FORMER prime minister, the late Michael Manley, always had a way with words, and his memorial service paid homage to just that yesterday.

In a service which saw several floral tributes and filled with musical items and recitations of excerpts from speeches written by Manley, his family, friends and well well-wishers gathered at his graveside in National Heroes Park in Kingston yesterday to mark the 10 anniversary of his death on March 6, 1997.

David Bogle, a student of the University of the West Indies, and chairman for yesterday’s proceedings Fae Ellington both read excerpts from speeches in Manley’s book The Politics of Change, while the Windward Road Primary School Speech Chorale recited an impromptu speech delivered by Manley at a past political rally.

The audience was also treated to a musical item entitled The Book of Rules, performed by Della Manley, accompanied by Seretse Small, and revelled in a performance by saxophonist Dean Fraser.

Among the several persons who paid floral tributes to the former prime minister were his widow Glynne; former wife Beverly Anderson-Manley; Transport Minister and People’s National Party representative Robert Pickersgill; Jamaica Labour Party representative Dr Oswald Harding; and O K Melhado, acting chairman of the Michael Manley Cricket Trust.

Speaking at the ceremony, Danny Roberts, chairman of the Michael Manley Foundation (MMF), said the foundation planned to protect Manley’s reputation from political desecration.

“Much has been said about Michael Manley in the past several months that speaks fundamentally to the things he stood for. Notwithstanding the criticisms of this sterile and limited analysis, we take this as an erroneous view that the country’s state of affairs had a causal link to what is said to be the reckless politics of the 1970s. More recently similarities have been drawn with the political situation in Zimbabwe and the politics of the 1970s that do great injustice to the memory of Michael Manley,” said Roberts.

His comment about Zimbabwe was in reference to a weekend newspaper article by former prime minister, Edward Seaga, who likened the political situation in Zimbabwe to Jamaica in the 1970s.

“While the foundation welcomes the debate on Michael Manley’s legacy, we must, however, safeguard the elemental characteristics of Manley’s political ideals expressed in his belief in democracy, social justice, egalitarianism and people power, from acts of political desecration,” Roberts said.

He said that yesterday’s ceremony was the first of many activities planned to celebrate Manley’s life over the next several months. These, he said, will include a mock youth parliament as well as a campaign highlighting Manley’s contributions to the small farming community.