Wagner can be viewed as having an interest, as it is her “beloved brother’s” name which she had said she wanted to clear—by “righting a wrong” regarding the perception that it was Smith who was responsible for Rodney’s death.
Pieters, however, asked the commission to view the book as it would any other piece of evidence before it in a fair manner.
In reply, Sir Richard stressed that fairness will be used but clarified that he was asking a question on the specific issue of the book in light of the fact that Wagner had herself testified that there were things she did not know about her brother.
She had also testified that it was only after appearing before the commission that she learnt things about Smith she did not know before. Wagner had said she co-authored the book with her brother after his death, based on an unsigned manuscript she credited to him and statements he purportedly made during their daily chats while he lived in Cayenne, French Guiana.
She said she published the book because it was her dying brother’s wish and its purpose was to document and reveal the truth about “Dr Rodney and the worldwide betrayal of Gregory as the killer.” The book was released five years after Smith’s death in 2002.
She had noted that the unaltered manuscript, substantiated the authenticity of the book but under cross-examination she revealed to the commission that the manuscript was not the “entire” document.
When subsequently pressed to address the issue of the book yesterday, Pieters gave no response and was allowed by the Chairman to continue with his submissions.
During his presentation, Pieters attempted to make an enquiry about journalist Shaun Michael Samaroo, whom he said was one of the commission’s staff. After momentarily consulting with other commissioners, however, the chairman ordered Pieters to move on. The chairman said he did not know who Samaroo was and that he was not a witness nor was he ever called as such.
In June, AG Williams had disclosed that $324 million had been spent on the commission’s hearings, including a US$7,300 monthly fee paid to Samaroo, a freelance journalist, to report on the inquiry and produce a book and documentary on the findings.
Attorney Brian Clarke, who replaced Pieters as the counsel for the GTUC, submitted that its position on Rodney’s death was a neutral one and that it could not arrive at an absolute position because of incomplete evidential records.
He alluded to the fact that a number of other witnesses will no longer be able to be called, since the current APNU+AFC administration has ordered an end to the public hearings.
Keith Scotland, Counsel for Donald Rodney, in his closing submissions on Monday, argued that there was compelling evidence that the Burnham-led PNC government was responsible for Rodney’s death.
‘Closure’
At yesterday’s hearing, the attorneys again renewed their calls for the APNU+AFC government to extend the life of the commission by at least two weeks in a bid to allow other key witnesses, such as WPA leader Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and former Crime Chief Cecil ‘Skip’ Roberts to testify.
The life of the commission has been extended to November 30th, 2015. That is the date specified by the president by which the commission shall submit its report, findings and recommendations.
On Monday, Pilgrim expressed concern at the commission being asked to truncate its sessions into two days, saying that it could have implications for justice and closure for Dr Rodney’s family.
Ram, meanwhile, said that with the work that the commission has so far done, he was not of the view that the commission should not be offered further extensions to conduct its public hearings.
He said that CoI’s play important roles in any society and he noted the particular importance for Guyana as it seeks to rebuild democratic structures. He too, like Scotland and Clarke, asked for an extension of least two weeks.
The attorneys raised the issue that since Salmon letters (letters which inform any party against whom an allegation may be made at an inquiry of these allegations and the evidence supporting them) had been sent to other key remaining witnesses, including Roberts and Roopnaraine, time should be granted for them to appear before the commission.
Pieters, in response to these concerns, however reiterated that the new government has decided that no further time will be allotted for public hearings. He advanced that affidavits can be submitted to the commission by the remaining witness.
He said that these and others, are all mechanisms which can be utilised by the commission to hear from other witnesses.
On Monday, Sir Richard noted that the development had implications for the commission’s ability to adequately deal with its terms of reference. He underscored that while the commission and attorneys would like to have an extension, it is within a government’s ambit to determine the life of such a commission.
