Rodney report recommends “ethnic harmony” as foundation for country’s progress

May 17, 2016 News

By Abena Rockcliffe-Campbell
Recommendations contained in the report on the Commission of Inquiry (COI) into the death of Dr. Walter

Dr. Walter Rodney

Rodney present a starting point for the coalition government and the People’s Progressive Party/ Civic (PPP/C) opposition to join forces for the sake of national unity.
The report recommended that it is imperative that Guyana sees “ethnic harmony.” In fact, it was said that most recommendations rest on the hope of ethnic harmony.
The Commission noted, “The ethnic divide in the Guyanese society constitutes a fragile fault line. General elections produce an environment that puts that fault line under stress. Many recommendations made in the report assume the existence and maintenance of a sense of ethnic harmony. But it has to be worked at. Every government has a continuing responsibility to work in close consultation with national associations and diverse interest groups to design and implement a programme intended to strengthen ethnic harmony and sense of national unity.”
While the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)—the main party in A Partnership for National Unity (APNU)—is not very receptive to the findings of the COI, the recommendation of ethnic change is a stark reminder of the much touted national unity that has been promoted as a main goal for APNU.
The report found that the then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham “conspired” to assassinate Dr. Rodney. Burnham

President David Granger

is the founder of the PNCR.
Kaieteur News recently contacted a key member of the PNCR about the recommendation. The member, who asked not to be quoted at this point, said that the party is yet to discuss that recommendation “specifically.” He said, however, “Of course you know our view on the report. We feel that there was an agenda and that the COI was part of a political witch-hunt. But, yes the PNCR is all for national unity or as they (the commission) put it, ethnic harmony, and we have long been trying to involve the PPP/C, let’s see what happens.”
So far, the PPP/C has not been playing much of an integral role in government’s efforts to promote national unity or “social cohesion.” However, the PPP/C is very much interested in the COI report. In fact, in 2013, 33 years after Dr. Rodney’s death, it was the PPP/C government that announced a COI.
The PPP/C’s interest goes to such an extent that one of its senior members, Gail Teixeira, recently took a motion to the National Assembly to ensure that the report was taken to the House. She further introduced an amendment to have the report referred to a parliamentary Special Select Committee for further examination. Teixeira said that she wanted to make sure that the report was not shelved.
AFC had expressed the view that the report “affords the country an opportunity to address a difficult period of its history”. The party said that it hopes that the report forms the basis for national healing and reconciliation. Of course the Working People’s Alliance (WPA) would have a key interest in the report, its

PPP’s Gail Teixeira

findings and recommendations, since Rodney was a member of the party.
If all that was said by the main parties for it to be taken as more than political banter, Guyana may very well see political cooperation for unity.
Dr. Rodney was a famous Guyanese described as a scholar, historian, activist, formidable orator and, in his latter days, a politician. He was killed when a bomb exploded in a car in which he was an occupant. He was 38 years old at the time.