INSIDE GRENADA FEBRUARY 08, 2008 by Lloyd Noel Those among us survivors, whether here at home or in exile in any of the Diasporas around the World - especially the U.S.A., England or Canada, and to a lessor extent in the CARICOM region - and who are at least over forty-five years of age, may very well remember the weeks and months leading up to 7th February 1974, when Grenada achieved Independence from Great Britain, and became the first of the OECS states to sever the bond of Colonialism in the English speaking Caribbean. Before that date we were in Associated Statehood with England - as were the other eight Colonies who would later become the OECS, although three of those states are still Colonies - the BVI, Montserrat and Anguilla. As history has seen to it, from then on we have become famous or infamous for always being "first" in many National occurrences. And while many are displaying flags and other buntings, and there will be all manner of Celebration in recognition of the 34th anniversary of our Independence since February 7th 1974 - that status did not come about without serious struggle, tears and even bloodshed in our land. There was objection to the manner by which Eric Gairy had gone about getting the British Government to grant Grenada Independence. Many groups saw the method used as a "back-door" entry, because Gairy refused to go to the people by a referendum on the matter. He used the section in the then Associated Statehood Constitution - which allowed the Government of the day to simply request the granting of Independence and leave it up to the British Government to say yea or nay. He wanted to be free of Supervision as an Associate State, and no doubt the British wanted to be rid of him after all the events that took place since the sky-red days of 1951. The objections were on-going during 1973 and it all came to a head on Bloody Sunday at Bhola’s Junction in Grenville on the 18th November. The NJM party had gone to Grenville to address the Business people in St. Andrew on the Independence issue, and the notorious Supt. of Police Innocent Belmar, with the so-called "Green Beasts or mongoose gang" attacked the group during the meeting. One or two escaped but six of them - including Maurice Bishop and Unison Whiteman - were badly beaten around and inside the Bhola’s business place and then arrested for allegedly being in possession of arms and ammunition. That incident triggered a far more extensive opposition to Gairy and his GULP and the pending Independence, then just over two months away. A "committee of 22" of business men, and Trade Unionists, and NGO’s, and even the R.C. Church then headed by Bishop Patrick Webster, spearheaded the protest actions all over the Island. Business places closed their doors on days of demonstrations; Electricity, Telephone and Petrol Station workers were on strike, and on days of demonstrations all schools in St. George’s were closed as students joined the protests. Then on January 21st 1974, the second blood-shedding occurred when Gairy’s thugs come from Mount Royal (the Premier’s home at the time) and stormed through the crowd on the Carenage - where we usually gathered for speeches after marching around St. George’s. Rupert Bishop was shot dead upstairs Otway house, where he was trying to protect some women and students in a room. I was lucky to escape, because when I heard those men coming up the stairs after a gunshot went off in the road - I jumped through a window at the back of Otway House, went up an alley to Tyrrel Street (now H.A. Blaize Street) and to my office then on Lucas Street. My Secretary had locked the office door to join the Demo and I did not have my key - so I had to break the glass door to get my Car Keys. In the process the glass cut my wrist and it bled all the way to Gouyave on my way home to escape the "Green Beast". Against that background Grenada lowered the Union Jack on then Fort George (later fort Rupert), and rose up the Grenadian Flag of Red Green and Gold - in total darkness Island wide. A small Generator provided light for the Ceremony on the Fort - on the night of 6th February, 1974, while Maurice Bishop was held in a cell at the top of the same Fort - having been arrested by Gairy’s forces earlier that day, on the usual faked charges of possession of arms and ammunition. I was allowed by the Mongoose gang to visit Maurice in that cell earlier the said night, and head of the Gang, Pram Bishop, even allowed me to get a length of sponge for Maurice to lie on that night - because he was in his Jockey shorts on the bare concrete floor when I got there. Our history of this mini-state of Grenada Carriacou and Petite Martinique is unique, in its own way, and as we would say in local parlance, "so tie up" and inter-mingled - that as fate would have it, when the PRG detained Leslie Pierre, Tillman Thomas and myself on the 11th July, 1981, after we participated in publishing the Grenadian Voice Newspaper - we were brought to the same cells on the Fort, which we later named "the Barbed Wire cage", because it was covered with barbed wire to prevent escaping. So Thirty-four years have gone by since those hectic, and colourful, and dramatic days - before, during, and over the years as we continued to struggle to cope with our coming-of-age, as it were, and the many up-heavals that confronted our people in those Thirty-Four years. But no one can deny - that a whole host of questions still remain to be answered about our so-called Independence, and whether or not, and to what extent, that Independence Constitution of the 7th February, 1974, really did bring us freedom from oppression, injustice, and denial of our human rights; or did help us as a people to improve the standards and the qualities of our lives; and how much, by any scale of measurement we may choose to adopt, has the said Independence and freedom to do our own thing - really helped us to grow and improve and develop our lives as individuals, and more importantly as a people. I suppose that all the various groups of supporters, who followed their leaders over all those years - from the GULP to the PRG, to the original NNP under Blaize, to the NDC under Braithwaite, and the new NNP under Dr. Mitchell - they would all have their high points and low points, and in their own self-serving ways would all insist, that the progress under their respective teams of Leaders was the best, or better than what came about thereafter. And quite obviously, each group or team had its good times and bed times - and the rest is now history. But Thirty-four years thereafter, and Thirteen years nearly of one group under one leader for all those years - the hundred Thousand (nearly) population of our mini-state, are faced with a Similar in size question of - should the acclaimed progress be allowed to continue, or should the team in control be changed to bring about real and meaningful progress? Only time will bring forth the answer of the people, and whatever it maybe - the same people will have to live with it for the next five years or so; and good, bad, or indifferent, they will only have themselves to applaud and congratulate, or to blame and castigate for what they would have done. In the midst of all the Independence celebrations and decorations - which seem more like a ready made excuse, or respite from thinking about the hard times and mounting other problems facing the people - other aspects of the usual happenings continued to surface. I heard the Commissioner of Police (Cop) complaining about remarks made by the Leader of the Opposition, in connection with the care free and happy-go-lucky way the accused in the Christmas day Maran Murder Case was handled, on the day of his first Court appearance in Gouyave. Mr. Thomas, quite rightly in my opinion, was commenting on the obvious departure by the Police in the way they handed the accused, by bringing him to and out of the Court with no handcuffs - thereby allowing him to be hugging up a lady and laughing as though it was a joyous occasion. Last week Friday when the same accused was brought back to Gouyave for the start of the Preliminary Inquiry (PI) into the Case - he was properly handcuffed. So if Mr. Thomas was so wrong and irresponsible - according to the COP in his press statement - then why the return to the customary and proper action? Officials like the COP, who head important organs of the State that directly affect and inter-face with the public, must be very careful about what they say in trying to please their current political bosses. Neither the Independence we are now supposedly celebrating - nor their pretence of up-holding the Rule of Law and its practice - ever depends on making statements that cannot be defended. The right alone is right - the wrong is always wrong.