Government’s reason for WPA founder Dr Walter Rodney’s name being removed from the National Archives of Guyana building to correct the process by properly gazetteing the change is absurd and an excuse as there is no law which requires this, former PPP/C Attorney General Anil Nandlall says.
“The explanation proffered by Mr Joseph Harmon that the name was never gazetted by the PPP is simply preposterous as there is no such requirement in the laws of this country,” Nandlall told Stabroek News yesterday.
“The National Archives of Guyana remains the national archives of Guyana. The name Walter Rodney is just attached to it. It remains the nation’s archives,” he stressed.
Late last month, WPA elder Eusi Kwayana brought the issue to public attention in a letter that was published in this newspaper. He stated that he had been informed “that a big stick has removed the name of the celebrated scholar and that the name is now, once again, The National Archives.”
WPA Executive David Hinds, in turn, explained that the party learnt of the action a few days before Kwayana’s letter and they would like to have it corrected immediately. He had indicated that the party would be meeting to make a decision on how to address the situation. He later told Stabroek News following the meeting that they still had to gather information.
The National Archives has directed all queries to the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Cohesion, who, in turn, directed this newspaper to acting Director of Culture Andrew Tyndall. Tyndall said he could not provide a date when the sign was changed and stressed that the name of the agency is and has always been “the National Archives of Guyana by way of gazette and of law.”
“The law says this is the name and we have to abide by the law. Anything else is outside my remit to comment on. There is a minister with responsibility,” he said.
While government has not said who gave the directive for the name change, it has maintained that the former PPP/C government never gazetted the name change making it illegal and the removal of the sign was to correct this. Harmon has said that the publication of the matter was an attempt by the PPP/C to sow discord between members of the coalition and declared that it would not work.
Weighing in on the jurisprudence aspect, attorney Kamal Ramkarran has said that renaming the National Archives of Guyana requires an amendment in the National Assembly of the National Archives of Guyana Act. He explained that the Act established the National Archives in 1982 and there was no amendment to it in 2008 when the PPP/C christened the national archives as the Walter Rodney Archives.
“If there is a law that makes it mandatory to publish name-changes of things in the Official Gazette before those changes are lawful, I’m not familiar with it. But even if there was such a law, it would have made no difference in this case because the Act named the Archives in 1982 and only an amendment Act can rename it,” he wrote in a letter to Stabroek News.
“There is no need, however, for legislation or any other formality to treat the building housing the National Archives as being named after and dedicated to the memory of Walter Rodney and I wonder whether this is not the most sensible solution to the recent controversy on this issue,” Ramkarran wrote.
Nandlall yesterday said that he believes the removal of this sign is just a ploy to erase Rodney’s memories.
“It is no secret that the PNC considers Dr Walter Rodney as one of their worst political nemesis. His assassination remains a permanent blot of international notoriety on that party’s record and reputation. Expectedly, they would be willing to do any and everything possible to erase his memory from the minds of Guyanese, especially the younger generation. It is this mentality that saw their emphatic opposition to the Walter Rodney Commission of Inquiry, their decision to stop funding it, causing the commission to abort prematurely, their refusal to make the commission’s report public and to implement the recommendations contained in that report,” he said.
“The removal of Dr Rodney’s name from the building which houses the National Archives is but the latest act in their efforts to obliterate his legacy and memory. By this act, they continue to disrespect and discount his life and his contributions as well as to hurt and insult his family. The PPP named a chair at the University of Guyana as well as the National Archives in honour of his legacy and memory. His name was unceremoniously removed from the outer wall of the National Archives building without a singular sensible explanation emanating from the government,” he added.
Nandlall said that the story of “post-Rodney” is perhaps one of the most tragic narratives of political betrayal in contemporary history as Rodney’s party comrades seem to sit by and allow acts that trivialise his name. “As the PNC do everything possible to trample upon his memory, they do so as a coalition of which Rodney’s own party is a constituent part. Two of his closest allies, Dr Rupert Roopnaraine and Mr Eusi Kwayana have made public statements which traitorously desecrates Rodney’s life,” he opined.
