The pattern for the first two days of the meeting was hours of long, repetitive rants about how badly the party was performing and the imminent demise of the ‘revo’. Leninist jargon hung in the air, thick and suffocating, like the smoke curling up from Bishop’s chain of cigarettes.

They were fervent, sincere ideologues in a headlong rush to achieve textbook ideological purity and fit people to theory. Years later, many years later, Cornwall, who had by then renounced atheism for Methodism, would counsel that it is impossible to truly understand what was occurring back then without appreciating that they were like fanatics drunk on the religion of Leninism.

Bishop, by now tense, struggled to maintain composure. As chairman of the Central Committee, it was usual for him to sum up the consensus at the end of a session.

I am struck, he said, by the obvious preparation that has gone into each comrade’s remarks.

It was difficult to tell whether by ‘obvious preparation’ he meant that their depth of analysis genuinely impressed him or whether he suspected them of having colluded behind his back.

Some conclusions are premature, he continued, but I share the overall concerns.

He did not question the basis for their alarmist evaluation of the political and economic situation when, in fact, he could have done so. The World Bank and the IMF had given Grenada a clean bill of health in July and had signed new financial agreements with the PRG.

The Point Salines International Airport was on track to be inaugurated in a few months time coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the revolution. Its completion would end the cash crunch experienced by a number of departments due to the heavy drain on the public purse caused by the construction. A new international airport capable of accommodating jets would mean growth in tourist arrivals and expanded export capabilities resulting in increased hard currency. This would translate into political popularity for the NJM, consolidating its rule. There were therefore good reasons to be optimistic. Bishop, however, passively accepted the diagnosis that the revolution was in ‘deep crisis’ and that the Central Committee (CC) – which he chaired – was responsible.

In closing the day’s deliberations, he said that individual and collective leadership needed improvement; meaningful channels of communication between leadership and membership had to be developed and Marxism-Leninism applied more robustly to guide future party work.

Given the severity of the criticisms and the fact that they had been voiced before at an emergency meeting on August 26, 1983, though not with the same aggressiveness, Maurice’s summing up was wishy-washy. At the August 26 meeting, Selwyn “Sello” Strachan said there was a silent rebellion against higher organs of the party which required a critical review of the CC, especially since the CC had not criticised itself at the July meeting.

Unison Whiteman had said things were pointing to a breakdown of confidence in the CC. Another member spoke about the division between the party and the masses. Maurice had agreed with James that the party faced the threat of disintegration. They resolved that a further CC meeting should be held to review the grave situation in two and a half weeks. This meeting was therefore intended to find real solutions to those issues. Bishop’s recommendations, in that context, sounded like platitudes.

Copyright 2020 Godfrey Smith. All rights reserved. The Assassination of Maurice Bishop is published by Ian Randle Publishers. It is available online at www.ianrandlepublishers.com.amazon.com; bookfusion.com and in retail stores islandwide.