Rodney wanted to remove PNC Gov’t from office
– says Rodney had no propensity to violence

THE Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry (COI), yesterday, heard that the deceased politician was resolute about his declaration of removing the People’s National Congress (PNC) Government, led by Prime Minister Forbes Burnham, from office.

When this suggestion was made by PNC Lawyer Basil Williams, Co-Founder of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and friend of Rodney, Eusi Kwayana, agreed under cross-examination.
Yesterday marked the fourth day in the second session of the COI that was ordered by President Donald Ramotar while the first four-day session ended earlier this month. The proceedings continued in the Georgetown Supreme Court Law Library.
Kwayana, 89, who now resides in San Diego, California, United States (U.S.) maintained that Rodney had no propensity to violence, even as Williams continued to make this suggestion to him.
Williams quoted several parts of ‘The Struggle Goes On,’ a speech by Rodney on July 20, 1979. “There is no way out under the present system so we have got to make up our minds what we are deciding now within the WPA. It is not that they must reform. It is not that they must hold another election and win it all up. We finish with all that. They must go. The PNC must go. And they must go by any means necessary,” Williams recited.

He then asked Kwayana if those words did not suggest clearly that Rodney was speaking about the recourse to violence. But Kwayana responded that he didn’t believe this was the only inference.

KING KONG
Quoting another section, Williams read: “Brothers and sisters, I am aware of the preferred mode of transportation of King Kong. But you see, King Kong has decided he wanted to build a palace to his ego and a monument to his own stupidity so that he could sit inside and be a monument inside a monument.
“One of the brothers in the audience, when we were at Grove yesterday, suggested to us that what was required was to extend the zoo to take in the residence. And then, we would have one of the most prized exhibits of any zoo in the world. People would come from all over the world and pay money to see King Kong.”
Asked if those words didn’t translate into hatred for Forbes Burnham by Rodney, Kwayana said he did not believe it was personal on Rodney’s behalf and that it was a matter of a political disagreement and, probably, a rejection of the whole ‘Burnham’ regime.

“…if there ever was such a thing called the Midas touch, which was the touch that made everything turn into gold, then we would have a new ration in this society-the Burnham touch, where everything he touches turns to shit.” – Dr Walter Rodney

About what the prized exhibit referred to, Kwayana said the same Prime Minister Burnham.
Continuing to quote from Rodney’s speech, Williams read: “The other evening, speaking at another site, I have to draw the analogy to say that if there ever was such a thing called the Midas touch, which was the touch that made everything turn into gold, then we would have a new ration in this society-the Burnham touch, where everything he touches turns to shit.”

PERSONAL HATRED

Williams again asked Kwayana if he didn’t think this statement was motivated by personal hatred and Kwayana, once more, responded in the negative. But he did agree with Williams that from those extracts, Rodney was resolute about his declaration of putting the PNC out of power.
Meanwhile, Kwayana had earlier testified that the PNC of the 1970s arranged for a more “hospitable scene” by removing armed guards and a mobile police outpost around the prison area where Rodney was assassinated.
According to Kwayana, he was at his Buxton, East Coast Demerara home when he got the “terrible news” of Rodney’s death in the middle of the night from other party member Rupert Roopnarine.
Following this, he said he, along with a team of more party members went to the Camp Street Prison block in Georgetown and interviewed residents and businesses about Police presence in the area during the days leading up to Rodney’s death.
He explained that the team found out that four armed guards were stationed at this location, one at each corner of the prison. Kwayana said residents reported that there was also a mobile Police outpost that was usually in Bent Street.
In the days leading up to Rodney’s death, though, Kwayana said all of the guards, as well as the Police outpost had been removed. Elements of the State and the security forces, therefore, were in expectation that something was about to happen, Kwayana said.
“If this was true, then this tied the State in to the crime because the State had been instructed to arrange a more hospitable scene, to make it more inviting for the bombing.”
Kwayana had said, too, that there was spite, fear and hostility towards Rodney even before he returned to Guyana. In fact, he said the PNC was setting the scene to paint Rodney as a troublemaker even before he landed in Guyana.
Behind this was a spirit of ethnic insecurity, political bankruptcy and no real respect for the right to life, Kwayana claimed.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)