THE "WALTER RODNEY" FILES

This collection of files on Dr. Walter Rodney was found by chance. Shortly after I took up my post as Ambassador of Guyana to the United States in June 1993, I did a routine check of the premises of the Embassy in Washington since it was in dire need of some sprucing up and renovation. In the unused, leaky garage I noticed some black plastic garbage bags packed away against the back wall among a collection of old broken furniture and cardboard boxed filled with old magazines and newspapers. On making inquiries from the staff about the accumulation of garbage there, I was told that a large collection of bagged and boxed garbage had been placed there shortly after October 1992, but apparently someone had just forgotten to move all of it to the street side for the garbage trucks to take away.

With the aid of an office assistant I opened up the garbage bags and discovered a collection of old files containing documents mainly of public reports issued by international agencies such as the OAS, IMF, World Bank, IDB, and so on. Some were water-damaged. But then in one of the bags among all these old reports were some maroon cardboard-covered files containing a series of letters, telegrams and copies of tele-type transmitted messages, many of which were also water-damaged. On examination of these, I realised that these documents all related to the death of Dr. Rodney. Some were messages and letters sent by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Information to the Embassy; others were copies of letters and other documents sent by the Embassy to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs about matters pertaining to Dr. Rodney. Others were copies of exchange of letters between the Embassy and individuals in the United States who sought information or expressed concern about Dr. Rodney, before and after his assassination.

It was obvious that comprehensive files on Dr. Rodney was kept at the Embassy, but following the victory of the PPP/Civic in the October 1992 elections and the establishment of a new government, these files were put aside to be dumped and destroyed. Fortunately, someone forgot to complete the job.

Most of the documents in this collection have already been made public elsewhere. However, there are quite a few that were never published before.

I cannot verify if all the documents on Rodney kept at the Embassy before October 1992 were saved. It is possible that others might have been in other garbage bags that were already carted away by the garbage trucks before I arrived in Washington. Nevertheless, what were saved form part of an invaluable legacy of the history surrounding the life of one of Guyana's great historic figures.

1. The Government of Guyana, through its representative on the Board of Governors, has revoked the appointment of Dr. Walter Rodney to a teaching position at the University of Guyana.

2. Leading periodicals and organizations in the Caribbean and other parts of the world have expressed their abhorrence at the revocation of Dr. Walter Rodney's appointment.

3. Dr. Walter Rodney has taught at several universities including University of Michigan and University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania East Africa, and he is emminently* qualified to serve as professor of History in the University of Guyana.

4. Dr. Walter Rodney has written many books and articles among which are:
a) How Europe Underdeveloped Africa,
b) "North Atlantic Slave Trade,"
c) "Groundings With My Brothers."

5. As a result of the government's action, mass meetings have been held in Guyana and reports state that violence has erupted.

6. The Sixth Pan African Congress of which Dr. Walter Rodney is a member has as one of its patrons Prime Minister of Guyana Forbes Burnham. Yet Mr. Burnham's government refuses to allow the appointment of this established Pan-Africanist.

7. Dr. Walter Rodney was born in Guyana and if appointed to the History Department of Guyana University pledges to impart his knowledge for the development of Guyana, the Caribbean and the world.

RESOLUTION TO BE PRESENTED ON BEHALF OF DR. RODNEY BY THE AD HOC COMMITTEE IN SUPPORT OF DR. RODNEY AND OTHER SUPPORTING GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS.

[Editor's Notes: *The text is reproduced as is in the original. This flyer was actually an invitation to persons to participate in a protest activity outside the Guyana Embassy on Friday, 13 September 1974.]

I am sending you a copy of the attached so that you will have an idea of what the Embassy is confronted with, all of which being a direct result of the Rodney affair. Added to this, the recent article, "Letter from Guyana", which appeared in the September 16, 1974, issue of The New Yorker and written by Jane Kramer has evidently added fuel to the fire.

Our Information Officer and Press Attaché is sending you a copy of this controversial article under separate cover.

At about 1.15 p.m. today, Mr. Smith, our Information Officer, called me on the Inter-com System with a request that I speak to a Guyanese in connection with a "picketing" exercise. The speaker identified himself as Mr. Narindra Panday, a student of Howard University, and indicated that "as a courtesy" he was advising the Embassy that as from Monday, September 23, 1974, and for a period of 2 months, a daily picketing exercise would be carried out by a minimum of 5 students, part of an alliance of students mainly from Howard University, and also from other educational institutions in the Washington metropolitan area. He intimated that this was a form of protest of the conditions obtaining in Guyana and emanated from the recent "Rodney Controversy" in addition to an article on Guyana which appeared in a recent issue of the New Yorker Magazine of September 16, 1974. He advised that zeroxed* material would be distributed at the same time and that permission had been obtained from the authorities for the whole exercise.

I thanked him for the courtesy of notifying us beforehand and indicated that I would inform you accordingly.

Permanent Secretary,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Carmichael Street,
Georgetown,
Guyana

Further to the Ambassador's letter of even number dated September 19, 1974, on the subject of the "Rodney Affair", I enclose for your information, a copy of a letter dated 25th September, 1974, from one Ali A. Mazuri, D. Phil (Oxon), a Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Michigan, appealing to the Board of Governors at the University of Guyana to reconsider its decision and reinstate Dr. Rodney as a Professor at the University of Guyana.

His Excellency, the Ambassador of Guyana,
Embassy of Guyana,
2476 Tracy Street, N.W.,
Washington D.C., U.S.A.

Dr. Walter Rodney and I were ideological adversaries in East Africa for a number of years. But as an East African I was sorry when he decided to leave the University of Dar-es-Salaam and return to his home. I regarded his departure as a loss for our region as a whole (I am a Kenyan by nationality and was professor of political science of Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda until last year).

It is therefore with particular bewilderment and concern that I now hear about the decision of the Board of Governors of the University of Guyana to cancel Dr. Rodney's recent appointment as professor of history at the University. Given the intellectual gifts of the scholar concerned, this is a most unfortunate decision.

Both at the University of Dar es Salaam (which was then his base) and at Makerere University (which was my base) Dr. Rodney and I had occasion to engage in public debate, on issues of both intellectual and political import. One such public debate at Makerere was nationally televised live. I was known to stand for liberal values, and his was the voice of the radical left. Although we were separated by a significant ideological gap, I found Dr. Rodney's version of leftist radicalism refreshing and stimulating. His mind was sharp, his tongue often eloquent. He helped to make young East Africans think about some of the most fundamental problems of the twentieth century.

I am convinced that any University in the Third World would stand to benefit by having Dr. Rodney on its faculty. May I appeal to the Board of Governors of the University of Guyana to reconsider its decision and re-instate Dr. Rodney as a professor in the University. Both Guyana and the world of international scholarship at large would stand to gain from such a decision.

I should mention in pausing that Dr. Rodney would not be specially impressed by an appeal from someone like me on his behalf. However I am not doing this to please him, but to help save this gifted man for the Caribbean and the Third World where he belongs. It would be wasteful if he became one more "exile" in a North American or European university. I say that with deep personal conviction.

I would be grateful if you would transmit this appeal to the relevant authorities.

Confidential Secretary to the Prime Minister,
Office of the Prime Minister,
Public Buildings,
GEORGETOWN

I have enclosed these two tapes which the Comrade Prime Minister might like to hear, one which highlights a report on the Jonestown affair by Charles Krause, and the other which speaks about Guyana in General by Comrade Walter Rodney. Even if the Comrade Leader would want to ignore the tape on Krause, I would recommend very strongly, that he listens to Cde. Rodney's interview.

THE COORDINATING EDITOR OF THE ACADEMIC JOURNAL LATIN AMERICAN PROSPECTIVES DEMAND THAT ALL CHARGES BE DROPPED AGAINST DR. WALTER RODNEY AND THE DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE W.P.A., AND THAT THE GOVERNMENT GUARANTEE THEIR SAFETY AGAINST ATTACK.

