From Peter Binose

verum vacuus venom

I wrote this as a warning to Vincentian Rastafarians not to vote ULP. Why? Because Gonsalves has made promises to you, he took some of you to Ethiopia; he also spoke with you about weed.
Gonsalves has said on more than one occasion that he is here to finish the work of Maurice Bishop. Gonsalves supported Bishop and helped him post ‘coup d’é·tat’ [I have found nothing pre-revolution, but I am still looking]. I implore you not to vote ULP, because you cannot trust the word of a known serial liar. If you read the following you will understand what I mean.

When Maurice Bishop conducted the ‘coup d’é·tat’ in Grenada he could never have done so without the intricate and premier help of the Rastafarians. They were the leading force, without them Bishops coup would have been a lost cause. They came from several islands to take part including from Saint Vincent.

Bishop had made them a series of promises, none of which he kept. At this time the Rastafarians were treated as second class citizens by PM Eric Gairy and also in the Eastern Caribbean in particular. Bishop promised them equal respect; he promised that they would never again be persecuted in Grenada as they had been under the Gairy regime. If they were arrested they would never again have their heads forcibly shaven in prisons. They were told that their children would be allowed to go to school like other children and not be forced to have their hair cut. They were told they would have equal opportunity in government employment, without the need of chopping off their hair. They were promised that the exotic weed would be legalized for their rituals, that they would be able to visit Ethiopia at the State expense. They were led to believe that at last their futures as Rastafari was ensured and guaranteed under Bishop. This was their dream come true and was worth fighting for, and that’s what they did, they sold their souls to Bishop on a series of promises, believing their future was now written in stone.

The coup was spearheaded by Cuban personnel, some of who had arrived in Grenada days before as “tourists,” using forged Venezuelan passports, and over thirteen hundred Rastafarian’s recruited by Bishop joined other village folk as revolutionaries.

From the very day of the coup, the island became saturated with Cubans and some Russians. The Rasta’s did not like the Cubans and they liked the Russians even less. It was reciprocal because neither the Cubans nor the Russians liked the Rasta’s. They were aware that they could be trouble in the scheme that they had planned for the islanders. They did not want a free thinking people who were warriors with free minds; they wanted passive peasants who they could set in the communist mould. The Rasta’s voiced their concerns about the Cubans and Russians, and Bishop was ordered to deal with them, subdue them, remove them and if necessary destroy them.
The Russians via the Cubans warned that the Rasta’s could be counter-revolutionary and Maurice Bishop carried out a campaign of spite and malice against the Rasta’s that lasted over four years, a kind of politico-ethnic cleansing.

March 15th 1979, Grenada: Several advisors to Maurice Bishop arrived in Grenada. They were Dr Ralph E. Gonsalves of St.Vincent and Robert Allan Alexander and Frank Solomon both of Trinidad & Tobago, Miles Fitzpatrick of Guyana, and “Bobby” Clarke of Barbados. They met with Maurice Bishop, Kenrick Radix and Unison Whiteman.

March 1979. Maurice Bishop invited the Vincentian Marxist, Ralph Gonsalves on the second Saturday of the revolution to help with political work. Gonsalves joined Bishop, riding in his car with him to rallies and speeches. According to Gonsalves he had a hand in writing Bishops political speeches.

April 6th 1979: The Vincentian Marxist Dr Ralph E. Gonsalves said in Saint Vincent, “the Popular Revolution in Grenada could be explained by the rise in the people’s consciousness. The effect of the Revolution was that in one stroke it had greatly raised the consciousness of the masses in the whole Caribbean.”

During 1979 the Rasta’s led an attempted ‘coup d’é·tat’ on Union island as part of the Vincentian copycat movement that local Marxist’s had seen was successful in Grenada.

Torchlight Newspaper –
“Rastas in Grenada intend to soon seek representation in the PRG. The Rastas feel they deserve such representation because they were ‘frontline warriors and leading Freedom Fighters in the Revo’ which toppled the Eric Gairy government on March 13.”
“They are also claiming that they should have a voice in the shaping of Government policies, especially those relating to culture . . .”
Ref: October 3rd 1979 issue of the Torchlight Newspaper, Grenada.

Bishop passed a law for trial without Jury, and by the sitting and ruling of only one Judge. This system could pass the death penalty, even for counter-revolutionary charges, resulting in the possible death penalty for political prisoners.

