GLOWING tributes were paid to the former T&T Prime Minister and President, ANR Robinson on his passing. But ‘Robbie’, as he was known, was a very controversial political figure, especially on ethnic issues. Like other Caribbean leaders, he was not supportive of Guyanese in their struggle for free and fair elections. In addition, he was accused of being a party to electoral fraud in Trinidad during the 1960s; of marginalising Indians, and of breaking commitments (to a group of us from New York as well as our friends in Trinidad) to support the restoration of democracy in Guyana. He betrayed Guyanese in their struggle to topple the dictatorship.
When Robinson was deputy to Eric Williams during the 1960s, he was supportive of the Burnham dictatorship and never once condemned electoral fraud in Guyana. On the other hand, Basdeo Panday, the leader of Indo-Trinis, went out of his way to support the struggle for free and fair elections, and condemned the violation of human rights in Guyana.
After Panday made Robinson leader of the NAR in 1986, Robinson agreed to take measures against the PNC dictatorship should the NAR form the government. The NAR won the elections by a landslide, and several of us played a role in that victory.  But Robinson failed to live up to his commitments on Guyana. It was Panday, who became Foreign Minister, who kept the pressure on the Hoyte dictatorship, much to the annoyance of ‘Robbie’, who did not wish to take up human rights violations and rigged elections in Guyana.
‘Robbie’ was accused of being a ‘neemakaram’ for undermining Panday. ‘Robbie’ would have been a nobody without Panday, who made him PM and President.
In mid-1986 in Trinidad, officials of the NAR met with several of us (Ravi Dev, Vassan Ramracha, Baytoram Ramharack, Vishnu Bisram, T. Depoo, etc.) in Guyana and in Trinidad and requested our financial assistance for the election campaign. We agreed to assist the NAR in exchange for support for the struggle to liberate Guyana from the Hoyte (PNC) dictatorship. The NAR leadership committed to assisting us in our Guyana struggle, and we delivered funding to the party.  Some of us, Vassan and myself, among others, also campaigned for the party in Trinidad to help it win. And win it did with a landslide 33-3 majority.
After the party won the election, Panday was named Foreign Minister, and he consistently raised the matter of a lack of democracy in Guyana, and urged the NAR administration to step up pressure on Hoyte. The NAR granted amnesty to illegal Guyanese and immigrants from other territories, but ‘Robbie’ and his closest pals would not commit to pressuring Hoyte to restore democracy and rule of law in Guyana. Instead, they began to play the race card in Trinidad politics, making it almost impossible for ‘Robbie’ and his Cabinet to advocate for the restoration of democracy in a racially-polarised Guyana.
Indo-Trini Ministers who were close to ‘Robbie’ told those of us who fundraised for them that they could not assist us in our Guyana struggle because ‘Robbie’ was unwilling to help.
Conflict developed within the NAR over allocation of resources for the constituents who made up the coalition. ‘Robbie’ and Panday had a public spat over the issue, and ‘Robbie’ implored Panday to take his Indian seats and leave. When Panday refused, ‘Robbie’ fired him and his allies from the Cabinet and expelled them from the Party.
Panday and others formed an opposition caucus in parliament, and constantly raised the issue of rights violations in Guyana, urging Robinson to take punitive measures against the PNC dictatorship. But Robinson would have none of it. The UNC was launched with a massive turnout of tens of thousands at the Aranguez Savannah.  At several by-elections and local government elections, the NAR was trounced. The NAR was nothing without Panday and his base.
In general elections in December 1991, the NAR was wiped out, not winning a single seat in Trinidad. Patrick Manning became the PM, with the PNM winning the elections. Had ‘Robbie’ stuck to the agreement he made with Panday, and had he honoured the agreement he made with us to support our struggle for free and fair elections in Guyana, he would have performed much better in the 1991 election, perhaps winning re-election.
Robinson remained unsupportive of the Guyanese peoples’ right to free and fair elections, and did not even make any genuine effort to offer solidarity with Dr. Jagan and the PCD when they came to Trinidad to enlist assistance for FFE. ‘Robbie’ would be lucky to have a second chance with an alliance with Panday in November 1995 in a tied election.
‘Robbie’ supported Panday as PM in exchange for the Presidency. But the alliance did not last long, with President ‘Robbie’ removing Panday as PM in December 2001.

VISHNU BISRAM