MAURICE BISHOP ... A gigantic leader
One more time we remember our great revolutionary, Maurice Bishop, whose life was snuffed out at the tender age of 39 years while still in the prime of his life and poised to make the biggest contribution of his political life.
But alas, because of the unrealistic and greedy agenda of members of his own party, he was never given the opportunity to reach his full potential. He was nonetheless, an outstanding Grenadian hero and also a celebrated Caribbean and world leader whose influence transcended the borders of Grenada and had a powerful impact particularly in the third world, following the triumph of the Grenada Revolution, which he led from 1979-1983.
Maurice Rupert Bishop would have been 79 years on 29th May had he survived the deadly onslaught of Coard and his gang and as the years go by and as we reflect on the tragedy that befell him, we can only come to the same conclusion, that his death was not only untimely but it was so senseless, so useless. There are many who would like to justify his death in their own terms. There are those who call him a criminal who deserved what he got, those who hypocritically state that those who live by the gun, die by the gun, and those who show no remorse whatsoever when they state openly that they are Coard supporters, which is their way of saying euphemistically that the barbarous actions of Caord and his clique in 1983 were correct. There are those who say absolutely nothing but their body language and their actions speak to a position, which in essence defends the behaviour of the Coard clique. Finally, there are those who clearly understand what transpired on October 19th 1983 and resolutely condemn thoseheinous crimes for what they really and truly are.
I have a problem with many of these positions and since Bishop is not around to defend himself, someone has to do it. While the last 40 years have seen a virtual onslaught and distortion of his life and legacy and what he represented or purportedly represented, I see it as my moral duty and obligation to continue to defend his good name because I not only knew him personally, I was among those also personally responsible for his personal protection and security during the early months of the revolution when I was a captain of the People’s Revolutionary Army, (PRA)
Aside from the fact that he assumed power by revolution and not the ballot in 1979, there was nothing criminal about his behaviour. In fact, when he came into office, he was a sitting Member of Parliament and Leader of the Opposition, which many people conveniently forget. However, while in power, he provided the kind of leadership that made Grenadians feel proud to be Grenadians and he left us a legacy that showed that a new political dispensation was possible when the politics of greed and corruption were set aside in the interest of putting people first. If he were such a criminal, the thousands of Grenadians from all walks of life who marched in his support and freed him from house arrest in 1983, would not have happened. I say it all the time, how ironic it was that he died on his most popular day, the day that the largest demonstration ever seen in the history of Grenada, that day, October 19th 1983, when thousands of Grenadians marched to his home and freed him from house arrest imposed by the Coard clique, while thousands more were waiting to hear him speak in the Market Square. This, in fact, represented a virtual referendum on the revolution and on his leadership, a phenomenon we are never likely to ever see again.
The position that those who live by the gun die by the gun is so hypocritical that it boggles the mind when it comes from the mouths of certain people in the society who know full well that Bishop was not a violent person, prone to violence or ruled with a heavy hand. He, however, did what he had to do to defend the revolution and no one did it better than he did when it came to his speeches and his eloquence, which were much more powerful than the guns. He died more for what he believed in and the power of his convictions than for using the guns on the people. Everyone knew that the guns were there for the defence of the country and when they were turned on the masses by the Coard clique on 19th October 1983, no one suffered more because Bishop knew from that moment, that a sacred law of the revolution was desecrated and that the revolution was no more.
While they are in the minority, those who openly call themselves Coard supporters or Coardites and those who are not overtly Coardites but whose actions bespeak that they are can be considered to be among the most dangerous in society. While they are entitled to their positions as is everyone in a democratic society, any statement or position designed to absolve Coard and his clique of any responsibility for the criminal and dastardly actions of October 1983, is tantamount to defending the devil himself because that is what this group represents for me. Their actions are unjustifiable and whatever hardships Grenadians are experiencing today are directly related to the abominable actions of that group who destroyed the best leader and best thing Grenadians ever had going for them.
The loss for the country and people after the death of Bishop is incalculable in human terms and history will one day absolve Bishop and give him the place that he truly deserves. He was undoubtedly a good man who meant well, not only for his people but was a spokesman for all struggling people all over the world. The biblical saying that a prophet hath no honour in his country is apt in the case of Bishop for he is honoured and respected more outside of Grenada than in his own country. Streets, postage stamps, schools and even a ship were named in his honour long outside of Grenada, long before the decision was taken to rename the True Blue stretch the Maurice Bishop Highway. Yet as one goes around the country and listens to people, there is a healthy respect and admiration for Maurice Bishop from the simple ordinary folk who understand what this outstanding gentleman represented to Grenada and to the world. His name is spoken with reverence and love in the same breath that the names of Marcus Garvey, T.A. Marryshow, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Kwame Nkrumah, Patrice Lumumba and Nelson Mandela are called because he belongs among the greats who sacrificed their lives for the cause of their people. The best and most fitting tribute that was ever be paid to him locally was the renaming of the Point Salines International Airport, the Maurice Bishop International Airport, a living monument for all those who enter and leave this country to recognize this gigantic leader of poor and the oppressed of the world.......Just Food for Thought!