RONALD CHILCOTE
MANAGING EDITOR
LATIN AMERICAN PROSPECTIVES
P0 BOX 5703, RIVERSIDE CA 93517

WE URGENTLY REQUESTED DISMISSAL OF ABSURD CHARGES AGAINST DR. WALTER RODNEY AND OTHER W.P.A. MEMBERS. WE ARE SERIOUSLY CONCERNED ABOUT THEIR PERSONAL SAFETY IN VIEW OF DEADLY ATTACKS ON THEIR LIVES. GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROVIDE GUARANTEES FOR PERSONAL SAFETY,

DR. DONALD BRAY, PROFESSOR POLITICAL SCIENCE PROFESSOR MARJORIE BRAY, PROFESSOR LATIN AMERICAN STUDIES CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY AT LOS ANGELES, LOS ANGELES CA 90032

DR. WALTER RODNEY, DR. OMAWALE, RUPERT ROOPNARINE, A LECTURER IN ENGLISH AT UG, EARDLEY SEAFORTH ALSO KNOWN AS KWAME APATA, LECTURER, CYRIL POTTER COLLEGE, KAREN DE SOUZA - GRADUATE OF NATIONAL SERVICE, BONITA BONE ALSO CALLED BONITA HARRIS, HEADTEACHER AT Q.C. HAVE BEEN ASSISTING THE POLICE IN THEIR INVESTIGATIONS.

MAURICE ODLE, INSTITUTE OF DEVELOPING STUDIES, U.G. WAS HELD AND RELEASED AFTER QUESTIONING.

[Editor's note: This message refers to the arrest of WPA activists after the destruction by fire of the building housing the Ministry of National Development and the Office of the General Secretary of the People's National Congress.]

2022656900 TDMT WASHINGTON DC 110 08-03 1034A EST PMS UNITED STATES COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE TO LATIN AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONERS, WUX

RE YOUR TELEGRAM OF AUGUST 2, HAVE TO INFORM YOU THAT NO HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATION HAVE* BEEN COMMITTED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF GUYANA. AS A COMMITTEE FOR JUSTICE YOUR "DEMAND" TO "DROP ALL CHARGES" AGAINST WALTER RODNEY ET AL IS SURPRISING SINCE WHAT YOU ADVOCATE IS DISCRIMINATION IN APPLICATION OF RULE OF LAW IN A MATTER OF ARSON. UNDER GUYANA'S INDEPENDENT LEGAL SYSTEM, A PERSON IS PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY. IN FACT RODNEY ET AL WERE ARRAIGNED BEFORE A MAGISTRATE, RELEASED ON BAIL ON JULY 14 AND RODNEY HAS BEEN SPEAKING AT PUBLIC POLITICAL MEETINGS SINCE. ATTESTING TO ADHERENCE TO HUMAN RIGHTS IN GUYANA, THERE ARE NO POLITICAL PRISONERS IN GUYANA.

Guyana's Ambassador to the United States
Lawrence E Mann
2490 Tracy Place, NW
Washington, D.C. 20008

It is distressing to see that Guyana has apparently joined that wide circle of nations that employ widespread and. systematic repression against its own citizens. The recent political arrests and political attacks of Dr. Walter Rodney, an internationally respected scholar, and other members of Working People's Alliance are reprehensible. It is hoped that your government will discontinue this sort of repression against political opponents, and will rather seek to defuse political opposition by closer and more productive relationships between your government and the working masses of your country.

The Embassy is in receipt of your letter dated September 21, 1979 and we regret the serious tone of prejudgement that pervades it. However, we are happy that you have taken time, unlike others to communicate with us so that we can correct your impressions about the state of law in Guyana.

There is no "widespread and systematic repression" in Guyana. There has never been nor is there a single political prisoner in Guyana.

Further, that Dr. Rodney is "an internationally respected scholar" does not make him or other members of the Working People's Alliance above the law.

Rodney and the others, which I think you refer to, have been charged by the police authorities with the very serious offence of arson of public property to the tune of two million dollars. They are all free on bail. Subsequent to that charge Rodney has been questioned by the police on two occasions.

The rule of law in Guyana is not dissimilar to that of any flourishing democracy and you have our assurances that we will continue to exist in a state where no one is guilty until so proven.

It is not inappropriate for me to suggest that you do some open minded research on the relationships existing between the government and the people, and if you find it convenient, do visit the country some time. It will certainly help you develop an educated and well-informed conclusion.

Mr. Bob Taylor,
The Manager,
Howard University Radio,
2400 4th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C.

On your programme "Caribbean Experience" of Sunday, September 16, 1979, it was reported that the Zimbabwe African Nationalist Union had protested the earlier arrest of Dr. Walter Rodney of the Working People's Alliance.

While we have grown accustomed to receiving knocks from your station, we have tried and will continue to try to provide news and information reports for the station in the interest of accuracy and the preservation of cordial relations.

I have attached a copy of a statement from the Secretary for Education and Culture of ZANU, which refutes the statement as reported and further expresses solidarity with government and people of Guyana.

The Embassy shall be extremely grateful if a correction is carried on the "Caribbean Experience".

LAWRENCE E MANN
GUYANESE AMBASSADOR TO UNITED STATES
2480 TRACY PL NORTHWEST
WASHINGTON DC 20008

DEMAND YOU DROP CHARGES AGAINST RODNEY OMAWALE AND ROOP NARINE END HARASSMENT OF WPA

From: High Commissioner, London
To: Guyana Ambassador, Washington
Subject: Protest from Mr. Martineau
Date: 19th December, 1979

I wish to bring to your attention the attached letter which has been received from one Linden P. Martineau, who is stated to reside at 7011 Connecticut Ave., Cherry Chase*, Maryland 20015, U.S.A.

December 1, 1979
The High Commissioner for Guyana
Place Court*
London W2, England

I wish to protest the arrest, detention and trial of Walter Rodney, Rupert Roopnarine, Dr. Omawale, Kwame Apata and Karen De Souza. They are being singled out because of their membership in the WPA. Yet, it is absurd to believe that the WPA, in becoming an electoral party and launching a peaceful campaign against the Burnham government, would resort to spontaneous terrorist action as is alleged. I am concerned for their safety and fear that they will be forced into making false and incriminating confessions. I ask that they be set free. I remain,

We are in receipt of a letter sent by you to the Guyana High Commission in London and must thank you for taking time out to air your grievances. Sad it is, however, that you are apparently prejudging very serious issues.

Rodney et al, like every other Guyanese, are not above the law. True they have been charged with various offences, but may you know that Drs. Rodney, Roopnarine and Omawale and Miss De Souza are free on bail. Apata who was charged under the National Security act for being in unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition has been sentenced on January 18 last to one year on each count. His sentence will run concurrently and he has appealed the court's decision. In his own confession he admitted being in possession of the items, but his counsel argued that no threat to public safety has been proven as required under the National Security Act. You and I, as laymen, can have an endless debate about that, hence, like in any other democratic society Guyana has courts and justice to deal with such issues.

Rodney, Roopnarine and Omawale have been charged in connection with the destruction by arson of millions of dollars of public property. They have not been tried and therefore found neither guilty or* not guilty. Hence in the eyes of our society they are assumed innocent. Shouldn't we await the findings of the courts?

I further wish to remind (or enlighten) you that the W.P.A. has asserted in their public meetings that they were not overlooking a violent overthrow of the P.N.C. government.

[Editor's note: *The text is reproduced as is in the original documents. The names of the places indicated near the asterisks in Letters (a) and (b) are Chevy Chase and Palace Court, respectively.]

