THE PNCR IS PANICKING UNNECESSARILY

Jun 29, 2014 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

One of the great paradoxes of history is that some of the most powerful regimes in the world reek of insecurity. This is no better exemplified than in the situation in Guyana during the rule of the PNC
By the mid 1970’s Burnham had long neutralized any threat of the PPP in power. The CIA’s declassified reports spoke about Burnham being in full command of the country. By the time Walter Rodney applied for the job as Head of the History Department of the University of Guyana, there was no question of him being unseated.
One of the paradoxes of history is, however, this incongruous situation of some of the most powerful regimes, powerful in the sense of not facing any threat to their internal existence, being highly insecure.
If Burnham had allowed Rodney to take up that teaching job at the University, Guyana’s history may have been completely different. The events now unfolding in the Victoria Law Courts, whereby there is now a Commission of Inquiry into the death of the outstanding scholar, Dr. Walter Rodney, may not have arisen. Indeed, the WPA may never have been conceived.
But the then impregnable PNC regime trembled at the thought of having Rodney in Guyana, and forced the rescinding of his appointment as a lecturer. They created a political controversy in the process. They turned Rodney into a local hero and that gave birth to the WPA, the Civil Rebellion, and all that followed.
It is very sad today to see the PNCR panicking over a Commission of Inquiry into the death of Dr. Rodney, an event that took place thirty-four years ago. The fear that gripped the PNC when Rodney returned to Guyana in the mid 1970’s led to panic. Thirty-four years later, an inquiry into his death is causing panic in the ranks of the former paramount party in Guyana.
And that panic reaction is totally unnecessary. The PNCR is panicking. They are fearful that the testimony being led will hurt the PNC. And this is still early days in the work of the Commission.
The response by the PNCR has been inexplicable. They claim that the work of the Commission will be used for propaganda purposes by the PPP. But that is not the real fear. Their fear is that Burnham and the party he founded will be indicted for the death of Rodney. And so they are attempting to discredit the work of the Commission and question its legitimacy and cost.
This is unfortunate for a number of reasons. Firstly, internationally, regionally and locally there is an overriding sentiment that Burnham and the PNC were involved in the death of Rodney. Why do you think the South African government was forced to withdraw its posthumous award to Burnham? It was because the South African government took note of those sentiments.
The PNCR therefore should see this Commission of Inquiry as having the potential of exonerating Burnham. Instead of trying to discredit the Commission, they should be devoting more energies towards proving the theory that Rodney died by misadventure.
Secondly, the panic within the PNCR over the Commission of Inquiry is inexplicable because by now the PNCR should never tie its political future to the record of its Founder leader. No political party can continue to its political future on its Founder Leader. Not after three decades!
Russia has moved on from Lenin; China from Mao Tse Tung and Cuba is toying with the idea limits.
Burnham represented an era in the PNCR that has long gone. The PPP has moved on from Cheddi and Janet Jagan. Bharrat Jagdeo is now their superstar. And you had better believe that despite all the swirling controversy around the deals made while he was in office, he is still highly popular.
Political parties must give some thought and attention to their founders, but their future is not dependent on how history judges these founder leaders. And neither should the PNCR. Obviously it has an obligation to protect the image and reputation of its Founder Leader. But there is a limit to how much that can be done. And there is also an obligation to move on and to show that the party has evolved.
The PNCR is panicking and panicking unnecessarily. It should see the Rodney Commission of Inquiry, whatever its outcome, as bringing closure to an important question of its past – its possible complicity in the death of Rodney. Its acceptance or rejection of the eventual findings of the Commission of Inquiry would be a demonstration of how it will deal with its troubled past.

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THE PNCR IS PANICKING UNNECESSARILY

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