Ahead of today’s 40th anniversary of the death of co-founder Walter Rodney, who it maintains was assassinated by the then governing PNC, the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) yesterday recommitted itself to the quest for a Guyana that is based on ethno-racial, social and gender equity. “We can do justice to Walter Rodney’s life, work, and sacrifice to renew our determination as Guyanese people to marry our diverse and uplifting ethnic identities to the freedom of a non-racial political culture,” the party said in a statement issued yesterday.
Further, it recommitted “to the first step towards ethnic jointness” in the form of “a Government of National Unity and Reconstruction” that recognizes the right of all groups to be represented in the halls of national decision making.
Since Rodney’s demise, the party said, there have been serious setbacks in the goal of a multiracial society in which no group feels threatened. The WPA said it regrets this development but recognises that in many ways the dynamics of Guyana and the world have undergone tremendous changes since 1980. “The rise of Globalization and the neo-liberal order have altered the global dynamics. In Guyana, we are still to resolve the tension between ethnicity and majoritarian democracy. Rodney did not live long enough to engage these new challenges. So, it would be a serious disservice to his legacy to put words in his mouth that has been silenced for 40 years now,” the party said.
“WPA however calls for a continued critical interrogation of his ideas and activism to determine their relevance or lack thereof to the contemporary moment. Simply pimping his name to score partisan political points is a cheap way of honoring him,” it added.
In its statement, WPA affirmed that in the face of imminent oil wealth, it would redouble its efforts to fight for just rewards for the working poor of all ethnicities. In this regard, the struggle for the policy of Cash Transfers to households remain at the top of our agenda, it added.
The party also said it recognizes the vulnerability of the sovereignty of countries like Guyana and throws its support behind calls for regional and global partners to resist the temptation to become too entangled in the country’s domestic challenges.
The party has faced scrutiny for its participation alongside the PNCR in the APNU and its tacit support for the stance of APNU+AFC during the recent post elections crisis.
The party last November called again on the government to release the report on Commission of Inquiry (CoI) into the killing of Rodney which was abruptly concluded by President David Granger shortly after he assumed office. The call came in wake of Rodney’s widow, Patricia Rodney repeating her own call for the government to formally release the report of inquiry, which had been initiated under the former administration and for the authorities to act on the recommendations.
The party has maintained that the termination of the CoI by President Granger upon his assumption of office remained one of the sore points in the relationship between the WPA and the leadership of the PNC and the government.
