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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>Spoiling the creation of history</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Michael Burke
Thursday, October 05, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Michael Burke</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>The first general election under universal adult suffrage (all adults having the right to vote) took place on December 14, 1944. The Jamaica Labour Party won that election. Part of the campaign plank of Bustamante was to label the People's National Party as being a bunch of communists. And according to the definition given to the people, even one's yard fowls were to be divided among the less fortunate.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Yes, things were somewhat different in 1944. Most Jamaicans did not have a primary education. A number of Jamaicans were illiterate, and because of that, politicians could say almost anything and they would believe it. At the time, electricity in Jamaica was not widespread. One consequence of that was that frozen meat was not the norm.
Many people reared their own chickens and goats, even in the capital. So telling poor people that they would have to divide their fowls if the PNP was elected really caused them much concern.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JLP won again in 1949 but gained fewer votes than the PNP. In 1955, the PNP, led by Norman Manley, won power and did so again in 1959, but lost power in 1962 to the JLP. Before the 1962 election, Norman Manley as premier gave permission for some Russian ships to refuel in Kingston Harbour. Some of the JLP candidates campaigned that the Russian ships were in the harbour waiting to take over Jamaica and turn Jamaica into a communist state should the PNP win.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JLP won the 1962 election but the Russian fleet was certainly not the only factor. There was also a spill-off effect from the referendum called in 1961 to decide whether Jamaica should remain a part of the West Indies Federation. The JLP won again in 1967, and continued in power until 1972 when Michael Manley led the PNP to a landslide victory. The PNP won again in 1976.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the 1980 election Manley and the PNP were "painted" as communists. It was obvious that the JLP was receiving more than the usual amount of help from outside of Jamaica. The Cold War was on, and any trade with the Soviet Union or Cuba as developed by Michael Manley in the 1970s was seen as an expansion of the Soviet empire in the Caribbean, which the United States government regards as its backyard.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In 1980, the JLP led by Edward Seaga won a landslide victory and got a whopping 58 per cent of the votes. So on all three occasions, 18 years apart, the JLP went from a position of not having power to one of having it by way of using the communist slur on the PNP. I still maintain that the PNP at certain times in its history while in government have been democratic socialist, which is not the same as communism.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Communism is not just about the empowerment of people. It promotes class warfare, the suppression of all types of private property and in classical communism, the existence of God is denied. But then the Cold War ended when the Soviet Union abolished communism. The US government no longer saw Cuba or Jamaica as any threat to them without the backing of the Soviet Union.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But Michael Manley was not taking any chances. For the 1989 general election, he downplayed the socialist rhetoric, came out of the "kareba" in favour of the jacket and tie. This does not mean that the PNP abandoned their old frie
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>Michael Burke
Thursday, October 05, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=80 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Michael Burke</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>The first general election under universal adult suffrage (all adults having the right to vote) took place on December 14, 1944. The Jamaica Labour Party won that election. Part of the campaign plank of Bustamante was to label the People's National Party as being a bunch of communists. And according to the definition given to the people, even one's yard fowls were to be divided among the less fortunate.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Yes, things were somewhat different in 1944. Most Jamaicans did not have a primary education. A number of Jamaicans were illiterate, and because of that, politicians could say almost anything and they would believe it. At the time, electricity in Jamaica was not widespread. One consequence of that was that frozen meat was not the norm. Many people reared their own chickens and goats, even in the capital. So telling poor people that they would have to divide their fowls if the PNP was elected really caused them much concern.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JLP won again in 1949 but gained fewer votes than the PNP. In 1955, the PNP, led by Norman Manley, won power and did so again in 1959, but lost power in 1962 to the JLP. Before the 1962 election, Norman Manley as premier gave permission for some Russian ships to refuel in Kingston Harbour. Some of the JLP candidates campaigned that the Russian ships were in the harbour waiting to take over Jamaica and turn Jamaica into a communist state should the PNP win.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The JLP won the 1962 election but the Russian fleet was certainly not the only factor. There was also a spill-off effect from the referendum called in 1961 to decide whether Jamaica should remain a part of the West Indies Federation. The JLP won again in 1967, and continued in power until 1972 when Michael Manley led the PNP to a landslide victory. The PNP won again in 1976.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In the 1980 election Manley and the PNP were "painted" as communists. It was obvious that the JLP was receiving more than the usual amount of help from outside of Jamaica. The Cold War was on, and any trade with the Soviet Union or Cuba as developed by Michael Manley in the 1970s was seen as an expansion of the Soviet empire in the Caribbean, which the United States government regards as its backyard.<P class=StoryText align=justify>In 1980, the JLP led by Edward Seaga won a landslide victory and got a whopping 58 per cent of the votes. So on all three occasions, 18 years apart, the JLP went from a position of not having power to one of having it by way of using the communist slur on the PNP. I still maintain that the PNP at certain times in its history while in government have been democratic socialist, which is not the same as communism.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Communism is not just about the empowerment of people. It promotes class warfare, the suppression of all types of private property and in classical communism, the existence of God is denied. But then the Cold War ended when the Soviet Union abolished communism. The US government no longer saw Cuba or Jamaica as any threat to them without the backing of the Soviet Union.<P class=StoryText align=justify>But Michael Manley was not taking any chances. For the 1989 general election, he downplayed the socialist rhetoric, came out of the "kareba" in favour of the jacket and tie. This does not mean that the PNP abandoned their old frie