A Tearful Day in our History

NORMALLY, just two weeks away from our next general elections, one would expect that most of the media comments would focus on November 27. However, November 14 is such an important date for Vincentians that my comments in this column are based on events which happened on the streets of our nation’s capital, Kingstown.

Sixty years ago, the hustle and bustle of what would have been a normal Friday afternoon was rudely interrupted. Hundreds of teachers, students and supportive members of the public had gathered outside the Peace Memorial Hall in support of a demonstration organized by the Teachers Union. This was in support of a strike which it had launched two weeks before to try and get this country’s government of the day to engage in discussions on several outstanding issues.

The government was then headed by Premier Robert Milton Cato. His Labour Party had won the December 1974 elections following the collapse of the Mitchell/Joshua government. During the last days of the Mitchell regime, faced with mounting economic and social problems, that government had agreed to a package of increased salaries for public servants and teachers. This package included a promised revision of salaries and in the interim a payout of a costof- living allowance of $750 to each such teacher and public servant. The Cato government in its election campaign had committed itself to honour the agreement. But once in power, the government balked at honouring the agreement.

Despite several letters from the Teachers Union calling for dialogue on the matter, the government would not budge. The Union wrote the government again in September proposing a meeting for November 29.

In response the government said that it would write “in due course”. At a heated General Meeting, the teachers decided to take strike action from November 3 to press its demands. The strike began in a charged atmosphere. In addition, threats were made to leaders of the union, including its President Mike Browne.

Mr. Browne’s father, Audley, who himself had been a leader of the Union, was accosted, beaten and robbed on his way home one night. Several teachers were arrested for picketing the Ministry of Education and one of the prominent organisers, Nicholas Austin, was one day beaten and arrested by a senior Police Inspector while discussing the Union’s action with other teachers.

Things were not only getting worse, for when the union staged a well-supported march on November 14, police launched a vicious attack on the demonstrators. The leaders of the march including President Browne and Vice President Yvonne Francis-Gibson were brutally manhandled and arrested as the police embarked on a mass tear gas attack which covered the town in this offensive gas.

Forty-one more teachers were arrested.

That was the response of a government to the demands of its teachers exercising their democratic rights. It is laudable that elections or no elections, the SVTU is proceeding to commemorate the events of 1975 and to honour those who were victimised, including many fired.

That sacrifice must never be forgotten nor the valiant contributions of the teachers and those of us who supported them.

USA Prefers Terrorists?

The United States of America emerged at the end of World War 2 as economically and militarily the strongest country on Planet Earth.

There had been no military action on its soil during the war, quite unlike Europe, the major economies of which were badly damaged by one side or another. It set out to use its fortuitous position to its own advantage to become the dominant world power.

Whether economically through trade, financially as the biggest power in the global financial institutions or politically, enforcing its will through the United Nations and similar multilateral institutions, the USA became No.1 in the world. For almost 50 years though it was challenged by the socialist bloc of eastern Europe until the collapse of the Soviet Union itself in 1991.

But it is not through peaceful means alone that US power was exercised.

Having built the mightiest military machine ever seen, it did not hesitate to use that military superiority to wage wars on countries which appeared to resist its claims of superiority. Since World War 2 ended the mighty USA has waged war and invaded a whole swathe of countries on all the continents. The US armed forces have bombed, invaded and terrorised millions of people in Asia (Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), Africa (Somalia), the Middle East (Iraq, Lebanon and Syria) and, in the Americas, Panama and tiny Grenada being among its unfortunate victims.

Fortunately, the changing balance of forces in the world have led to more peaceful engagements to the extent that Vietnam, which inflicted on the USA its biggest military defeat ever, is now a major trading partner of the USA, enjoying what is called Most Favoured Nation status.

But Washington has different strokes for different folks. Right on its doorstep literally is the island of Cuba.

There, American capitalists, traders, arms and drug dealers as well as political and military bigwigs virtually ruled the roost with the cooperation of corrupt Cuban politicians.

But 1959 brought an end to all that with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution under the leadership of Fidel Castro. When the USA realised that he was no puppet, it turned its hostility towards that country and its people never before witnessed in global affairs.

A total, trade, financial, political and diplomatic embargo of that country was imposed, strengthened year after year in the attempt to bring that country to its needs. But hypocrisy is soon exposed. This week, visiting the White House is the new Syrian leader, Ahmed Hussein al Sharaa. Who is he? The man formerly known as Abu Mohammed al Julani, named by the USA as the leader of al Quaeda. The same al Quaeda blamed for terrorist attacks on the US and other citizens of the world. He who they alleged masterminded bloody attacks on US citizens has been welcomed into the American halls of power.

But Cuba? A country which has never attacked the USA is not permitted to even buy US Food and Medicines.

Donkey say, “the world na level”.

• Renwick Rose is a Social and Political commentator.