Black Freedom Society
Jersey City State College
2029 Kennedy Blvd.
Jersey City, NJ

We of the Black Freedom Society are appalled at the imprisonment of the activist/intellectual Walter Rodney. We subscribe to the notion that the Burnham government is repressive and lacks any semblance of Human Rights. Brother Rodney has long been considered a champion of progressive thought to us in this country and around the world. We of B.F.S. detest his confinement as well as the confinement of poet A.J. Seymour. We hope this correspondence does not fall on deaf ears and that you, sir, use every avenue to ensure his speedy release. We have alerted other student organizations of this unfortunate incident and have urged them to appeal to you and your U.N. Mission on behalf of Brother Rodney. We have contacted Amnesty International concerning this incident and we will solicit the help of publications around the world until our brother is free.

Mr. Abasi Mtumwa,
Minister of Information,
Black Freedom Society,
Jersey City State College,
2029 Kennedy Boulevard,
Jersey City, N.J.

I have your undated letter, in which you protest what you describe as the confinement of Dr. Walter Rodney. I regret that its tone was so offensive and its contents so completely untrue. The facts are as follows:

Dr. Walter Rodney, a Guyanese, and four other persons were charged by the police authorities in July 1979, in connection with the burning down of Government property. In our legal system, an accused is presumed innocent, unless found guilty by the Courts. The date has now been set for his trial at the end of January 1980. Meanwhile, Dr. Rodney is quite free on bail and could move around Guyana or even outside of Guyana as freely as you.

Unfortunately, perhaps, our laws make no distinction for blackness, so that the fact that Dr. Rodney is black or, as you say, he is a champion of progressive thought, does not render him or anybody else immune from law.

With respect to A.J. Seymour, your allegation of his confinement is the purest fabrication. He was never charged with any offence and continues to remain an esteemed poet laureate of Guyana.

It is extremely unfortunate that, before seizing yourself of the facts, you chose to put your Society in a position of being ridiculed by writing all over the place protesting things that have not occurred. Nonetheless, I wish you personally and your Society all the very best.

Mr. Cohn Mapp
Embassy of the Republic of Guyana
2490 Tracy Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008

We were very surprised upon receipt of your letter to find that someone has been using the Black Freedom Society's name as an instrument to spread false accusations. We have worked very hard to insure the high regard others have for our organization. Therefore, we can assure you that our group has no such office as Minister of Information, and we know of no one at the college named Abasi Mtumwa. We are also unaware of the situation involving Dr. Walter Rodney and A. J. Seymour in Guyana.

If it is at all possible, please forward a copy of the letter from Mr. Mtumwa and we will continue to pursue his true identity.

It is unfortunate that our only dialogue with your embassy has been such a negative one, but we hope to continue this new relationship on a more positive and fruitful level.

Mr. Bruce Terry,
President,
Black Freedom Society,
Jersey City State College,
Jersey City, N.J. 07305

We have received your letter of December 29 last and are grateful for the clarification therein.

We do hope that the occasion that warranted our exchange of correspondence will nevertheless serve to commence positive communication between the Society and the Embassy.

(a) Letter from Professors Eileen and Isidore Gersh to Guyana Embassy, Washington

Ambassador Lawrence E. Mann
Embassy of Guyana
2490 Tracy Place, N.W.
Washington D.C. 20008

We hasten to support our fellow academics who have been arrested and must stand trial soon. For what? We would like to know. From where we sit, it looks to us like sheer harassment - their arms are pens and paper, not guns. And if you take their typewriters and printing presses, even if you imprison them, other will follow who can read or listen. This is not the way to beat academicians, we can tell you! Listen to their grievances and try to ameliorate them!

(b) Letter from Guyana Embassy, Washington, to Professors Eileen and Isidore Gersh

Professor Eileen Gersh,
Professor Iaidore Gersh,
4037 Baltimore Avenue,
Philadelphia, Pa. 19104

I must thank you for your letter of January 7 last. While it told me that you did have an interest in the Guyana society, I could only conclude that you could be better disciples for us if in the spirit of your academic excellence and professionalism, you first get the facts straight.

You do not name "our fellow academics" so you make it extremely difficult for me to address your problem. You speak of academics as though they were a special breed of people, above the law. They are not! Where is the harrassment* you are speaking about? And what grievances?

In Guyana, the rule of law flourishes and a citizen is assumed innocent until the courts can prove him guilty.

AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION
Epstein Building
Brandeis University
Waltham, Mass. 02154
Telephone: (617) 899-3079

Mr. Lawrence E. Mann
Guyanese Ambassador to the United States
2490 Tracy Place, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20008

I enclose for your attention a copy of a resolution passed by the members of the African Studies Association at their annual meeting in November 1979.

AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION
Epstein Building
Brandeis University
Waltham, Mass. 02154
Telephone: (617) 899-3079

The African Studies Association wishes to record its deep concern and dismay at the prevailing violations of the basic human rights of two distinguished Africanist scholars, Dr. Walter A. Rodney and Dr. Clive Y. Thomas, by the Government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana.

Dr. Rodney has been previously victimized by the regime of Prime Minister Forbes Burnham when he returned to his country from Tanzania in 1974 to accept an appointment as Professor of History at the University of Guyana. Professor Richard Gray wrote on 9 October, 1979 to the High Commissioner for Guyana in the United Kingdom on behalf of the African History section of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London: "While perhaps none of us would subscribe to his particular political and ideological positions, all of us have a very deep respect for him as a completely honest and trustworthy scholar whose contributions to the field of African history have won for him a thoroughly deserved international academic reputation." The African Studies Association condemns this blatant victimization of Dr. Rodney by the Guyana Government's denial to him of his university appointment.

Furthermore, in view of the alarming recent escalation of political violence in Guyana and the continuous police harassment of Dr. Rodney in recent months, the African Studies Association is deeply disturbed at the political motivations behind the criminal charges of which Dr. Rodney now stands accused. The African Studies Association wishes to express its grave anxiety for Dr. Rodney's personal safety and urges the Guyana Government to guarantee his full legal and human rights.

Similarly, the African Studies Association is no less disturbed by the totally unjust seizure of Dr. C.Y. Thomas' passport by the Government of Guyana on his return to Guyana in September from a summer teaching position as Visiting Distinguished Professor of Economics at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada. The only explanation for such harassment of the Professor of Economics and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Guyana can be his position, together with Dr. Rodney, on the fourteen-member Executive Committee of the Working People's Alliance, one of the principal opposition parties in Guyana.

While the African Studies Association recognizes that academics enjoy no greater privileges than any other citizens, it believes strongly that political participation by academics must not become an excuse for the denial of their basic human rights by any government.

17. LETTER FROM EMBASSY OF GUYANA, WASHINGTON, TO AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION OF BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY

EMBASSY OF THE REPUBLIC OF GUYANA
2490 TRACY PLACE, N.W.
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20000

22nd April, 1980.

Mr. James Duffy,
Executive Secretary,
African Studies Association,
Brandeis University,
Waltham, Mass. 02154.

Dear Mr. Duffy,

We received your letter dated January 21, 1980 with its annexures of a resolution of the African Studies Association.

We forwarded it to Georgetown since it was of a highly political nature not normally dealt with in the Embassy.

The General Secretariat of the People's National Congress has asked me to express their disappointment that the resolution does not reflect the quality of the academic objectivity associated with a University of the calibre of Brandeis.

The Secretariat has asked us to point out that it is blatant bias to portray either Dr. Rodney or Dr. Thomas as victims of harassment whose human rights have been violated. Dr. Rodney has merely been charged by the police authorities with the crime of arson. His case has not yet come to trial, he is represented by legal Counsel of his own choice and he is free on bail. Indeed, probably at this very moment he is pursuing the politics and policies of his choice as well. Dr. Clive Thomas has not been charged with any offence and is pursuing his teaching activities at the University of Guyana, which is entirely funded by the Government of Guyana.

