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Assassination of Walter Rodney: Theory of plausible deniability does not apply

Jul 02, 2011 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,
Columnist Freddie Kissoon wrote an interesting article theorizing on political assassinations: whether the Head of State knows, and authorizes them, or his underlings plot and execute the assassination, so as to give their boss something called “plausible deniability”. (Read KN, July 1st)
Regardless of how it is done, the Head of State is legally and morally responsible for the killing. And therefore, President Burnham is legally culpable for the assassination of Walter Rodney. In 1980 when this particular assassination took place Guyana was a dictatorship, meaning there was no rule of law, or alternatively, only the law of the dictator ruled – hence, the reason why no one was arrested and charged for Rodney’s assassination.
This, in spite of the fact that an eyewitness (Rodney’s brother) survived the assassination attack and was able to identify the assassin as Gregory Smith, who was still in the employ of the National Army. The Guyanese people know all the details of how a safe haven was arranged for Gregory Smith to live out his life in neighbouring French Guiana in broad daylight – and the rest is history, as they say.
The major footnote about this assassination is that a democratic government was elected twelve years later – and the assassin was still alive and well in a known location in 1992 – but no attempt was made to have the culprit extradited and have him tried for the murder.
President Cheddi Jagan, on the assumption of the presidency in 1992, swore to uphold the rule of law, but promptly chose to abdicate his constitutional responsibility with regard to this particular murder.
There may be endless debates about the reasons for President Jagan’s constitutional neglect and failure – no treaty with France, too much time elapsed, eyewitnesses no longer available etc. etc. – but the fact remains:  a murder took place, the whole world knew who did it, and no attempt, or only a superficial attempt, was made to have justice done in this most historic assassination.
Even the people who lived in 44 BC in Rome were able to obtain justice for another most brutal and comparable assassination as Walter Rodney’s.
Mike Persaud

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