Bishop could and did issue internment orders which had people imprisoned without trial, many languished in prison for years.

Torchlight Newspaper- RASTAS TO PROTEST
The “Torchlight” printed a strong graphic picture of the Rasta, drawn by Ras Daniel Hartman of Jamaica, on the front page of its newspaper, and below this picture said:
“Rastafarians in Grenada are likely soon to take to the streets in massive numbers to protest the debarment of Rasta children from schools and the arrests and charges for ganja smoking. This was told to Torchlight by JoJo, when they visited our office yesterday . . .”
“The Rastas, according to these spokesmen, would like to know why the PRG is holding on to power for so long and what has become of the election promises. Local Rastamen have been holding weekly Nyabinghis over the past five weeks and it was at one of these gatherings at Gouayve Park last Saturday that they decided that the PRG was anti-Rasta.”
The article continued later— “We are not supporters of Cuba and Russia; we see [these countries] as enemies of Rasta, since they do not acknowledge Rastafarian doctrine, The Twelve Tribes of Israel congratulate Torchlight for its brave stand in this time.”
Ref: October 10th 1979 issue of the Torchlight Newspaper, Grenada.

As 1979 wore on the Rasta’s were imprisoned, heads shaved, beaten, mauled and murdered. Their support was no longer needed; they were spent fodder, and a threat to Bishops control of the continuing revolution. The Rasta’s were complaining about the actions of the New Jewel party, and its reliance on Russians and Cubans. Bishop was informed by his task masters that he could lose control of the Rasta’s, thus his swift action and his treatment of them.

To allow close supervision of Grenadian programs, a Cuban senior intelligence officer from the Cuban “America Department“, Julian Torres Rizo, was sent to Grenada as ambassador. Torres Rizo maintained intimate relations with Bishop and other People’s Revolutionary Government ministers, such as Bernard Coard.
(This information was extracted from secret documents seized during the American invasion, available on microfiche at the Maryland Public Records Office, USA).

It was very early in the Revolution that Maurice Bishop started fighting against the Rastafari. Technically, psychologically and then openly Bishop broke all his promises to Rasta’s and treated them abysmally. Eventually Bishop decided he did not want Rasta children to go to school with dreadlocks, he forced families to trim the children’s hair. The Rasta’s felt they had reason to believe that Bishops actions and behavior towards them, was prompted by the Cuban and Russian advisors. There was frequent harassment,jailing,beatings, killings and even incidents of martyrdom among the Rastafari Community in Grenada.

A concentration camp was established in Hope Vale. The Bishop regime called it Hope Vale, but Rasta’s called it Hope Fail and described it as a gulag. Rasta’s claimed it was worse than the Nazi concentration camps or the Russian gulags. Rasta’s were forced to work, hard labour under gunpoint. They were tortured and their locks were cutoff, many died during incarceration. In later years most spoke at tribunals of the torture and murder inflicted on them and their brethren in the camp.

Bishop had hundreds of Rastafarians arrested [many on trumped up charges] between 1979 and 1983, mostly in 1981.

