Grenada’s Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell on Wednesday marked the 39th anniversary of the demise of the left-wing People’s Revolutionary Government (PRG) in his homeland, with a warning that the region is not immune from political instability.
On October 19, 1983, then-prime minister Maurice Bishop and several members of his cabinet were executed during a palace coup orchestrated by his deputy, Bernard Coard, three days earlier.
The demise of the left-wing government that itself had come to power on March 13, 1979, after removing the Eric Gairy administration, led to the United States launching an invasion of the Caribbean island to restore democratic rule.
Addressing the 72nd meeting of the leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), Prime Minister Mitchell, who came to office in the June 23 general election, said the assassination of Bishop and senior members of his cabinet, 39 years ago, is still an issue for Caribbean people.
“While Grenada and the OECS have made significant progress, there are still countries in the region which have had to face the horrific fact of another head of state being assassinated, and as we are all aware not too long ago, the President of Haiti, (Jovenel Moïse) was assassinated, and our colleagues …in Haiti are still reeling from the assassination of that President”.
He said the anniversary in Grenada is a “sobering reminder and perhaps fitting that we should bring it up today that we too in the region are not immune from political instability and that we should not take our institutions and our democracies for granted.
“I wish to pledge to my colleague heads that Grenada firmly remains committed to the ideals of democracy and to further integration and union in the OECS movement,” Dickon Mitchell said.
His St. Kitts-Nevis counterpart, Dr. Terrence Drew, also commented on the situations in Grenada and Haiti, saying his twin island Federation continues “to hurt with you.
“We also continue to be hopeful because we are all resilient people…and you have our support”.
He said regarding Haiti, he listened to the song “Haiti I am sorry,” by the Trinidadian artiste David Rudder, a few hours before the summit, adding “that after so many years we are back to the same place and possibly even worse.”
Last weekend, Canada and the United States said in a joint statement they had delivered ‘vital equipment” to Haiti that will “assist the HNP (Haitian National Police) in their fight against criminal actors, who are fomenting violence and disrupting the flow of critically needed humanitarian assistance, hindering efforts to halt the spread of cholera.
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