No human rights charter, certainly not the United Nations Human Rights Charter, however, denies to national police authorities the right to bring charges where there is prima facie evidence, or even to take preemptive action where the activities of individuals or groups are likely to cause a breach of public order, or create a subversion, or both. Ascribed academic reputations in these cases do not exempt any citizen, regardless of his profession or distinction or lack of either. It was to be noticed that other members of the co-leadership, many of them academicians, of the political party to which Dr. Rodney is said to belong, continue to enjoy unfettered pursuit of their political and professional activities.

The resolution it was noted speaks of escalating political violence; be it noted that three admitted activists of a certain political party were found in possession of unlicensed highly lethal weapons - all since the arson committed against Government property in July 1979.

The Secretariat observed that no one can have more pride than a Guyanese in the academic distinction of a compatriot, but Dr. Rodney is not to be seen solely as an academician, but as a full-time leader of a political party, if not more.

Finally, the Secretariat response notes that the then Prime Minister of Jamaica Hugh Shearer who, addressing the Jamaican Parliament, quoted from a confidential Security Report. Sir Hugh Shearer, speaking of the Jamaican government decision to expel Walter Rodney, said:

"He (Rodney) lost little time in engaging in subversive activities on his return (to Jamaica). He quickly announced his intention of organising revolutionary groups for what he termed 'the struggle ahead' and then closely associated himself with groups of people who claimed to be part of the Rastafarian Movement and also with Claudius Henry, who was convicted in 1960 of Treason Felony as a result of activities which required the use of armed forces.

"He openly declared his belief that as Jamaica was predominantly a black country, all brown-skinned mulatto people and their assets should be destroyed. He consistently told the groups with whom he associated that this could be achieved by revolution and that no revolution had ever taken place without armed struggle and bloodshed. This resort to violence was the recurrent theme of all his discussions with these groups as was his condemnation of the democratic system of government in Jamaica.

"In recent months, Rodney stepped up the pace of his activities and was actively engaged in organising groups of semi-literates and unemployed for avowed revolutionary purposes. He constantly reiterated the necessity for the use of violence in attaining his ends; the procurement of firearms and training in their use was recently a major topic of discussion. Furthermore, at one meeting at the UWI campus at Mona, Rodney reportedly said, 'Revolution must come. We must be prepared to see it through. We must stop talking and indulging in academic exercises and act. Who will be the first to come with me downtown and take up a machine gun?'

"In terms of tactics one of the things University students were urged by way of pamphlet to do was to: 'Provoke the police, don't argue with them; ridicule them; goad them; let them attack you'."

Shearer concluded that:

"The whole pattern of the destructive campaign shows evidence of careful planning beyond the capacity of hoodlums or the usual subversive groups with which the government has had to deal in the past. No wonder a rastafarian at one of Rodney's campus meetings publicly declared - 'We have the brawn, you have the brains; all we need are the guns'."

The Secretariat ends by enjoining your Association to rethink its resolution in the light of the fact that while we might all admire his scholarship we should also remember that he is, in addition, a full-time politician.

Yours sincerely,

Cohn I. Mapp
for Ambassador

18. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FROM AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION, BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY, TO GUYANA EMBASSY, WASHINGTON

AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION
Epstein Building
Brandeis University
Waltham, Mass. 02154
Telephone: (617) 899-3079

May 5, 1980

Mr. Colin I. Mapp, Esq.
Embassy of the Republic of Guyana
2490 Tracy Place, NW
Washington, DC 20008

Dear Mr. Mapp:

Thank you for your letter of 22 April. I am sending it to our Board of Directors for their consideration.

Yours sincerely

James Duffy
Executive Secretary, ASA

B. The Assassination Files:

19. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

14 June 1980

At about 20.15 hours on Friday June 13 a car PBB 2349 registered in the name of Donald Rodney Quantity Surveyor, Ministry of Works parked near corner of John and Hadfield Streets exploded. One person in front seat of car now positively identified by relatives as Walter Rodney died. Eye witness reports say that one other person, the driver, was seen running from car. CANA quotes a spokesman at Rodney's home as saying "They (the family) had heard from his brother Edward who was in the car with the brilliant historian when the bomb went off."

Meanwhile police have so far been unable to locate Donald Rodney. Edward is however with police. It is believed that Walter Rodney had bomb in his lap. Post mortem being undertaken by Dr. Leslie Mootoo will clarify.

20. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

15 June 1980

Government pathologist Leslie Mootoo yesterday said that Rodney died from shock and excessive bleeding. He said further that from injuries sustained a bomb was in deceased lap or between his legs. Police sources revealed that the car's windows were wound up and the hand brake up.

In a release W.P.A. said that Rodney left a meeting with brother Donald just before 20.00 hours and that Donald was driving north in John Street. W.P.A. release claims car was moving. This however conflicts with eye witness accounts and leaves unexplained how driver could escape from a moving car which then came to a stop without careering etc.

The police who are continuing investigations are seeking the assistance of a specialist from the United States.

21. TEXT OF PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTED BY "GUYANA NATIONALS AND FRIENDS ALLIANCE" OF LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA

BURNHAM MUST GO!!!

On July 11, 1979, five members of the Working People's Alliance were arrested on trumped-up charges of arson and possession of firearms - AND STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE GUYANESE PEOPLE!!

On July 14, 1979, Father Bernard Darke, editor and photographer for the Catholic Standard, was fatally stabbed by House of Israel thugs working in conjunction with the Burnham government - AND STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE GUYANESE PEOPLE!!

On October 25, 1979, Vincent Teekah, PNC-government minister, was shot to death and the only eyewitness was spirited out of the country - AND STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE GUYANESE PEOPLE!!

On November 18, 1979, Ohene Koama, an unarmed member of the WPA, was murdered by the police - AND STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE!!

On February 25, 1980, Edward Dublin, another unarmed WPA member, was shot to death by the police and there has been no investigation into his murder - AND STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE PEOPLE!!

On June 13, 1930, Walter Rodney was assassinated after a bomb concealed in a walkie-talkie exploded in his lap - AND THERE IS STILL NO JUSTICE FOR THE GUYANESE PEOPLE!!!!!!

We call for an immediate end to the political repression and official murder of Guyanese citizens. The economic victimization of the people, particularly the opponents of the government, must cease. We call for the restoration of both human rights and constitutional rights to the people (recently denied by an illegally imposed "constitution" which places all powers in the hands of the president, Forbes Burnham), and the reinstitution of a judicial system which is free of PNC control. We also call for the return of freedom to the press. The American CIA brought Burnham into power, and the U.S. has been supportive of his regime, but this must end. FORBES BURNHAM AND HIS CORRUPT PEOPLE'S NATIONAL CONGRESS MUST BE REMOVED & REPLACED BY A GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONSTRUCTION.

Letters of concern should be sent to:

Mr. Lawrence E. Mann, Guyanese Ambassador to the United States, 2490 Tracy N.W., Washington, D.C. 20008.

Mr. Yvon Beauine, Chairman, United Nations Commission on Human Rights, United Nations Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10017.

Dr. Carlos Dunshee de Abraches, Chairman, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 175 I Street, N.W., Room 1003, Washington, D.C. 20006.

Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, Georgetown, Guyana, South America. Sen. Alan Cranston, Russell Senate Office Building, Room 229, Washington, D.C. 20510. (California Senator)

Sen. S. I. Hayakawa, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 6217, Washington, D.C. 20510. (California Senator)

SEND CONTRIBUTIONS TO: GUYANA NATIONALS AND FRIENDS ALLIANCE, P.O.BOX 25722, CALIFORNIA 90025

[Editor's note: This pamphlet began to be circulated on 15 June 1980.]

22. PRESS RELEASE BY GUYANA NATIONALS AND FRIENDS ALLIANCE

Guyana Nationals and Friends Alliance
P.O. Box 25722
Los Angeles, California 90025

PRESS RELEASE

On Friday, July 11, 1980 members of G.N.F.A. and sympathisers plan a 24-hour vigil at 2950 Los Felix Blvd., Atwater District, Los Angeles, the office of Guyana's Honorary Consul in California. The vigil will begin at 12:00 noon, Friday, July 11 and proceed through the night to 12:00 noon July 12, 1980.

