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Grenadines Encyclopedia
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Maurice Rupert Bishop
(May 29, 1944 ? October 19, 1983) was a Grenadian Marxist politician.Bishops Coup d'?tat
Bishop was educated at the London School of Economics and had an extensive background in studies of the black power movement. Returning to Grenada he became active in politics. In 1973 he became head of the Marxist New Jewel Movement political party. He was elected to parliament, and for several years he held the position of leader of the opposition in the Grenadian House of Representatives, opposing the government of Prime Minister Eric Gairy and his United Labour Party.
In 1979 Bishop's party staged a revolutionary coup and deposed Gairy, who was out of the country addressing the United Nations at the time. Bishop subsequently declared himself Prime Minister of Grenada.
Bishop's coup was popular, applauded by many within Grenada and abroad. Gairy's rule had faced increasing charges of corruption and authoritarianism, so expectations were high for the new "People's Revolutionary Government" (PRG).
Shortly after taking power, Bishop dissolved the parliament, and no new elections were held during his rule. In its place, the PRG sought to pursue certain grassroots democracy initiatives and workers' councils. Governance itself was concentrated in the hands of the Politburo and the New JEWEL party hierarchy. The intent was to transform Grenada into a socialist state in the mold of other Eastern bloc nations. To this effect Bishop sought ever closer relationships with Cuba, the Soviet Union and other Eastern bloc nations.
However, many members of the PRG and the party were divided as to how to best conduct reforms, with one faction proposing radical Marxist reforms while others, including Bishop himself favoring a more moderate path. Collective farms were introduced, as were the nationalization of various sectors of industry, but growth remained stagnant.
A "People's National Army" was also formed during his administration. Critics accused the army as being a waste of money and resources, and there were mainly complaints that the PNA was used as a tool to commit human rights abuses, such as torture and detention of political dissidents without trial.
The tension of the internal political situation grew, and in 1983 Bishop was placed under house arrest by the military, which had turned its loyalty to Bishop's erstwhile friend and Deputy Prime Minister Bernard Coard. In October of the year Bishop was eventually freed from his house by protesting students, but was then shot and killed later that day during a confrontation at St. George's, along with a number of his supporters including several cabinet ministers.
The U.S. Citizens
Six days later, under the pretext that U.S. citizens on the island were in danger, the U.S. occupied the island with "Operation Urgent Fury," and deposed Coard.
Operation Agent Fury
The U.S. Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was an invasion of the island nation of Grenada by the military forces of the United States of America, Canada, and several Caribbean nations.
On October 25, 1983, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop was executed by Bernard Coard?s Marxist popular political movement (the New Jewel Movement), the United States Armed Forces landed troops on the beaches of Grenada.
The landing day is now a national holiday in Grenada, called Thanksgiving Day.
Point Salines International Airport
Bishop had planned to build a large international airport on Grenada with Cuban assistance, which was eventually completed with U.S. assistance several years later. The airport is now Grenada's main international airport, named simply Point Salines International Airport. Many Grenadians would like to see the airport renamed after Bishop.
Bishop's Family
Bishop had a son, Vladimir Kreft, whose mother, Jacqueline Kreft, was one of Bishop's ministers. She was killed with Bishop at the confrontation in St. George?s. Like his parents, Vladimir was himself killed in violent circumstances in Canada while still a young man
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