Here are a few of the recorded arrests:
Albert, Roy ‘Roots I’, Paradise, St. Andrew’s, detained 12 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison and Hope Vale
Alexander, Cletus ‘Eye Shine Bright’, farmer, Mt. Reuil/Mt. Rose, St. Patrick’s, detained 11 JUL 1981, released 27 OCT 1983, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison and Hope Vale
Andrew or Andrews, Michael ‘Mike’, Rasta, former Peoples Revolutionary Army Aide-de-camp Captain in St. Andrew’s, from Apres Tout, St. David’s and St. Paul’s, St. George’s, detained 13 JUL 1981, released 27 OCT 1983, transferred from Richmond Hill Prisons to Hope Vale on 12 OCT 1981
Bernard, Dexter ‘Rasta Gay’, Mt. Rich, St. Patrick’s, detained 26 JUN 1981, released 31 DEC 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981; and also at Richmond Hill Prison
Charles, Francis ‘I Man?’, Harford Village, St. Andrew’s, detained 13 JUL 1981, released 21 AUG 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981
Charles, Leroy ‘I Trad – Rasta Goose’, Tivoli, St. Andrew’s, detained 26 JUN 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981 and/or transferred from Richmond Hill Prison to Hope Vale on 12 OCT 1981
Charles, Togie ‘Jah I Live’, Mirabeau, St. Andrew’s, detained 12 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981
Clark [or Clarke], Kenneth ‘I Jah Come’, Grand Bras, St. Andrew’s, detained 12 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison and Hope Vale
Coard, Michael ‘Sands’ and ‘Lion’, Paddock, St. George’s, ganja dealer, detained 11 JUL 1981, released 9 OCT 1981, at Central Police Station Prison 22 JUL 1981
Crowe/Crow/Crichlow, Winston/Dennis ‘Ras/Rasta Nang Nang/Prince Nna Nna’, former member of Peoples Revolutionary Army, martial arts instructor for Peoples Revolutionary Army, jeweller, shot during an escape attempt; River Road, St. George’s; re: held in the interest of national security, public safety and public order; charged before the Courts with attempting to escape lawful custody (S.3 Preventive Detention Regulations, detained 14 OCT 1979 to 22 APR 1981 (7 months); detained again 11 JUL 1981 and released 25 OCT 1983, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison and Hope Vale. Shot multiple times during arrest and escape attempt from ‘Babylon’s dungeon’.
Daniel, Cyril Anthony ‘Rasta Ersto Jojo’ or ‘Rasta Ernsto Jo Jo’, detained 14 OCT 1979, released 24 DEC 1979
Francis, Manley ‘Ras I Cool’, farmer, Mt. Rich, St. Patrick’s, 25 JUN 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, released 31 DEC 1981, released 27 OCT 83 from Richmond Hill Prison
Frederick, Desmond ‘Jah Lion’, Hermitage, St. Patrick’s, detained 27 JUN 1981, 27 OCT 1983, transferred to Hope Vale 27 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982, and OCT 1983 at Richmond Hill Prison
George, Edrick or Edric, ganja dealer and numerous priors, River Road, St. George’s, Rastafarian, detained 8 MAY 1980, released 23 OCT 1980
George, Edward, ‘Ras Come’, Hermitage, St. Patrick’s, detained 26 JUN 1981, released 21 JUL 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981
Griffith, Ashley, ganja dealer, detained JUL 1982; work report to Prisons Commissioner to 31 JAN 1983, Richmond Hill Prison
Hamlet, Dominic ‘Rastafari’ or ‘Rastafore’, Madeys, St. Patrick’s, detained 25 JUN 1981, Richmond Hill Prison and transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982
Henry, Isaiah or Isiah, Rasta ‘I Far I’, Conference, St. Andrew’s/Harford Village, St. Andrew’s, detained 09 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981
Housten/Houston, Oufty/Outti/Auttie/Dutty ‘Ooty I’, farmer, Conference/Moyah, St. Andrew’s, charged for harbouring escapees (S.3 Preventive Detention Regulation), detained 11 JUL 1981, released 23 OCT 1983, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981
James, Winston ‘Ras Ilie’, farmer, Mt. Rich, St. Patrick’s, detained 25 JUN 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982, released 06 SEP 1983.
Joseph, Norley, ‘I Lee’, Tivoli, St. Andrew’s, detained 27 JUN 1981, released 4 JUL 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981
Lewis, Harold, ‘Rasta Soon’, Ex-PRA; one-time book for Cubans at True Blue; farmer; Hermitage, St. Patrick’s/Tivoli, St. Andrew’s, detained at Fort Rupert 26 JUN 1980 until 11 SEP 1980, released 16 NOV 1982; transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981 and/or transferred from Richmond Hill Prison to Hope Vale on 12 OCT 1981.
Lewis, Lennox, ‘Rasta Jumbo’, Mt. Reuil, St. Patrick’s, detained 26 JUN 1981, released 08 JUL 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981
Logie, Loxley/Locksley, ‘Ras Negus’ and ‘Logo’, Chantimelle, St. Patrick’s, detained 22 JUN 1980, released 27 OCT 1983, transferred to Richmond Hill Prison 26 JUN 1981; transferred from Richmond Hill Prison to Hope Vale on 12 OCT 1981
Mitchell [or Mitchelle] [or Branch] [or Campbell], Allan ‘Rasta Bagga’, Gouyave, St. John’s, detained 27 JUN 1981, released 31 DEC 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, and OCT 1983 at Richmond Hill Prison
Paul, Chester ‘I Forward’, craftsman, Happy Hill, St. George’s, detained AUG 1979, re-detained 13 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, released SEP 1983
Phillip, Heslyn ‘Ras Herb’, Mt. Rich, St. Patrick’s, detained 25 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982, transferred to Richmond Hill Prison 15 October 1983; released 27 OCT 1983. ‘Ras Herb’ died in 1993.
Prosper, Colville/Colvin, ‘I More’, Paradise, St. Andrew’s, detained 12 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison and Hope Vale
Raeburn, Michael, ‘Ras Overs’, Mt. Rich, St. Patrick’s, detained 25 JUN 1981, released 08 JUL 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981
Simon, Claude, Rasta ‘Macab’, Chantimelle, St. Patrick’s, ganja, detained 26 JUN 1981, transferred to Richmond Hill Prison, 26 JUN 1981; transferred from Richmond Hill Prison to Hope Vale on 12 OCT 1981
Simon, Fitzroy ‘Sleepy I’, Piedmontemps, St. David’s, detained 12 JUL 1981 and 15 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, also Richmond Hill Prison, also at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982
Thomas, Frank, ‘Spray’ and ‘Ijah’, Hermitage, St. Patrick’s, detained at Fort Rupert from 29 JUN 1980 until 10 OCT 1980, re-detained 26 JUN 1981, released 21 JUL 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981
Thomas, Percy, Mt. Rose, St. Patrick’s, rasta, detained 27 JUN 1981, released 21 OCT 1981, transferred to Hope Vale 27 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981
Thomas, Vaughn/Van ‘Jah I Ras’, La Fillette, St. Andrew’s, detained 12 JUL 1981, at Fort Rupert Prison 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982
Walker, Norris, Rasta, Central Water Commission manual worker, Tivoli, St. Andrew’s; ganja; re: held in the interest of national security, public safety and public order; detained 08 MAY 1980, released 16 DEC 1982, Richmond Hill Prison
Williams, Kenneth ‘Ras Blacks’, farmer, Hermitage, St. Patrick’s, detained 26 JUN 1981, released 27 MAR 1983, transferred to Hope Vale 26 JUN 1981, at Hope Vale as of 22 JUL 1981, at Hope Vale 1 JAN 1982, and OCT 1983 at Richmond Hill Prison
(from the Micro-Fiche records of seized Grenadian Revolution records, held at Maryland Record Office, USA. available to the public)

