Dear Editor,

IT IS not surprising that President David Granger did not accept the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Dr. Walter Rodney. From the beginning, since the Commission was sworn in, David Granger and his party were against the Commission of Enquiry.When the then President of Guyana, Donald Ramotar, announced that a Commission was being set up to inquire into the death of Water Rodney, which occurred in 1980 under the regime of President Forbes Burnham, the Commission came under attack from Granger. First, he was against a member of the Commission — Seenauth Jairam, a Guyanese living in Trinidad and Tobago who had earlier represented the Government in the budget cut case, which went in favour of the then People’s Progressive Party Civic government.

Then President David Granger was against the terms of reference. He had wanted to enquire only into the death of Walter Rodney, and not into the period when it had occurred. Despite being told that the terms of reference were drafted by the Rodney family, he insisted on their being altered.

Lastly, President Granger and his party, the People National Congress, which was in government when Rodney died, then refused to testify during the hearing of the inquiry. However, a member from the People’s National Congress represented the party during the Commission’s sittings.

Granger, having failed to achieve his objective, then started to discredit a witness who knew about the plan to assassinate Dr. Walter Rodney. Clive Nobrega, also known as Robert Gates, serving a prison term, came out of prison to testify at the Commission of Inquiry, and Granger referred to him as a convict, and not as a credible witness.

President Granger should put together the facts which came out of the Commission of Inquiry. First, Gregory Smith was a member of the Guyana Defence Force who was sent to England to train in electronic equipment. The People’s National Congress under its leader denied that there was ever a Gregory Smith in the army. The training school he went to gave his ‘soldier’ number and confirmed that a Gregory Smith had indeed attended the training school.

When Dr Jagan came into government in 1992, a protest by Water Rodney’s son, Shaka Rodney, led Dr Jagan to bring in an international jurist who confirmed that there was a Gregory Smith in the army.
Secondly, after the explosion at Camp and Bent Streets which killed Dr. Walter Rodney, Gregory Smith was whisked away to Kwakwani by the Guyana Defence Force aircraft. Gerry Gouveia, who was the pilot at that time, confirmed that he had indeed taken a person resembling Gregory Smith, later known as Cyril Johnson, to Kwakwani, while Smith later surfaced in Cayenne.

Thirdly, the wife of Gregory Smith, who was employed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when Rodney was killed, was transferred to Guyana’s Embassy in Canada, and later disappeared from the scene as a way of covering up Rodney’s murder. Gregory Smith had a neighbour where he lived. The neighbour, a female, would often accompany Smith’s fiancée to the army Coast Guard ramp at Ruimveldt to meet Gregory Smith. This was another proof of Gregory Smith being a soldier in the army.

President Granger’s poor excuse for the assassination of Dr Walter Rodney can hold no water.

President Granger then jumped on a weak limb. He said that Cecil ‘Skip’ Roberts, who was the crime chief when Rodney was assassinated, was brought in by the Government, spent several days at a hotel, but was never called to testify. For Granger’s information, Cecil ‘Skip’ Roberts failed to give a statement. He was saying that he could not remember anything about the death of Walter Rodney. How could he testify?

Granger, your defence of the assassination of the historian Dr Walter Rodney on that fateful night — Friday, June 13, 1980 — under the Burnham regime cannot be covered up.
Regards,
BALDEO PERSAUD