Eric Williams Committee head: PNM must protect legacy of first PM

HEAD of the Dr Eric Williams Memorial Committee Reginald Vidale has called on UNC PRO Dr Kirk Meighoo to retract his statement that Williams was not the first prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, which gained independence from Britain on August 31, 1962.

He made this call as Meighoo made another Facebook post doubling down on his view.

On September 1, Meighoo said this was his personal opinion and not the UNC's.

In a telephone interview on September 2, Vidale described Meighoo's statements as illogical and irrational.

He said the statements are being made by someone who is supposed to be "intellectually of some substance."

Meighoo's statement that Williams is not TT's first prime minister, Vidale continued, "borders on total, total ignorance which has no fundamental bearing, at all, at all."

He said the history on this matter is clear.

"Dr Williams was the first chief minister of this country. He was the first premier of this country. He was the first prime minister of this country."

Vidale said it was indisputable that Williams led TT to independence.

"He took us to Malboro (House in London). He led us to independence on August 31, 1962.

Vidale said Williams was not satisfied with only this.

"He took us on to republican status in 1976. So for Dr Kirk Meighoo to make a statement like that, I would want to say that something is fundamentally wrong with his thinking and he needs to revisit his intellectualism as it were."

He said to articulate otherwise would be "pure adulterated ignorance."

Asked if this was an attempt to rewrite history, Vidale said, "Well I think there is a very subtle one and I think that if the PNM had protected the legacy of Dr Williams, then there would be no room for anyone like Dr Meighoo to even try to talk about changing the history of TT."

Over the years, he continued, "I have been honouring Dr Williams' memory and I have not gotten the support from the party which should have been giving me the support to do what I was doing."

Vidale said this creates the opportunity for people to change the narrative that Williams was never TT's first prime minister.

In a Facebook post on September 2, Meighoo said, "Given the controversy and misunderstandings (both genuine and deliberate), I will elaborate on my personal statement for clarification."

He claimed the PNM Publishing Company of the 1950s and 1960s distorted the facts of TT's independence and helped institutionalise the party's version of history which was meant to glorify Williams and the PNM.

"They did not present unbiased history in our education system.Our actual history needs to be reclaimed."

Meighoo repeated that in the short-lived West Indian Federation, January 3, 1958- May 31, 1962, TT was a province and not a country.

Each province has a premier and the federation had a prime minister.

"In 1961, our premier was Eric Williams and our prime minister was Grantley Adams.

Meighoo said, "In 1962, TT became an independent country and Eric Williams was its first prime minister."

But he repeated, Williams was not our first prime minister.

"Our history is deeper and wider."

At an event on August 20, 2022, Williams' daughter Erica Williams Connell said her father fought for the best deal for TT's independence.

Williams Connell said starting from 1950, as their colonies became independent, the British customarily offered a “golden handshake,” a sum that was to be used to buy British goods. No other colony in a similar position fought for a better deal, she insisted.

“The golden handshake is the complete representation of the fight for the best deal. It lasted a year.

"Eric Williams was the only post-colonial leader to refuse it. Every other post-colonial leader accepted the terms and conditions and said, ‘Thank you very much.’

"And he refused it on the basis of his historical study about slavery and what slavery contributed to the British and American industries.”

Williams Connell made these comments in response to a statement by then opposition leader (now Prime Minister) Kamla Persad-Bissessar that TT never fought for its independence from Britain.

“That was the fight! No, we didn’t go and shoot guns on a hill to fight for independence, but we did fight, and the fight lasted a year."