Contents:
Didacus Jules will participate in a three-day conference examining the historical significance of the Grenada Revolution. The organisers said that the conference will provide an opportunity for the Grenadian public to engage with regional and international scholars, students and activists to discuss the historical significance of the Grenada Revolution and the lessons that can be drawn for contemporary Grenadian and Caribbean politics and society. The Grenada Revolution followed the March 13, coup that brought left-wing prime minister Maurice Bishop to power.
Minister King says he hoped to […]. The former editor of the Newsday newspaper, who had been reported missing since Friday, after she left her home in west Trinidad to go to a supermarket, has been found, the newspaper reported Monday. The Antigua and Barbuda government says it remains committed to buying out the operations here of the Irish-owned telecommunication company, Digicel, as the authorities announce new initiatives in its ongoing battle to have the two foreign owned companies share the spectrum space in Antigua and Barbuda with a state-entity.
Both are essential for comprehending and preserving the complexities of human experience for future generations.
History requires empirical verification. Memory does not. Arguably, the Grenada Revolution is the best—documented revolution to date. Scholars have yet to exhaust the rich archival materials that shed light not only on revolutions and social movements in the Americas, but theoretical and practical debates regarding the dynamics, possibilities and limitations of contentious politics as vehicles for expanding human well—being, dignity, and participatory governance. The Coard interview illustrates one weakness of the book — most contributors do not demonstrate familiarity or mastery of the voluminous primary materials above nor of the scholarship based on them.
His assessment relies heavily on self-published and unpublished materials by Joseph Ewart Layne and John Ventour — both convicted along with Coard — that scholars should review critically.
I think it was misguided in retrospect and ultimately unnecessary — a strategic error. Coard asserts — despite strong evidence to the contrary Cotman, ; Williams, ; and David Hinds in chapter 10 of the Grenade book — that profound political and ideological differences did not exist within the New JEWEL Movement, thus they played no role in the implosion of the Grenada Revolution. Meeks concurs with the main conclusions of Bernard Coard and John Ventour: 1 leading members of the Organization for Revolutionary Education and Liberation were not a distinct political and ideological current within the NJM, nor did they organize against a current led by Maurice Bishop; and 2 Fidel Castro and the Cuban leadership on Grenada intervened on the side of Bishop in violation of Grenadian sovereignty, and were partially responsible for the bloody collapse of revolution.
Chapter 6 features the Patsy Lewis interview conducted a year after October with an unnamed NJM member who was eyewitness to the execution of Maurice Bishop and his allies. Political scientist Hilbourne A. Watson is especially critical of the actions of historic leaders of the Grenada Revolution who in October broke the silence surrounding the turmoil inside the NJM and PRG and took the dispute to the Grenadian people, thereby precipitating the mass mobilization of at least 15, who freed Bishop from detention and joined him in St.
Gairy must go". Grenada's 1st Governor, Hilda Bynoe resigned and moved to Trinidad. Gairy stayed. The demonstrations continued, as did the people's demands. On that day, about of the disbanded 'Police Aids', assisted by Grenada's Royal Police Force unleashed a reign of terror, this time, on about 6, demonstrators on St George's Carenage.
The Police and 'Aids' succeeded in ending the demonstrations, while causing serious injury to several demonstrators, initiating the looting of several business places in St George's. He "died while protecting school children from the guns of Grenada's Police".
The chance demand of a policeman to Hughes' assailant to spare his life "He's a good man! Within hours, together with his wife, Cynthia, he fled Grenada and spent the next four months in a self imposed and life preserving exile in Grenada's sister isle, Carriacou. Less than 3 weeks after "Bloody Monday", on February 7th, still shrouded in shock and gloom, and with no electricity, Grenada was declared independent. Eric Matthew Gairy took his place as the island's first Prime Minister.
The symbolic, "meaningless Independence" with flag raising and anthem singing was achieved. A pyrrhic victory.
So ironic for an island whose emblem reads Clarior e Tenebris : Lighter out of Darkness. A second irony, relevant to this paper is the fact that these historic events and truly journalistic gems, which should make up the first volume of the Grenada Newsletter 's 21 volumes, have vanished from the Cynthia Hughes Collection. Enquiries so far futile, continue to be sent to the first subscribers in the hope that this valuable volume can be re-assembled over time.
What remains, as a testimony to the events of Bloody Monday is Alister Hughes' chilling account, on tape, which was spirited away out of Otway House, minutes before the Police and Mongoose Gang stormed the building, beat up and dispersed the crowd inside and seized all recording and transmission equipment.
The tape was later aired on Radio , and then on to other Caribbean stations as testimony to the horrors of Grenada's Bloody Monday. Alister Hughes' exemplary journalism was duly noted and awarded that same year, by the Caribbean Publishers and Broadcasters Assoc.
