Grenada Salute Heroes

Grenada at the weekend marked the 41st anniversary of the events of the bloody collapse of its revolutionary government back in October 1983, the assassination of Prime Minister Maurice Bishop as well as several other cabinet ministers, and the subsequent invasion of the Eastern Caribbean island by American forces with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell vowing to ensure these events are never forgotten.

Speaking at a Heroes Day celebration in the St. Andrew Parish, Mitchell announced plans to construct a shrine at the very Fort George in the capital where government soldiers brutally shot and killed PM Bishop, Education Minister Jackie Cleft, Housing Minister Norris Bain, Foreign Minister Unison Whiteman, and several other people.

Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell addresses town hall at Brooklyn College on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2022. Photo by Nelson A. King, file

Those killed were lined up by the military at the colonial-era fort and killed by firing squad. According to court testimony that followed their assassination, their deaths were triggered by a bitter split in the then-governing New Jewel Movement as an anti-Bishop faction had proposed that he shared power with his ambitious deputy, Bernard Coard. The Bishop faction disputed this. This triggered deep divisions in the administration, leading to its collapse and the subsequent chaos. American forces invaded the island less than a week later, ousting Coard and his followers.

The Americans, constantly uncomfortable with the left-leaning tendencies of the Bishop administration, had pretended to land on the island to rescue American medical and other students attending an offshore university there, even though the students had said they had sensed no personal danger.

The October 19th observances meant that this is the second year it is being observed as a holiday in respect of National Heroes Day. Fort George, then named Fort Rupert after Bishop’s father, is being refurbished after years of neglect to become a memorial and tourist attraction.

“We can assure you that when the restoration work is completed, your administration will do what is right to ensure that the shrine that we need to have there to mark our martyrs who lost their lives on that tragic day will be honored. We are fully aware that for the last 40 years, you can go to what was then Fort Rupert and see almost no sign, no acknowledgment of the tragedy that happened. But as we reclaim our history, as we reclaim and come to terms with our past, we will do what is right in ensuring that the necessary shrine to commemorate the tragic loss of our prime minister, members of the cabinet, and other citizens of Grenada is properly erected on that site, to ensure that our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren appreciate the sacrifice made by our forebears,” he said.

But even as the anniversary was celebrated and attended by a decent crowd, some foundation members dedicated to keeping Bishop’s memory alive say they were upset that the ceremonies were far removed from the fort and taken to Progress Park in St. Andrew.

Dr. Terrence Marryshow, who leads the Martyrs Foundation, was also not too happy with some of the people chosen to sit on the celebrations committee. One such person was Dr. Wendy Crawford, whom the foundation accused of being very close to the Coard faction, which had helped to collapse the government.