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May 29, 1979 the day that changed Dominica
By The TDN Wire Staff
May 29, 2012 7:30 A.M.
Former Dominica prime minister Patrick John. |
Roseau, Dominica (TDN) -- Thirty-three years ago on the morning of May 29, 1979 over ten thousand demonstrators gathered around the government Headquarters in Roseau, Dominica to protest passage of two controversial bills. In just hours one young man 23 year old Phillip Timothy lay dead on the streets and 9 were sent to hospital nursing bullet wounds.
That day was to mark the beginning of the end of the John administration who just four years before had swept into power in a massive landslide at the polls. It was the day that would forever change Dominica’s political landscape.
Mayhem ensued on that day after members of the Dominica Defense Force opened fire on the protestors who were adamant that John withdraw the bills, which were aimed at curbing the influence of Trade Unions on the island.
Before the shooting started, protestors began hurling rocks at the building hoping to get the attention of the Parliamentarians gathered inside where debate was scheduled to take place. Scores of policemen at the scene were easily overwhelmed as the restless crowd swelled throughout the morning.
With the police on the run, the Defense Force soldiers who were acting very much as John’s private army converged on the crowds and indiscriminately opened fire.
The protest was the culmination of months of agitation by the public against an administration caught up in several scandals. Following his win at the polls, the young charismatic leader John put in place the Dread Act, which gave law enforcement the right to kill and otherwise detain scores of Rastafarian youth, or Dreads as they called who had made their homes in Dominica’s lush mountains.
Repeated raids by Police on their hideouts had resulted in several deaths and a growing unease among the population. In 1977, the powerful trade unions embarked on a 77 day strike, which resulted in the near total shut down of the island. Later, John would enter negotiations with an American Don Pierson with promises to turn Portsmouth into a free port and a haven for casino gambling.
With the country tethering on the brink, and increasingly wary of the shenanigans of the John Labour Party government the crowds gathered on that fateful morning. Bus loads of persons drove from the villages into the town, businesses closed their doors and schools were shut down for the day.
In the ensuing fall out from the tragic events of May 29, 1979 several government ministers resigned paving the way for a Committee of National Salvation to take over governing of the country and leading to the eventual resignation of Prime Minister Patrick Roland John.
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