THE murder of Dr. Walter Rodney goes far beyond the mere murder/assassination of an irritating political opponent; the real aim goes deeper than that. 

Rather, it was an iniquitous project by the authoritarian regime to silence dissenting voices and the democratic process as a whole. It was their mistaken belief that they can somehow put away from our minds the idea that freedom could come to a suffering people. And the best way to achieve this objective was to drive fear and uncertainty into the minds of everyone who dared oppose their logic.
In this regard, torture, beatings, disappearances and even death lurked in the shadows as the PNC went on a rampage. First of all, it was their illogical interpretation of your being a “subversive element,” or an “enemy of the state” once your ideas went contrary to theirs; so those followers of Rodney and/or his ideas became prime targets for their attacks. Karen De Souza is one such example; she was hounded and spied upon wherever she went. Her movements, no matter how innocent they might have been, were dogged by controversy.
One such attempt by the regime was the incident where she was supposedly caught red-handed in the act of shoplifting. These trumped-up charges were crafted by members of the YSM (Young Socialist Movement). Their job was to follow her around and dig up whatever dirt they could find. So the smear campaign went on, from the ludicrous misdemeanor of shoplifting to the women’s arm of the party, the WRSM, branding Karen a madwoman; a raving lunatic who should not be taken seriously.
Therefore it was with great joy and gladness that I read of Karen’s testimony before the COI of the horrible things she suffered at the hands of the PNC, all because she was associated with the WPA. I am indeed thankful for her coming forward and telling her story, and not being amnesiac like her fellow compatriot, Dr. Rupert Roopnarine.
Another way of benumbing the views of the people was to constantly feed them with lies and propaganda, as the slogan during that period was “Read the Chronicle Newspaper; that paper has the truth.” We were encouraged to follow all the news items of that newspaper, because, from its portals, all “truth” flowed.
On this note, I call on Adam Harris, Editor of the Chronicle Newspaper during the PNC era, to come forward and shed some light as to the workings of that press during this turbulent period. It would be interesting to hear his testimony as it relates to the Gregory Smith matter. I challenge him to testify before the Rodney COI.
Adam, come tell us “the truth,” if that is possible. We are eagerly awaiting “the truth.” Like I said in my opening remarks, the PNC hoped to silence dissenting voices and views with the killing of Dr. Walter Rodney; but this was a mistaken belief on their part.
NEIL ADAMS