It has been very well documented over the years, that the basic concept and over-riding rationale for success or failure – is not so much what we do, but how and when we do whatever it is. It is also a very reasonable position to adopt – that when dealing with personal, or family, or closely knitted group situations, different considerations and very different standards must be brought to bear; as opposed to when confronted with matters of a public nature, and especially when the position that gives you the right or authority to make decisions on behalf of the nation as a whole – that position was obtained from the say-so, and the consent and approval of the people in the exercise of their democratic and human rights. Some people like to take the position that with politics anything goes, and many politicians, so-called, adopt that position and actually perform accordingly. And in nearly every situation where those performances occur, the result or the backlash therefrom, adversely affect those who are seen or perceived to be in opposition to the ones in authority and control. But sometimes some performances are so badly ill-advised, on the one hand; and on the other hand, so arrogantly offensive to the very people whose consent and approval bestowed the power to make the decision in the very first place – that the whole exercise makes a mockery of the very democracy we like to boast about up-holding, and brings into very serious contention the other frequently published pledges to uphold and ensure accountability, transparency, and good governance. And I am referring here to the whole scenario surrounding the dis-closure of the re-naming of the Point Salines International Airport – to that of the Maurice Bishop International Airport – that was breaking news last week Wednesday 25th February, and coming out of Havana in Cuba by the Foreign Minister Hon. Peter David. Readers of this column would recall that I dealt briefly with the issue of the re-naming of the Airport in my article in Caribbean Net News on January 13th, 2009, and a few days later in this column on January Sixteenth. At that time I was responding to a rumour – that the said Minister above had made the disclosure of the Government’s intention to do so. My considered opinion then, was that at the time the statement was made, the issue should have been at the very bottom of the list of priorities of the six months old Government. It seems, however, that instead of listing priorities for consideration – the powers-that-be took the bold and fool-hardy step, in my opinion, to go all the way and rename the Airport – at least announce it. Let me make it clear up front, that I expect there will be a wide division on this issue among our people – but I will continue to maintain, that those saying “Yes” to the re-naming will be doing so for the very wrong reason. I will come back to that. So let us look at the Government’s behavior for starters. From the sequence of events, since that article appeared in the Informer Newspaper in January, on which I made my comments referred to above – it seems that Cabinet considered the matter of “Airports” at the Monday (23rd February) Cabinet Meeting, and came to some conclusion about re-naming the two Airports in Grenada and Carriacou. At the post Cabinet Media briefly the said Monday – the Prime Minister told the nation that Government had decided to rename the Lauriston Airport in Carriacou, to be known as the “ H.A. Blaize Airport ” – in honour of the late ex-Prime Minister who had spent the greater part of his public life in the service of his Birth place Carriacou. Nothing was said about the Point Salines Airport. Then on Wednesday I got a call from a concerned citizen, who had heard the breaking news – delivered by the Minister of Tourism and Foreign Affairs, Hon. Peter David, in Havana Cuba, where he was heading on official delegation for talks with the Cuban Government – that the Government of Grenada was re-naming the Point Salines International Airport, to be known henceforth as the “Maurice Bishop International Airport”. The said news was widespread. When contacted for confirmation, the Prime Minister on the Wednesday night Television news seemed to be saying – yes, the matter was discussed in cabinet and the decision was taken, but he was not very clear. The question therefore begs itself, why did the Prime Minister not make the announcement himself – in the post Cabinet media briefing on Monday? And the second question follows logically in response, was it because the minister of Foreign Affairs was due to be in Cuba as soon as Wednesday, and the preference was to have that particular announcement made in Havana ? And as we look back at the history surrounding Maurice Bishop rise to become Prime Minister, and his prominence thereafter in the region and in Socialist circles generally – it is very easy to see and understand why the preference. Fidel Castro and his Socialist Republic of Cuba were the driving force and principal supplier of all that was needed to make the Grenada Revolution a reality. Of course it is well known and fully documented, that the Soviet Union were the actual providers and Cuba and Castro were the camouflage in the forefront. But what better and more fitting tribute to pay to the outgoing and physical declining Revolutionary Crusader – than to make the announcement in his Cuban capital, of a military project he master minded. The foregoing is now all history, and the great majority of the population who made the July eighth change over possible – were either not born or very young thirty years ago, when Castro used Bishop to further the spread of Socialism/communism worldwide. So how can the renaming of the airport help them? Or what benefits can the people as a whole derive from that exercise in this day and age? That is why I said earlier, that those who may be saying “Yes” to the re-naming of the Airport will be doing so for the very wrong reasons – because they simply are not fully aware of all that was happening behind the scene in those days. And even more disturbing is my deep-seated fear, that those saying “Yes” will be seeing this as a kind of reward or compensation to Maurice for the way he lost his life – and will be continuing to blame Bernard Coard and the Richmond hill Sixteen for all that went wrong with the “Revolution”. And nothing could be further from the truth. Over three thousand Grenadians, mostly men and a few women, were arrested and kept in detention – from the day of the Revo on 13th March, 1979, and through out the period, without charge or trial and in total denial of their fundamental human rights and freedom. The last (105) One hundred and Five or so were only released after the U.S. and Caribbean forces landed on our soil on the 25th October, 1983. The detention Orders were signed by Maurice Bishop and no one else. So what is he being honoured and remembered for, in all the prevailing circumstances? Forgiveness, and letting by-gones be by-gones, can be promoted and encouraged from the stand point of our frequently made claim as a Christian oriented and God-faring people. But to go that extra mile, and pretend to honour the perpetrator of those terrible wrongs against so many innocent and helpless people – that is going much too far and cannot be justified. A highway is already named after Maurice on the way to the Airport, but to-date the man whose original idea was to build an Airport on the Site, and who actually acquired to lands for the purpose – nothing has been named after him. But over and above all the foregoing – what are those Cabinet members trying to prove and to whom? Many people have been saying for years, that those ex-PRG members in the NDC had their own agenda and was only using Tillman to get their hands on power again. Just as many of us who genuinely felt that the time had come to bring about a change, we used whatever influence we had to try and convince the doubters that the get-together under the NDC banner was a worthy cause in order to save our country and people. While still finding their way, amidst the chaos, and scandalous deals, and down-right bubul arrangements with the people’s property – what do we get in answer to the above? A near-perfect carbon copy of all that the doubters were fore-telling the people from way back when. And so soon thereafter, it is utterly indecent. The little and almost insignificant item about Carriacou Airport – the Prime Minister informs the nation himself; but the big deal about our International Airport, the foreign Minister inform the world, and wherefrom but the capital City of the Regime which master-minded the most oppressive period in our short history. What message is being sent worldwide? Who is really the first among equals in Cabinet, and what manner or logic propels the members to choose their topics and issues for priority decisions? The thousands who voted for change, despite all the propaganda at the time – they are entitled to and deserve a full explanation. By Lloyd Noel INSIDE GRENADA NEWS