Let us here briefly reexamine the "joint leadership' question. This proposal was introduced at the central committee piellar y 1983, by Liam James. posal was not intended to improve collective leadership within the NJM. As chairman of the central committee and political bureau, bishop overruled collective decisions. But his guidance, his political experience, his grasp of strategy and tactics, and his skill at synthesising various points of view direction of discussions and hence decisions that arose therefrom.
collective leadership worked in Lenin's day. This is how it works in the Cuban Communist Party led by Fidel Castro. And that is how it worked in practice in the New Jewel Movement while Bishop was chairHi cul "Joint leadership', James, would not and could not have meant an equal sharing of leadership responsibility and authority between Coard and Bishop. Coard, would. have taken the day-to-day leadership of party and state, Bishop's role relegated ceremony. If imolemented. it would have led to serious polarization of the entire NJM membership and leadership into two camps. It was not only impractical but inherently since it was aimed at consolidating the Coard faction's takeover of the party leadership and government.
Counter revolution them masses of a genuine revolution and of a bright future, crimes against the entire world revolutionary must never be allowed to be explained "double-blame' theorists are wont to phasized that honesty and integrity in molties are an immutabie ambition for power at all costs led them to resort to a counterrevolu for power, drunk on misunderstood theory, misappropriating the ideas of Marx and Lenin, Coard and his minions offered up the revolution to Washington on a platter at Caribbean and Central America "double blame' theorists. In violated democratic centralism by refusing to accept the NJM Central 1983 to establish Coard's apologists elevated the dubious Committee minutes to the level of sacrosanct papal edict, and have proclaimea Ine coarane central conl mittee majority to be infallible. They even intimate that Bishop provoked his own murder (like the reactionary judges in the USA and Canada who September James's prothe rapists).
committee had nothing to , as proposed by What the in effect, of a faction with mere une workers and farmers to power. divisive, came out of a study. Coard in Organisation OREL in Bishop, Radix, NJM, years earlier.
Masses secretly fancied natural heirs democrats"
NJM.
practice dogmatism, tolerance were instead of a tillic La lake under the credo, subordinate.' the NJM at among its with have NJM Central and farmers tion.
During the argue that rape victims seduce the The maneuvers of Coard's central democratic centralism as it was practiced in Lenin's Bolshevik Party or the Cuban Communist Party today.
Coardites labeled 'iron Leninist discipline' was actually blind mechanical obedience to the dictates that had maneuvered the ot the barty to replace the central leadership that had been tested by a decade of struggle in building the NJM and in leading the The majority of the Coard group group led by the mid-1970s called the for Revolutionary Education and Liberation (OREL). With little or no links with the masses, 1976 joined with Maurice Unison Whiteman, Kenrick and George Louison of the which had been formed a few people the the began their inthe thought, open The carried out capture of bodies was revolutionary NJM counted only about than 100 full Don Rojas on revolution wal economic, people was the revolution, steps to agenda.
advance through mations, social life, economic and fundamental that the working people. The workers and themselves. what The organisaforce capable its through democratic Bishop role of Marxist-Leninist parties the effectively carried out them.
that the gravest holding them contempt social, phrase-mongering, that verbal disease of Lenin called "the itch," grow out of a misunderstanding by petty-bourgeois radicals of the objective laws of social development. It leads to adventurism, bureaucratic abuses, and brutality, as in the case of the Pol Potists of KamDuchea today arguing that Coard and his followers contributed much to the Grenada revolution and to the NJM as if to call for a softening of the consolve demnation of these architects of the must emulate the leadership of the Cuban revolution in accepting the obthat Strachan, and others in and out of responsible for the murder of Bishop and other Grenadians October 19 and and subsequent Yankee invasion.
right to speak in the name of the NJM leaders of the party) arrogantly refuse to accept the verdict of the world Cuban press releases in the name of the NJM In one of these short statements, they speak about "errors" they committBishop's Internationalism the Patriotic Movement for naming its the party after the slain leader of the toward revolution and for participating in the Bernard political mantle of Maurice Bishop, tunist in October 1983, by now calling democrat stancing signation nary by tactician criticism of the MBPM's participalegitimacy to the U.S. imperialist occupation? The boycott alternative advocated in the Coardites' statements, if heeded by the MBPM, would have played into the hands of imperialists, while who would then have argued that the revolutionary movement in Grenada was a dead force, with no credibility, unable to utilise public platforms, As buccanes.
Coard.
reserved with pride. the process 10 years forward.
proletarlan internationalists one of our main duties on the occa sion of this sixth anniversary of the Grenada triumph in 1979 is to con tinue standing firm with the militant fighting people of Nicaragua, anc with their vanguard Sandinista party as they valiantly defend the dignit and sovereignty of their homelan against the gangs of Somocista ter rorists and bandits unashamedly sup again diplomatically outmanoeuvre will integrity mobilise the patriotic Sandinista peo ple to defend their revolution whil entrenching thei revolutionary democracy. If the San dinistas had pitted themselves agains as the Coard gang in th NJM did in 1983, the stars and stripe might well be flying over Managua to day, as they do over St George's days militantly reaffirm our solidarit Sandinist revolution, resolve to defend it wit demonstrations for peace, jobs an justice in Washington DC, and Sa Victory from the imperial stranglehold will b bes patriots at home and abroad. But vic secon Grenada revolution is inevitable. Th Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement force in Grenada today, has alread demonstrated its maturity and poten tial, and it will continue to hold alof Maurice Bishop's proud banner o the struggle for a free and peacefu Caribbean will intensify. tradictions created by imperialism penetration of the region in the wak of the Grenada revolution's demis revolutionaries must be prepared i confront these new challenges wit unit among our ranks, political clarity and utmost fidelity to the workin tionary practice we will reverse th the English-speaking Caribbean, socialists and communists as peopl Ou challenge is to put dignity and honou back into the name communist, an to once again wear that lofty badg Let us together move forward ever o our feet, never on our knees!
Socialist Action