During this period Bishop also instructed Rastafarian’s that they could not be considered for government employment, educational places in overseas universities [ mainly Cuba and Russia], scholarships, police or army appointments, unless they had their locks [hair] cut short. Rasta children were not allowed to attend school unless their hair was cut short.
Bishop also began persecuting Muslims and had many arrested. He had many of his own party members, police and army arrested and imprisoned. All those groups that he feared as possible counter revolutionaries, mainly without proof of such.

February 13th1983. Vincentian Comrade Ralph Gonsalves, friend and supporter of Bishops work and the Grenadian Revolution arrives in Grenada and spends the night with Maurice Bishop. Attending meetings with Bishop and meeting with Cuban airport construction engineers.

February 14th1983. Ralph Gonsalves leaves Grenada in a Cuban aircraft bound for Cuba that took him as far as Barbados.

I wrote this as a warning to Vincentian Rastafarians not to vote ULP. Why? Because Gonsalves has made promises to you, he took some of you to Ethiopia, he also spoke with you about weed.
Gonsalves has said on more than one occasion that he is here to finish the work of Maurice Bishop. Gonsalves supported Bishop and helped him post ‘coup d’é·tat’ [I have found nothing about pre-revolution, but I am still looking]. I implore you not to vote ULP, because you cannot trust the word of a known serial liar.

Gonsalves was linked to the Bishop regime so he must take some of the blame for what happened to the Rastafarians in Grenada, at the time I never once heard him speak out against what Bishop was doing to the Rastafarians. Since then to this very day, I have never once heard him apologize to the Rastafarians for what happened to them, just his praise and solidarity for everything Bishop ever did. Like he has failed the Garifuna today he has no real love or regard whatsoever for the Rastafarians. So reject the Gonsalves family dynasty owners of the ULP, send them packing, stop them now from making Saint Vincent their plantation.

Remember you may well be a part of the work of Maurice Bishop which Gonsalves says he is here to finish.

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