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Nov 05, 2014 News
A former journalist attached to the Guyana Chronicle, Ras Leon Saul, told the Commission of Inquiry into the death of Dr
Walter Rodney yesterday that Dr Rodney’s growing influence on the people posed a threat to both the People’s National Congress (PNC) Government as well as their opponent, the People’ s Progressive Party (PPP).
Dr. Rodney, a scholar, social activist and founder of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) was killed in an explosion on June 13, 1980. Following his death, there was speculation that Dr. Rodney’s assassination was set up by the then President Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham
However, while giving his evidence yesterday, Ras Leon Saul said that as a journalist working for the state-owned newspaper, there was a perspective in the newsroom that Dr. Rodney posed a threat to the government as well the PPP, the main opposition party at the time.
Although there was widespread objection by the State towards the work of the activist, the witness said that as journalists, he and his colleagues were allowed to analyse and observe that there were elements in the PPP that would not like Dr. Rodney’s ascension. Ras Saul told the commission that he was given the opportunity to observe the work of Dr Rodney from afar; he followed his writing, read his books, listened to him speak and although he never met him, Dr. Rodney inspired him to become a Rastafarian.
As such, the former reporter described Burnham and Rodney as “two sides of the same coin.” He said that in many ways Dr. Rodney and President Burnham had similar ideals and personalities; “they were both black intellectuals, with an African consciousness, both claimed to be working in the interest of the Guyanese people”.
“Rodney was like a young Burnham,” Ras Saul told the commission as he described both men as extremists. He noted that this trait may have been the cause of the conflict between the two leaders. “There might have been too much ego at play,” he added.
Ras Saul said that Dr Rodney had started to make the masses conscious, but his work quickly moved beyond that to seeking power and there was a point when it became abusive. Dr. Rodney had drawn similarities between the late Guyanese leader and King Kong.
“This meant that he was ugly big bad and destructive,” the witness explained.
Under cross examination by the Lead Attorney Glenn Hanoman, Ras Saul told the commission that a lot of Rastafarians were also marginalised during that era since it was widely believed that they had affiliation with the Working People’s Alliance (WPA).
He said that many of his brothers lost their lives, “locks” and endured other forms of discrimination since it was believed that they had associations with Dr Rodney’s Party. He claimed that although there was deep conflict between the WPA and the State, Dr Rodney’s death came as a surprise to many people, including himself. The witness said that as smart an individual as Dr Rodney was, he could not have known that he was being set-up.
The witness said that in his opinion, President Burnham was an influential leader and had supporters who were willing, loyal and zealous enough to protect his interest. He explained that such supporters would have harmed anyone trying to undermine the Burnham regime without any word from the president himself.
However under examination by Attorney–at–Law Christopher Ram, the witness admitted that only the State had the type of the resources to cause Dr. Rodney to meet his demise the way he did as well as resources to protect his killer.
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