It was July 11, 1979 that several members of the Working People's Alliance were arrested on trumped-up charges of arson after army personnel were seen staging a fire - the burning down of the building housing the government's party National Secretariat & the Ministry of National Development. Thereafter, everyone in Guyana who demonstrated any opposition to the government was declared to be enemies of the state. They were told "to sign their wills." The government promised to "fight steel with highly tempered steel," and that "no holds will be barred."

The Working People's Alliance is a newly formed opposition party that has sought to unite the two major races in Guyana: East Indians, 52%, Blacks, 42%. It draws its strength from the lowly farmer and canecutter to the elite in academia. This political party has obviously transcended racial politics which is the divisionary tactic that the Forbes Burnham government uses to stay in power.

The Forbes Burnham government has postponed general elections since November, 1978. From that date a series of legislations and an "unconstitutional Referendum" - only 14% of the people voted for it - have sought to concentrate all power in a president who is answerable to no one and who will have paramountcy over the state for life. This dictator is to be Forbes Burnham, himself.

Dr. Walter Rodney, internationally known historian, scholar, teacher and humanitarian was assassinated on June 13, 1980. His murder was the latest in a series of murders, beatings, and imprisonments of individuals who either by association or demonstration were in opposition to the government.

Amnesty International, listening in at a recent trial of six persons accused of treason, has promised to undertake the defense of these Guyanese political prisoners who showed glaring evidence of police brutality and were denied medical examinations, even though the court appointed a doctor.

The vigil was born out of these atrocities mentioned above. The pressure or concern you could bring to bear on the Guyana government or its overseas representatives would be most welcome by the suffering Guyanese people.

[Editor's note: The press release has no date, but it was first circulated on 15 June 1980.]

23. STATEMENT BY MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

Donald Rodney, younger brother of late Guyanese politician and historian Dr. Walter Rodney, has confirmed the Government of Guyana's statement that the device that killed Walter Rodney was in Dr. Rodney's possession at the time it exploded. Donald Rodney, apparently, the only other person in the car at the time, also confirmed that the car was parked and the ignition turned off when the explosion occurred.

Donald's version of the incident, given to journalist Sharief Khan and carried by CANA yesterday, differs substantially from earlier statements issued by the Working People's Alliance of which Dr. Rodney was co-leader. These initial WPA statements had insisted that the car was moving at the time and had suggested that Dr. Rodney was not himself the bearer of the device.

Dr. Rodney's brother, who said he reported the incident to leading WPA members immediately after, told CANA how he and Dr. Rodney had gone to South Georgetown to a "former Guyanese Army Sergeant" who had become an associate of Dr. Rodney, to collect the package which eventually exploded and killed the former University Lecturer.

He claimed that the man had promised Dr. Rodney a walkie-talkie set. The younger Rodney, a twenty-nine year old Government Quantity Surveyor, was still at the time of interview hiding, but according to the CANA report, he will soon be relating his story directly to the Police. The report says that Donald Rodney's left eye was bandaged and his left arm and right hand badly bruised. An earlier WPA release stated that Donald was hospitalised but police who checked at all hospitals in Guyana failed to locate him. Earlier WPA versions suggested that Dr. Rodney had just left a meeting when the explosion took place.

However, the historian's brother, driver of the vehicle on the fateful night, said that he had picked up his brother at least an hour earlier to take him to collect the "walkie-talkie set" for tests and that it was necessary to go outside the Georgetown Prisons to complete the tests.

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION
[No date, but most likely 16 June 1980]

24. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

16 June 1980

EXPERT COMING TO AID PROBE INTO BLAST

An explosives expert from overseas is due in Guyana within a few days to assist in the investigations in to the explosion which killed Working People's Alliance (WPA) Dr. Walter Rodney, an official of the government said yesterday.

And the police have also put out a call for Dr. Rodney's bother Donald, who was the driver when the car exploded in John Street. Police said that Donald Rodney, who fled the scene was probably injured, and although WPA sources said he was in hospital, checks at both private and public hospitals have failed to locate him.

An official statement yesterday also noted that the WPA in its attempt to shift the blame for death of Dr. Rodney to the government concocted a statement which was riddled with obvious inconsistencies, and more than stretched the imagination.

According to the official statement, the WPA claimed among other things "at about 8 p.m. on Friday June 13, 1980 and shortly after leaving a meeting he was travelling in a northerly direction in a car driven by his brother Donald. The car was moving in a northerly direction along John Street shortly after eight o'clock when between Bent and Hadfield Streets there was a loud explosion. The roof of the car was blown off, and landed several feet behind."

According to the statement, if the car was indeed moving at the time of the explosion it was only logical to assume that the driver would have lost control, and the vehicle would have careered wildly on the street, resulting in any of a number of things.

"For example, it might have crashed into another vehicle, a fence, a lamp post or even into persons who might have been around. "None of this happened. In fact, all observers on the scene after the incident were unanimous that the vehicle must have been parked at the time of the explosion," the statement added.

Again, the statement said, the single fact other than that there was an explosion, on which the police and the WPA versions agree, was the driver of the car at the time of the explosion escaped from the scene. A departure from the scene in such circumstances, could only have been effected before the inevitable crowd gathered.

Assuming that the explosion took place while the vehicle was in motion, it would have been a couple of minutes after the explosion before the vehicle came to a standstill permitting any occupant to exit, the statement said.

By then, some people and the policemen from the nearby police mobile unit would have been attracted to the scene and their mere presence would have been a restraining factor on anyone desirous of fleeing.

The WPA statement goes on to claim, the official statement observed, that the driver of the car Donald Rodney was severely injured and has been hospitalised.

The police for obvious reasons are anxious to locate and question Donald Rodney as to as to get to the root of the incident but have so far failed to locate him even though they have carried out checks at all known hospitals, public and private.

Several questions come to mind. Why did Donald Rodney, assuming he was the driver of the car flee from the scene of the incident?

And, why has he not yet come forward to give his version of the incident, either personally or through members of his family or the WPA both of whom seem to know where he is and both of whom demonstrated great alacrity in communicating to the foreign media that it was Walter Rodney who had been killed in the explosion of June 13, 1980, the statement concluded.

Police yesterday continued their investigation into the incident, and relatives of Dr. Rodney observed that the funeral may probably take place on Wednesday.

25. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

17 June 2008

The police are still trying to ascertain exactly what happened on the night of Friday June 13, when Walter Rodney died after an explosive in Georgetown.

However, on the basis of the version of the incident given by Donald Rodney as reported in the media yesterday June 16, a number of questions automatically arises.

The alleged walkie-talkie set the Rodney brothers were allegedly testing must have been unlicensed and must have been in their possession contrary to the laws of Guyana.

The police seized two walkie-talkie sets from Rodney's home in the immediate aftermath of the fire which destroyed the Ministry of National Development building and the Office of the General Secretary of the People's National Congress in July last year and these are among the exhibits in the current case. It is a publicly known fact that a number of former Guyana Defence Force personnel are among the active members and sympathisers of the Working People's Alliance.

The WPA has for sometime now been putting out a stencilled sheet YAM-VINE which was specifically directed at members of the army and which had as its clear intention the undermining of the army's loyalty to the state.

Indeed, among those charged recently as a result of the discovery of a plot to overthrow the government was one Edward Torrington a former corporal of the army.

In addition, the WPA in a statement published on Saturday, June 14, gave a version of the incident which is somewhat different from Donald Rodney's account. Donald Rodney's account supports the findings of Government Pathologist Dr. Leslie Mootoo.

The fact that the WPA, through its activists, Andaiye and Karen DeSouza knew of Donald Rodney's version of the incident, as communicated to the media yesterday, but yet put out something quite different must obviously be viewed with some suspicion.