Seal Coon's charge to Alister Hughes was specific to the person. Perhaps the only choice for Seal Coon's suggestion, for the production credible weekly reports out of Grenada at that time. From the late 60's Hughes had begun channeling his writings and knowledge of Grenada into journalism and broadcasting. On the invitation of Ken Gordon of the Trinidad Express , he began writing a news column for that newspaper.
Gordon was 'confident that his matter-of-fact candour would provide the type of reporting that was necessary in covering the contortions of the Gairy era'. The voice of Alister Hughes was well known as the voice for Caribbean news, and particularly for news on troubled Grenada.
From this strong journalistic base of regular news reports, the Grenada Newsletter expanded. In the early years, the weekly newsletter contained less than 5 news items per issue. No more than 2 - 4 pages. The publication was devoid of gloss and glamour. No frills! At inception, it predated desk-top publishing as we know it.
In fact its facilities were at best, primitive! For many years, it was typewritten on a manual Hermes typewriter. A museum piece Illustrations were free hand. In the '80s the producers moved to an electric typewriter and a Gestetner for reproduction. Grenada Newsletter went into the computer age after the intervention, with an Apple Macintosh. Great for graphics - all of K! The Grenada Newsletter never knew of colour graphics.
But beauty was never the objective! The entire Grenada Newsletter staff: owners, editors, proofreaders, graphic designers, printers, reporters, messengers, and front office from - consisted of 2 persons: Alister and Cynthia Hughes.
After Mrs Hughes' death in , and for the next 5 years, Alister Hughes was the sole editor, with limited secretarial and production assistance. In spite of what seem like daunting limitations and conditions, the Grenada Newsletter was consistently produced, with no 'spell check', and minimal 'flykees'.
Intimate knowledge of Grenada's political history allowed Grenada Newsletter to report on current news, while giving background information and earlier relevant events. Through their choice of news-items and flashbacks, its editors were able to point their readers to the affairs in Grenada that they wished to highlight. And again, they "just can't keep their heads straight when it comes to money". Though this was a statement quoted verbatim from Blaize, it suggests the Grenada Newsletter 's sympathy.
For the uninitiated into Grenada's history, the Newsletter then launched into a recount of the Commission of Enquiry into the Control of Public Funds, dubbed 'Squandamania', quoting verbatim from that 12 year old Report, which exposed serious misuse of public funds by Gairy, aided and abetted by an 'incompetent' Hosten, who 'had no understanding of the laws and regulations governing expenditure', and which led to their removal from public office. Announcing the completion of their th issue, in , its editors commented "One feature, however, remains unchanged.
As with its first publication, the Grenada Newsletter has no opinion and takes no sides. Every effort is made to avoid bias and reporting is on a purely factual basis". In spite of a virtually life long adversarial relationship between Grenada Newsletter 's Alister Hughes and Gairy, there were several articles in the Grenada Newsletter which told of positive and noteworthy views and achievements of his arch rival. In his latter years, Gairy left little room for praise, and the Newsletter stood ready for exposure of his increased dictatorial and controversial governance to its readers and, through them to the wider public in Grenada and beyond.
The August 7, Grenada Newsletter carried a pictorial supplement, with photographs pasted to the text, of the deportation of Grenada's Attorney General Desmond Christian following the prosecution of a fugitive from justice, Eugene Zeeks. The heading of the Pictorial Supplement states: "Subscribers to the Grenada Newsletter are hereby authorized to reproduce these pictures".
Selection of news items, and excerpts chosen were often sufficient to indicate the true sentiments of the Newsletter's editors. The lengthy article also exposed his notoriously ludicrous list of enemies "May God help me Eric Matthew Gairy to overcome these enemies". In spite of their commitment to being factual, Grenada's political environment of the Gairy and PRG regimes led to several reports that were widely rumoured but difficult to confirm.
Today is the 59th day that he is missing. According to the report, Inspector Bishop had information linking certain known criminals, former members of the state-paid Mongoose Gang, with the robbery. It is said that these criminals may have information about the disappearance. On the other hand, in spite of the Grenada Newsletter 's editors likely concurrence with the overwhelming support throughout Grenada for the end of the Gairy regime by the People's Revolutionary Government's armed take-over of March 13, , the Grenada Newsletter of March 17, merely informed its readers that "A revolutionary army led by New Jewel Movement leader, Mr.
Maurice Bishop, 34, staged a successful military coup and has taken over the Government of Grenada. This statement was followed by detailed reporting of the coup; reporting of local radio announcements and broadcasts by the PRG as well as from Gairy's Cabinet Members and associates. Clear attempts at balanced reporting. But a mere 3 weeks into the Revolution their coverage of the PRG quickly indicated problems in paradise.
But detailed circumstantial evidence to back widely believed concerns and rumours. Though the editors of the Newsletter were often unable to fulfill their stated 'factual' objective, the overall view reaching Caribbean media houses and their readership was that of reliable and credible reports.