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| WALTER RODNEY 25th ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION COMMITTEE |
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Floods In Guyana ( A brief history) David Hinds: Race and Political Discourse in Guyana
Women Against Violence Everywhere |
STATEMENT BY DR. WALTER RODNEY It is with considerable reluctance that I am addressing myself to the news media at this point in time. What is being termed the "Rodney Affair" is really a University Affair, a government-created problem and a contradiction for the nation to resolve. Others have already pointed out the broader significance of the decision to rescind my appointment, and my own statements should in no way be construed as a personal defence or an attempt to present the problem as relating to a single individual. Besides, I am no better informed on the issue than any other Guyanese citizen. My understanding of the recent course of events has been gained at secondhand, and I too am left to speculate about the precise reasons for the government's denying my appointment through the instrumentality of the Board of Governors of the University. I can merely provide a brief background to my relations with the University of Guyana. My application to join the staff was first dispatched from Tanzania in 1972 at a time when I had already taken the decision to return to Guyana. No vacancy existed. I reapplied recently when the post of Professor of History was advertised. This second application was acknowledged, but no further official communication was received from the University until a letter dated 23rd August which simply advised me that I had not been selected. It was a standard stenciled form which made no reference to the process by which the decision was reached. It is now well known that my appointment was approved through the regular academic channels and that it was disallowed for supposedly political reasons. In this connection, it is necessary for me to draw attention to the fact that I had been absent from Guyana for fourteen years (for all practical purpose), and I have never actively participated in the national political life. It is not for me or any other private citizen to provide answers by way of speculation as to what was the Government's motivation. It is the duty of the Government to explain its reasoning to all citizens - myself included. My professional training was carried out at the expense of the people of Guyana and the British Caribbean. To be denied the opportunity to pursue my profession at home is tantamount to being condemned to exile and hence to be cut off from direct access to the community which was my sponsor. I shall not be intimidated. But, once more it is necessary to emphasize that it is no a matter of mere personal predicament or personal resolve. The University as a national institution, and Guyanese of a variety of ideological and political beliefs must confront the principle of whether an individual's service to the nation is to be exclusively and arbitrarily determined by mysterious political evaluations made by the Government in power. This would represent at least the basis of national political responsibility. Beyond this, more searching questions will inevitably suggest themselves. We will see 18 September1974 |