Furthermore, if Donald Rodney's story is to be believed, one wonders what significance should be attached to the fact that one of the tests was to be made near to the Georgetown Jail, a very sensitive security location and Donald Rodney in his account to the media, clearly conceded that he and his late brother were engaged in some clandestine activity when he said that he and his late brother were parked in John Street, there they were driving at "a fairly slow pace" not wanting to attract attention and that there was "a need to keep some sort of look-out".

26. TELEX MESSAGE FROM CHARGÉ D'AFFAIRES, GUYANA EMBASSY, WASHINGTON TO MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA

17 June 1980

Following for Permanent Secretary

In response to your request in Telex No. 42 of yesterday's date, we have approached State Department and they have recorded a great willingness to identify someone.

However, they are of the view that since the WPA statement has listed the U.S. Government as being collaborators with Guyana Government in this matter, it would not be advisable for them to do so. They have however requested the British Government to assist. They are awaiting a response.

Please communicate this information to Ambassador Mann.

Chargé d'Affaires, A.I.
Washington

27. PRESS RELEASE BY GUYANA EMBASSY, WASHINGTON

It has now been confirmed that Dr. Frank Skuse, Forensic Scientist of the British Hone Office, and Dr. Hugh Johnson, Consultant/Forensic Pathologist at St. Thomas Hospital in London, will arrive in Guyana tomorrow 19th June, and Saturday, June 21, respectively.

With Dr. Leslie Mootoo, the Commonwealth Caribbean's leading Forensic Pathologist, they will work on forensic examination related to the body of Dr. Walter Rodney. Although Dr. Mootoo's findings have already been corroborated by the evidence of Donald Rodney, and in spite of Dr. Mootoo's experience in this type of examination, the police consider it advisable, having regard to all the circumstances, to remove all possible doubts and also to obtain additional help concerning the bomb which was involved in the incident.

The team will also work with local bomb expert, Asst. Superintendent Eustace Kendall.

Meanwhile, the police are questioning Karen DeSouza and Andaye, also known as Sandra Williams, two activists of the Working People's Alliance. They went to the police this afternoon accompanied by Attorney at Law, Mr. Doodnauth Singh.

Donald Rodney had claimed that he had reported to Karen DeSouza and Andaye minutes after the explosion which killed his brother. Crime Chief Cecil Roberts is not now in a position to state how long the questioning will continue.

Local detectives meanwhile have interviewed residents in Russell Street and Howes Street, areas where Donald Rodney claimed that he and his brother went to uplift the device which eventually led to his death. However, none of the persons questioned have been able to assist so far.

Police will return to the area later with blown-up photographs of Donald Rodney and his late brother to see if anyone could remember seeing either of them talking to strangers in the area.

The Crime Chief today commented that the unduly long delay on Donald Rodney's part in providing a description of the man, and information about the man who Donald said had given a package to his brother, has created considerable difficulty for them, the police, in pursuing their investigation. Police are still trying to make sense of Donald's statement that the device had to be tested against the metal of the prison wall, and why it could not have been tested against metal in any other part of the city.

Meanwhile, police are asking members of the public to help them locate the man that Donald Rodney has described. According to him, the man's name is Gregory Smith, "an ex-Guyana Defence Force Sergeant", and who had established a relationship with his brother, Walter.

Donald claims that "Smith" is muscular, 5'6" tall, wears a large Afro, black steel-rimmed glasses, large side-burns, and a heavy beard.

EMBASSY OF GUYANA
WASHINGTON, D.C.

18th June, 1980

28. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

20 June 1980

As you know the police were notified on Monday at 17.30 hours that Donald Rodney was available at Medical Arts Centre. When contacted there the police were informed by Rodney's doctors, Williams and Taitt, that because of Donald's state of shock and sedation he could not be interrogated before 24 hours. Lawyer Miles Fitzpatrick on Monday afternoon also promised the police a signed statement by Donald Rodney. Meanwhile however as you are aware, Donald gave an exclusive interview to CANA. In the final analysis the police did not receive from Fitzpatrick the promised signed statement until 17.30 hours on Tuesday 17.

Pursuant to the doctors' instructions as regards interrogation of Donald Rodney, the police commenced interrogation at 16.30 hours on Tuesday 17 June. The interrogation lasted one and a half hour. SM. For your own information and not for any written release, initial reports indicate inconsistencies in statement given to police and statement released to the press. One area of inconsistency relates to allegations concerning Gregory Smith on the basis of information received during interrogation. Police are taking in for questioning Andaiye and Karen DeSouza.

WPA yesterday Wednesday issued release signature of Andaiye which in part refers to statement made by Donald Rodney "after his doctors said he was well enough to talk" and sought to reconstruct a theory of what is called a cold-blooded plot of the PNC state, You should know that, in relation to request for foreign forensic experts, statement said "but we can have no confidence in the verdict of highly reactionary police forces from imperialist capitals".

As regards the request for forensic experts the USA has said that it would not be advisable for them to identify a forensic expert. The US also requested the British government to assist.

As a result, Dr. Frank Skuse, a forensic scientist (bomb expert) of the British Home Office, is arriving Guyana today, Thursday June 19, and Dr. Hugh Johnson, consultant forensic pathologist at St. Thomas Hospital, London, on Saturday. They will work along with Dr. Leslie Mootoo, and a local ballistics expert, Police Superintendent Eustace Kendall, in an effort to remove all possible doubts and to obtain additional help in relation to the bomb involved in the incident. The WPA in their statement described the bomb as "a carefully designed bomb, probably designed with the aid of foreign experts" and said it was "an anti-personnel bomb, made to blow mainly upwards". No official description has been given; Dr. Mootoo said he had never encountered any similar bomb during his studies in Austria.

On Wednesday, Dr. Mootoo, the Caribbean's only forensic pathologist, also told the press that bits of plastic, a spring of between six and eight centimetres long and bits of wood were found in Rodney's body and the left side of his face was burned, along with his chest and inside his arms. Dr. Mootoo also said that the presence of Donald's driver's licence and another driver's licence in the wreckage after the explosion was partly responsible for Dr. Rodney's body not being immediately identified. He had arrived on the scene about 300 yards from his home, around 20MQT* hours the Friday night, had found the body warm, and concluded that the incident had occurred less than half an hour before.

[Editor's note: * Jumbled transmission. This probably is 20.30 hours.]

Part 2

Meanwhile there have been two developments following the statement given by Donald Rodney. Firstly, the police have questioned WPA activists Karen DeSouza and Andaiye (Sandra Williams) to whom Donald Rodney spoke minutes after the incident. Secondly the police have sent out an all stations alert for one Gregory Smith ex-sergeant Guyana Defence Force who is said to have given to Rodney the device which blew up and killed his brother.

There is not and there has never been a Sergeant Gregory Smith in the Guyana Defence Force, the Ministry of Information stated last night. The release added: "The records of the army dating back to its inception revealed that there have been forty six (46) Smiths. There are two (2) Gregory Smiths and both are currently in the army. Neither of them has attained the rank of sergeant. Nineteen of the Smiths attained the rank of Non-Commissioned Officers."

29. COPY OF AN INTERVIEW GIVEN BY DR. WALTER RODNEY DISTRIBUTED TO GUYANA'S FOREIGN MISSIONS BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION

NOTE TO MISSIONS

This copy of the late Rodney's interview reveals, upon close analysis, his commitment to violence as a political option. You should also study carefully other pronouncements by Rodney - like his W.P.A. not getting finances from "'foreign sources" and his "extra parliamentary" options etc.

Ministry of Information,
GUYANA.

IN MARCH THIS YEAR WALTER RODNEY GAVE THIS INTERVIEW TO CARL BLACKMAN, GUYANA'S MOST SENIOR JOURNALIST.

Q: Is it true that you had said in Tanzania, that you were coming back to cause trouble? and that was the reason why all your appointments had been revoked.

