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Rodney CoI to begin Tuesday

Apr 17, 2014 News

The Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry is still scheduled to begin next Tuesday. Kaieteur News was told that the secretariat was still dispatching letters to potential “witnesses”.
Recently the secretariat announced that it was continuing to accept statements from persons who are still interested in testifying at the hearings of the Commission. The Secretariat had earlier set March 26, last as the deadline for the submission of statements and other materials pertaining to the commission.
Because of the influx of statements, Attorney for the Commission, Latchmie Rahamat, said that they had to extend it.
That period for submissions of statements had been extended indefinitely to facilitate the participation of all interested parties; including those from remote domestic areas and overseas.
Kaieteur News was told that enquiries may be made of and statements delivered to the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, at Lot 1 Avenue of the Republic, Georgetown.
At a press conference recently, President Donald Ramotar, said that the commission will not come cheap.
“I don’t have the figures at my fingertips…but I know it’s not cheap,” the Head of State told the media when asked about how much government will be spending. On Monday, the reported cost of the commission was $112 million.
He had said that once Government decided to “go down that road of having the inquiry”, it knew for a fact that the money would be well spent.
Ramotar explained that contrary to reports about something being sinister in the holding of the inquiry, his government is fulfilling the wishes of Rodney’s wife, Patricia.
“This process started and it was not initiated by me, but by a request by the family, particularly his wife, Patricia Rodney”, Ramotar said.
He said that the Terms of Reference which some parties have been protesting against were crafted by Rodney’s family and advisors, along with some technical help from government. Ramotar stressed that it was Rodney’s wife who made the comment about not wanting it to be political.
“We created all the conditions that no one will be criminally prosecuted and people could come forward and speak what they know,” the President said. He made the point of persons trying to put a spin on it to imply that there’s something sinister, which he dismissed.
Since the President’s press conference both the Working People’s Alliance and A Partnership for National Unity have declined their participation in the inquiry.
Chairman for the Commission Sir Richard Cheltenham (QC) had disclosed that the commission would sit for an initial nine days, before taking a break for about two weeks and resuming.
Cheltenham had noted that the circumstances surrounding Rodney’s death weren’t fairly investigated and made known to the world, so it’s an unresolved issue for his family.
“There has been no clear answer from any investigation to determine this,” the Chairman said.
Cheltenham also said that they intend to “dig deeply” in relation to the facts and come to a conclusion as to who was responsible and why it was done.
He said that to get an answer would be good, especially for the family, which is mainly the purpose for the inquiry.

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