Dear Editor,
Dr Patricia Rodney, widow of Walter Rodney continues to fight for justice in the brutal slaying of her husband 36 years ago. She, her children, friends and supporters are circulating a petition throughout the Caribbean and the world to make the report of the Commission of Inquiry (CoI) public and moreover to have its recommendations acted upon.
The report stated that the then Prime Minister, the Guyana Defence Force and the Guyana Police Force played roles in his death. The report concluded that his death was an act of violence for political purposes ‒ an act of state terrorism.
The petition is calling for a change of the manner of death on the death certificate from “Death by misadventure” to “Murder”; a change to the description of the profession of Walter Rodney from “Unemployed” to “Historian/Professor”; the overturning of the conviction of Donald Rodney and the expunging of any related criminal history. Moreover, the petition stated: “Highly egregious is the Guyana Government’s celebration of Burnham within its 50th Anniversary celebrations, with President Granger touting Burnham as a leader with an ‘exemplary record and recall[ing] his efforts to restore social cohesion and to nurture national unity’. This is a revisionist account of Guyana’s History.”
“Enough is enough! …[of] the continued cover-up of the staggering facts and findings in the CoI Report,” the statement added.
The brilliant historian was killed on Friday, June 13, 1980 when a bomb in the form of a walkie-talkie given to Rodney by GDF sergeant Gregory Smith exploded. He was well known all over the world and recognized as one of the Caribbean’s most brilliant minds. His seminal work, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, established a new paradigm for understanding the enduring impact and legacy of colonialism.
He was co-founder of the Working People’s Alliance. Over 30,000 Guyanese and international supporters attended his funeral in what was described as an “astonishing display of racial solidarity and defiance.”
The members of the commission were Barbadian Sir Richard Cheltenham, QC; Seenath Jairam, SC, a Trinidad based born Guyanese; and Jamaican Jacquelyn Samuels Brown.
Yours faithfully,
Oscar Ramjeet