RODNEY: Rumours were flying about the reason for withdrawing my letter of appointment. I think that it is interesting that they have given an explanation. I may have said that I was coming back to carry on some kind of political ideological work which I had been carrying on in Tanzania and Jamaica.

Q: Kester Alves in a viewpoint some time ago quoted Hugh Shearer, then prime minister of Jamaica, as saying that you were stirring up the Rastafarians and criminal elements, to stir up trouble in Jamaica.

RODNEY: The modern development of the Jamaica Labour Party (Shearer's party) seems to have accepted certain of my contentions, and their change of policy is a vindication of what I have always said: That the Jamaican working people demanded certain changes and their demands were not being met.

The Jamaican Labour Party's presentation of the incidents of October 1968, as a case - to put it crudely - of foreigners stirring up trouble was nonsense. What I was saying that subsequent events had shown that was far from the truth. The incidents showed that there were fundamental grievances which Jamaicans were trying to express.

Q: But the incidents tend to support that you support violence as part of your struggle?

RODNEY: Violence is always regrettable because people get hurt and lose their lives. But the responsibility for violence are always on the shoulders of those who create the conditions for such a situation.

Q: Could you be a little more precise than that?

RODNEY: Let me give you a precise answer. If a situation has become intolerable and if all avenues for peaceful change have become exhausted, than violence would be the logical result.

Q: What you seem to be saying is that that you accept violence as inevitable in the Guyana situation?

RODNEY: Our first task is to exhaust all avenues of peaceful change, and that is what civil disobedience is all about. It is part if a programme of ensuring that the Guyanese people explore all political avenues, short of violence, so that one exercises one's political and social responsibility. What happens after that is the responsibility of those who see fit to close off all avenues of peaceful change.

Q: Do you see any peaceful solution without any further violence?

RODNEY: Our remaining options are very slim. One option is mass mobilisation that is sufficiently broad that it is strategic in the sense of affecting production, and that is resolute in the face of victimisation.

Q: Surely when you talk about affecting production, you are worsening the conditions of people who you claim you are dedicated to improving their lot?

RODNEY: I want it stressed that it is not a new question. Look at the sanctions against South Africa and Rhodesia. The whole debate of those issues had a lot to do with whether the African population would be adversely affected economically, but the liberation movements and their allies carried the day. If sanctions reduce production, that was a necessary evil on the road to liberation.

Q: The government has labelled the strikes last year as political, and you seem to be confirming this.

RODNEY: Debate about "political strikes" have gone on for a long time. All strikes in our context have a political implication, so that whether strikes are political or not, could be red herrings.

Q: Your party vowed last year, 1979 was "the Year of the Turn", which meant that Burnham and the PNC government would be out of office. He is still there. What happened?

RODNEY: There was a turn in Guyana; our position is that the political life of Guyana has gone through a radical change in the last six months, and would never be the same again.

Q: What are the achievements you claim?

RODNEY: The WPA assisted in posing the key political questions: The removal of the PNC. We have identified the process of removal as being necessary extra-parliamentary in the light of the destruction of parliamentary democracy by the PNC.

Q: Do you think your party can run a government alone?

RODNEY: Any set of individuals of political parties cannot be expected to solve all the problems of the people. In fact, we profoundly distrust the Messiah approach of political parties in Guyanese. We are trying to mobilise the energies of the vast majority of the population. We do not have a designated leader, because we found that one of the weaknesses of Guyana is the creation of a maximum leader, whether in politics or other organisations.

Instead of trying to get together to solve problems, the people tend to look to the maximum leader, and this has a negative consequence. This had acted adversely to the democratic practices at all levels. While there are several examples of maximum leader in the Third-World, we don't believe it works. It destroys initiatives and creativity.

Q: Government sources paint you as a troublemaker. It is said that the reason why you left Tanzania is that you called President Julius Nyerere "a briefcase socialist".

RODNEY: The statement is so distorted that I can say that it is absolutely false. I spent six and a half years in Tanzania and I am proud to have participated fully in its political life despite not being a Tanzanian. For Nyerere I had tremendous respect and we had no quarrel. There were times when I joined with other Tanzanians of like mind to criticise official policies, which were carried in newspapers owned by the Tanzanian government. I left Tanzania because of a desire to come to Guyana, rather than because Tanzania had ceased to be a welcome society.

Q: How strong is your party and to what do you attribute your success?

RODNEY: The WPA feels happy that whatever else happens we have definitely broken down barriers of race - one of the chief factors of organising a political party. We can affirm that our membership at this time is authentically multi-racial. We are not as strong in parts where we do not have the means to maintain direct contact, but we have tremendous goodwill all over the country.

Q: There is a feeling that you have lost some of your credibility as a leader because you ran away when the police tried to break up a demonstration by your party?

RODNEY: I raised it publicly immediately after the incident, but since I had no newspaper my remarks are not noted. There is nothing to be ashamed of. It was obvious that a whole band of thugs disguised as policemen set out to make an example of certain special tasks. Fortunately, some of the skills I had as a youth had not entirely disappeared and I was able to use them.

Q: Have you ever met Burnham?

RODNEY: Yes, many years ago when I was a youngster, when there were debates in schools, there were mixed teams of masters and tutors and I debated with him. But we have not met recently.

Q: Where does your party get your funds? Some people say from Libya and Iran.

RODNEY: The WPA finances reflect the economic situation. Our funding comes and had always come and will continue to come from the Guyanese. We have never sought foreign sources for our funds, and we have no intention of doing so. Because politically, it is the single most compromising act that any political party could do.

Q: What is the colour of your politics?

RODNEY: We are a socialist party. We do not retreat from socialism. Severa1 of us are Marxists, although the party has not declared that it is Marxist. What we intend to do is to avoid labels. The WPA depends on the response to the people of Guyana.

Q: Is your party more like Bishop of Grenada than Williams of Trinidad?

RODNEY: Yes. But since I want to avoid labels, I would not like to make that comment.

The Nation (Barbados) Friday, June 20, 1980.

[Note in The Nation accompanying the interview]

Walter Edward Rodney, age 38 who was born on March 23, 1942, the second of six children (five sons and one daughter) of Edward Percival Rodney, tailor and cutter. He grew up in Georgetown in a lower middle area of Bent Street. He usually quips "I grew up near the prison, I know it well from outside. Perhaps, some day somebody would want to put me inside."

In 1953, he won a government scholarship to Queen's College, which Prime Minister Forbes Burnham and Leader of the Opposition, Dr. Cheddie Jagan, both attended. Earlier Rodney stressed that he and Burnham were not in the school at the same time, but he was there while Burnham taught briefly at what was then considered Guyana's premier secondary school.

In 1959, he won an open scholarship to the University of the West Indies in Jamaica where he also won the Faculty of Arts prize, and a scholarship to University of London, where he did Oriental and African studies.

He gained a Ph.D. in African history, and went to Tanzania for one year June 1966 to December 1967, where he taught at the University of East Africa.

He returned to Jamaica in l968, and after the disturbances, which he was accused of inspiring, went back to Tanzania from 1969 to 1974 as associate professor in history at the University of Dar-es-Salaam. He returned to Guyana in 1974 to find that his appointment as a lecturer at the university had been blocked.

The Nation (Barbados) - Friday, June 20, 1980.

30. TELEX MESSAGE FROM MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF GUYANA TO GUYANA AMBASSADOR, WASHINGTON

21 June 1980

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Cecil Roberts has informed attorney-at-law, Doodnauth Singh, who is representing the interest of the family of the late Dr. Walter Rodney, that the late historian/politician's body could not be released for burial before Sunday June 22, 1980. The police have been informed by Dr. Hugh Johnson, consultant pathologist at the St. Thomas Hospital in London, that it is important that he examines the body. Dr. Johnson is expected in Guyana Saturday evening and he has promised to start his examination of the body early Sunday morning.

