Dr. Walter Rodney, an erudite scholar epitomises the divisive politics and history of Guyana. His is a legacy shaped not only by the party he served, but by the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) who over the years has benefited even more from the exploitation of his death than any other group, including the political party he formed. His death and political gain from it surpasses in prominence his scholarship. He is better known as an “assassinated Guyanese politician” resulting from a carefully orchestrated web of deceit propagated by the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) and PPP/C.
The lies, propaganda and political capabilities of the PPP/C are best hallmarked in anti-Forbes Burnham struggles, the political machinations surrounding the death of Rodney and Elections of 2020. It is in these three significant areas that the PPP/C political strategies employing the use of (mis)information as a political weapon are best seen and can best be understood. These are not by any means all, for there are numerous even countless other fine (sic), notorious moments chronicling their destructive political lies and propaganda.
For the PPP/C to now state, in the National Assembly via Minister Anil Nandlall, Thursday last that they will change Rodney’s death certificate from what they say is recorded as ‘misadventure’ to “assassination” is cheap propaganda. They are once again prostituting the name, death and memory of Walter Rodney with the latest birth certificate ‘trick.’ In so doing they has confirmed unabashedly who is in charge of Rodney’s legacy and how it will be remembered and used. And this is just another opportunity to use Walter’s name as a wedge to create intra and interracial divisions. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Death causation is a medical determination established at time of actual death in certain cases or after a post mortem or coroner’s evaluation of the state of the body, injuries sustained to organs and tissues, and circumstances leading up to the cause of death. Outside of this the PPP/C must tell us how they plan to legally change the cause of death and provide concrete proof of their ridiculous claim that Rodney’s death certificate has “death by misadventure.”
Today, 41 years after Rodney’s unfortunate death, once again the proponents of this divisive legacy are at work tailoring it to further exploit his name and death. They have done this successfully for years with the support of Walter’s family, key WPA names, and an array of others. The farce unleashed on this nation must be put to an end by the Rodney family and the WPA and the truth seeking members of the public should not tolerate this latest appeasement of the family with a monument in a badly unkempt and desecrated cemetery in exchange for PPP/C political mileage.
We are a far cry away from those early remarks made Dr. Cheddie Jagan at public meetings, after the death of Walter Rodney. WPA veteran Tacuma Ogunseye observes “….he triumphantly and callously told the audience that ‘Rodney promised the Guyanese people a Christmas present – instead, he gives them his head.’” We are not, unfortunately a far cry away from the PPP/C lies and divisiveness. A person used in life or death as a wedge to divide a nation, to propagate lies and hate is just a tool – a deceptive political tool, being pimped as a cheap ‘trick. Walter Rodney deserves better than having his name used as a PPP ‘trick’. The political pimping of his name and death to divide this nation must stop. The hypocrites among the people must be called out.
