Dear Editor,
IT IS common in the expression of free speech that, misinformed or intended to misinform, definitions and accusations are thrown out into the public opinion pool. I wish to refer to Hydar Ally’s letter, “An injustice is being inflicted on the memory of Walter Rodney” of Wednesday, November 27, 2019 in the Kaieteur News.

The intention is to accuse the government of disrespect and spite for removing the Walter Rodney name from the National Archives. I attended two days of a very meaningful three-day UNESCO conference on National Cultural Policy Consultations some two months ago, with representatives from the Culture Ministry, National Archives, National Trust and Artists from every discipline. The question of the National Archives versus the Walter Rodney name presence came up in deliberations by UNESCO’s Cultural Heritage Policy Presenter, Mr Sydney Bartley on the ad hoc naming of places that are not then gazetted. I learnt, like everyone else, that this was the situation between Walter Rodney’s name and the National Archives. As all the facts determine, this was as much hypocritical propaganda as was the PPP’s inquiry into Walter’s death. There was never an attempt to truly honour his heritage to this country, but, as usual, to make a political masquerade of everything through cluelessness, insincerity or as a political plaything. Without the legal framework, no legitimate transfer of finances via a Grant, Licence or sponsorship towards any expression that includes Walter Rodney is safe and accountable. If not gazetted, it is a meaningless poster; an act of disrespect.

I also wish to comment on Claudeston Massiah’s letter in the same edition of Kaieteur News on the presence of Britain’s Queen Victoria’s statue. The statue is part of our history, regardless of how painful it is. Ours was not the same history of the southern pre-Civil War America. As an illustrator, I have had difficult times connecting the imagery of our timelines. We are not good keepers of our own significance. Victoria will be a milestone until we fit the other pieces together, and relate our history to our presence, build a new High Court in Bartica or Linden, to erect a new towering sculptured edifice, with relevance to our timeline and to the future. I would not support removing any historical statue, as I have told my brethren. Neither do I support the lazy act of renaming streets rather than building new ones. I will always shout ‘Respect Due’ to Benji, the late Porridge Man, and those ‘West’ brethren who created the community of RasVille. They commenced a process that was commendable for its day, and its necessary philosophy is still relevant.

Regards,
Barrington Braithwaite