The police hope that the examination will be completed with the minimum of delay and that the body will be ready for handing over to relatives during Sunday for burial sometime after. The relatives had requested the body for burial on Saturday June 21.

Meanwhile, Dr. Frank Skuse, forensic scientist of the British Home Office, who arrived in the country on Thursday, June 19, visited the site of the explosion at John and Hadfield Street where he made an inspection, examined Rodney's body and inspected the motor car in which Rodney died.

Also the WPA is proceeding with a service at the Brickdam Cathedral on Saturday, June 21, and has requested police permission to hold a public meeting in Georgetown later the same day.

31. COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS PREPARED BY THE MINISTRY OF INFORMATION ON THE "WALTER RODNEY BOMBING INCIDENT"

CONFIDENTIAL

A. BRIEF ON THE WALTER RODNEY BOMBING INCIDENT

MINISTRY OF INFORMATION JUNE 21, 1980

[i]. A. INTRODUCTION

This brief on the Walter Rodney Bomb Death Incident is intended to give readers a background and insights into the course of events that led to the almost inevitable fate Rodney prepared for himself.

The initial sympathy that was evoked for the WPA outside of Guyana stemmed from the fact that the WPA was first off the blocks with its colourful and deceptive version of the incident. Now that the dust is settling the world deserves to know the truth. An attempt is made here to document as fully as possible the history, political context and contemporary course of events that all created the environment for Rodney's inglorious end by his own hand.

The brief is presented in easy-to-read sections e.g. a narrative of events after June 13, 1980, the Government's reactions end actions, relevant antecedents (a section that presents the record of WPA-inspired violence and subversive activity), the political context or environment in which the incident occurred and an analysis of the affair by knowledgeable commentators.

Those who compiled this brief hope that the information contained herein will help to throw light on the affair and provide background information that would be used to help clear up the doubts and misconceptions that may linger in the minds of a few persons.

B. THE NARRATIVE

On the calendar of many superstitious Guyanese it is a frightening combination should the thirteenth day of any month be a Friday. For them such a day is a "Black Friday". So it was on Friday, June 13, 1980, the day on which Historian and. Politician Dr. Walter Rodney lost his life in an explosion in a parked car on John and Hadfield Streets.

According to police reports, two (2) "Beat Duty" Constables saw a white Mazda Capella Car - PBB 2349 - drive up and park in the vicinity of John and Hadfield Streets, a short distance away from the Georgetown Prisons.

Minutes after, a loud explosion rocked the parked car, terrifying residents. The constables reportedly saw someone get out from the driver's side of the vehicle and hurry away.

They began moving towards the vehicle, but were checked in their advance by a dangling overhead electric wire, damaged by the explosion.

Mastering their initial apprehension, they approached the vehicle whose wind-screen and roof had been blown off, and observed the body of a human being who seemed to have been killed by the explosion.

About ten minutes after, the Police arrived on the scene, examined the vehicle and questioned residents in the area.

Forensic Pathologist Dr. Leslie Mootoo, who lives 2 blocks away, was summoned to the scene and on his arrival examined the body. His considered opinion was that a "device" had exploded in the car.

In these early stages, identification of the body was difficult because of a number of reasons including the fact that the area was dark and it was some time before electricity by means of "drop-cords" could be supplied and the fact that documents found in the car pointed to Donald Rodney and Edward Rodney - not to Walter Rodney.

As a result of the documents found in the car the Police searched a house in West Ruimveldt, arrested Edward Rodney a brother of Walter Rodney and took him to Police Headquarters for questioning.

However before it became clear to the police that the dead man in the car was Walter Rodney the WPA had communicated hurriedly by telephone with the foreign News Media, stating positively that the dead man was Walter Rodney, and that he was assassinated by agents of the ruling People's National Congress. They said the occupants of the car at the time of the explosion were Donald and Walter Rodney.

Saturday June 14. The local radio stations put out early reports of the incident, stating that the police were still trying to identify the badly disfigured body found in the car and, it wasn't until mid-morning that the local radio stations heard and announced that the dead man was believed to be Dr. Walter Rodney. (One radio report actually said that the face was badly disfigured - an unfortunate but not deliberate inaccuracy.)

However, the BBC radio, Radio SRS (Suriname) Antilles reported that Walter Rodney was assassinated. WPA activists also took to the streets in the early morning distributing leaflets and Press Releases accusing the People's National Congress of assassinating Walter Rodney.

A Press Release signed by Andaiye alleged that the car was moving at the time of the explosion. This release gave the impression that a bomb was either planted in or thrown into the vehicle. The Press Release said also that the WPA "understands" that Donald Rodney was hospitalised.

In an indirect response to these suggestions and distortions by the WPA, later in the day a statement issued by the Ministry of Information stressed that from all the available evidence, the car was parked at the time of the explosion.

The WPA was later made to look quite silly when in the story they released from Donald Rodney some 72 hours after the incident, Rodney, who was the only other person in the car with Walter Rodney at the time of the explosion, admitted that the car was parked.

The first reports sent to Police Headquarters suggested that the dead person was a woman. At the time Police searched Rodney's house therefore, they did not know that they were in fact searching the house of a widow. Walter's wife, perhaps understandably, did not seek to assist in the identification process but Mrs. Shepherd, a sister-in-law and Father Malcolm Rodrigues, a Catholic priest and associate, identified the body at the Georgetown Mortuary, as that of Walter Rodney. Mrs. Shepherd was not sure. Edward Rodney earlier looked at the body and he too said that he was not sure. The first positive identification was done by Father Rodrigues at about mid-day on the Saturday.

At the Mortuary, Dr. Mootoo performed an autopsy on the mangled body and concluded that death had resulted from "shock and haemorrhage" (excessive bleeding). It was his considered view that the victim had the explosive device on the seat between his thighs or on his lap at the time of the explosion.

These findings were supported by the story told by Donald Rodney two days later when he said his brother was holding the device in front of him when it exploded.

Arrangements were made shortly after noon for members of the media to view the badly mangled body and the damaged car. Some members of the media - Messrs A. Morrison S.J. of the Catholic Standard and Sharief Khan of the Caribbean News Agency (CANA) in particular - sought to suggest how and where the bomb must have been "planted" in the vehicle.

But even though Father Rodrigues and Mrs. Shepherd had identified the body as that of Walter Rodney by evening there was still some doubt as to whether the body was in fact that of Walter Rodney the main reason being that the whereabouts of the man seen hurrying away from the scene after the explosion were still unknown. He was believed to be Donald Rodney but the two brothers - Donald and Walter were said to have very similar physical features.

Sunday June 15: The Sunday Chronicle carried a front page story about the incident. The story included interviews with residents of the John and Hadfield Streets area whose statements were supportive of the police reports. In addition the government announced its intention of bringing in foreign experts to assist with the investigations into the incident which led to Dr. Rodney's death. There was a peculiar reaction from the WPA. For a group which makes a great furore over mole hills, they were strangely quiet at home, though they kept churning out deceptive propaganda to the foreign media.

By this time too, there was a very unflattering response to the incident from the Caribbean and further afield. Having been fed the WPA version that Rodney had been assassinated the international community swallowed it lock, stock and barrel and ended up being very critical of the Guyana Government. Prime Minister Michael Manley of Jamaica, for example, said it was a brutal assassination.

The transcript of the WHUR programme (see appendix*) is a good guideline about the way the international media covered the incident. Of course, in this particular case, the announcer, Kojo Nambi, is a known WPA activist. Similarly, the CANA correspondents in Georgetown, Sharief Khan and Eucryl Calder, are known WPA sympathisers, if not members and/or activists. [Editor's note: * Not included because it was not found.]

C. GOVERNMENT'S ACTIONS FOLLOWING THE JUNE 13 EXPLOSION

The death of Dr. Walter Rodney on Friday June 13 has had some serious implications in the face of many unfounded criticisms by opposition groups operating both in and