Morning Star.png Rodney Family Demands Murder Report Release James Tweedie, The Morning Star, London, 22 February 2016 The family of Guyanese Marxist historian Walter Rodney have demanded the release of a report implicating a former prime minister in his 1980 assassination. His daughter Asha Rodney and supporters of the family's fight for justice urged the People's National Congress (PNC) government on Saturday to release the long-awaited report. Walter Rodney 5.jpg Dr Walter Rodney, 1942-1980 The call came after several Guyanese media outlets reported that the commission of inquiry established in 2014 by former president Donald Ramotar had confirmed long-held suspicions that former PNC Prime Minister Forbes Burnham had ordered Mr Rodney's murder. President David Granger's government was criticised for halting the commission's work last November, even though it had requested two more weeks to interview important witnesses. Walter Rodney Caxmpaigning.jpg Walter Rodney campaigning before his death "This is not the end. The report needs to be read and reviewed because justice still needs to be done," Ms Rodney said. "This is a very, very important inquiry. There is a lot more to be done with these findings." Walter Rodney was born under British colonial rule in 1942 and studied at the University of the West Indies and the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London. He lectured in Tanzania at the University of Dar es Salaam - a hotbed of anti-imperialist scholarship - from 1966 to 1967 and authored How Europe Underdeveloped Africa and other important works on colonialism. Walter Rodney with Cheddi Jagan.jpg Dr Walter Rodney with Father of Guyana Nation Dr Cheddi Jagan In 1974, he returned to Guyana and founded the Working People's Alliance party. Mr Rodney was killed on June 13 1980 by a bomb hidden in a handheld two-way radio. His brother Donald, who was injured in the blast and later convicted of his own brother's murder, said Guyana Defence Force Sergeant Gregory Smith had given him the booby-trapped radio. Sgt Smith fled to French Guiana, where he later died. President of Guyana Brigadier David Granger.jpg Guyana President Brigadier David Granger Mr Granger defeated People's Progressive Party incumbent Mr Ramotar in May last year by less than 5,000 votes amid allegations of ballot-rigging. He promptly awarded offshore exploration drilling rights in the western Essequibo province to Exxon-Mobil, sparking a diplomatic row with neighbouring Venezuela, which also claims the region. From: http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/a-e771-Guyana-Rodney-family-calls-for-mur der-report#.VsqGjvl9600 -- -- You are subscribed. This footer can help you. Please POST your comments to [email protected] or reply to this message. You can visit the group WEB SITE at http://groups.google.com/group/yclsa-eom-forum for different delivery options, pages, files and membership. To UNSUBSCRIBE, please email [email protected] . You don't have to put anything in the "Subject:" field. You don't have to put anything in the message part. All you have to do is to send an e-mail to this address (repeat): [email protected] . --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "YCLSA Discussion Forum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
