Rodney’s death: An act of terrorism by PNC agents
Lead Council in the Commission, Glen Hanoman (right), having a word with Mr. Lawrence Edward Rodney.
Lead Council in the Commission, Glen Hanoman (right), having a word with Mr. Lawrence Edward Rodney.

LAWRENCE Edward Rodney, the eldest brother of assassinated historian/politician Dr Walter Rodney, yesterday, told the Commission of Inquiry (COI) that his brother’s death was “an act of terrorism by agents of the State (PNC) or of the State Apparatus.” Furthermore, he said, “I am of the view that there was a network of persons targeting the leadership of the WPA (Working People’s Alliance for which the deceased Rodney was co-founder). He was murdered by a terrorist grouping.”

Rodney, 73, was called to the witness stand last Tuesday but returned yesterday morning to continue giving his testimony before Commissioners Richard Cheltenham, Jacqueline Samuels-Brown and Seenath Jairam.
Rodney further pointed out to the COI that Gregory Smith, also known as Cyril Johnson, who was accused of the murder of Rodney, was a “uniformed member of the state.” He was a member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF).
The COI, being conducted in the Supreme Court Law Library in Georgetown, was ordered last February 6 by President Donald Ramotar. So far, four witnesses have been called to testify.
According to Rodney, his brother indirectly shared certain safety concerns with him before his death. He explained that the assassinated Rodney believed in self-sufficiency or self-reliance and hence his interest in obtaining a ‘walkie-talkie.’
He was not just interested in holding public meetings, but wanted to obtain feedback from the public. Furthermore, he worked in other parts of the world where communication was difficult, and hence he would have seen the usefulness of this device, Rodney explained about his brother.
Rodney, who has some experience in relation to ‘walkie-talkies’ from his stint in the army in England, said there is absolutely no way that the ‘walkie-talkie’ with the explosives inside of it could have been used for the purpose of a walkie-talkie. With the explosives inside of it, it could never have functioned as a walkie-talkie; rather it was an explosive device, he testified.
Rodney also testified that on June 14, 1980, at about 7 am, he was taken to Lyken’s Funeral Parlour and asked to identify a corpse. He said he recognised it was his brother’s.
Meanwhile, Rodney told the COI, Tuesday, that the Guyana Police Force (GPF) acted in conjunction with the House of Israel to break up peaceful pickets held by the WPA and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP).
He related how the GPF was at the time acting as an arm of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), and was being used to intimidate any enemy of the ruling party. He noted, though, that there were some professionals in the force which created a kind of balance.
The police, known then as the ‘Brown Clothes’, was also used to break up strikes organised by workers and trade unions, and the HOI acted in concert with them.
Asked why he concluded the police was in league with the HOI, Rodney said whenever the House of Israel disrupted meetings held by the PPP and WPA, the police never approached them. In fact, the police had strong reservations about restraining the House of Israel, he said.
Rodney also told the Commission that during 1977 and 1978, he witnessed this type of behaviour by the police on several occasions, at meetings at Kitty Market, Merriman’s Mall, and La Penitence, opposite Twins Drugs Store, among others.
He said whenever the House of Israel came out in public, their general posture and demeanor showed their loyalty to the PNC Government. They also carried such slogans as: ‘Down with the WPA’ and ‘We don’t want Rodney.’
There is no doubt that preferential treatment was given to the House of Israel, Edward Rodney disclosed. Whenever they disrupted meetings, they were known for throwing bricks and beating people with sticks, and cutting wires.
According to Rodney, Gregory Smith was also a member of the House of Israel. He said he knows this because he once saw him walking on Russell Street, dressed in the uniform of the HOI.
The first session of the COI hearings came to an end yesterday, and the second session, to run for nine days, will commence on Tuesday, May 27.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)

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