Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Reading Time 13 mins

April 4, 2023

“Agriculture will become the People’s Army’s primary role in peacetime. The Army’s barrack room becomes the nation’s countryside.”

 

Mr. President and Members, after having heard about the dehumanization, suffering, and oppression that led to the Regiment’s collapse, I am going to talk about a People’s Army. What I mean by it, and why all Third World armies will inevitably become People’s Armies. Immediately upon speaking about a People’s Army, some will jump and say I am proposing a Mao Tse Tung type of Army. I am not; I am suggesting an army relevant to the people and the needs of this nation by a People’s Army; I mean an army whose essential work, outside of military duties, in peacetime, is working with the people of the country and working in things like agriculture, construction works, fishing, dairy and livestock farming, physical education, and minor medical aid to the people. In other words, an army earns its upkeep in peacetime. 

Before all this takes place, the Army has to adopt the culture of the people as its own. Instead of Union Jack as the Queen’s Colour, you can have the National Flag as the People’s Colour. Since the role of an honorary Colonel is only symbolic, we can have instead of H.R.H. Prince Philip – a posthumous honorary colonel – Capt. Andrew Cipriani, a soldier who has sacrificed for this country. Instead of using the bugle for the calls, we can easily use the East Indian Tassa Drum. Instead of having all that amount of Metropolitan Musical Instruments, some can be removed, and the steel band introduced along with African and Indian drums. Military music [must] reflect the national character. 

Instead of the white suits for ceremonial parades, a denim uniform like what Col. Young from Singapore is wearing can be used. In addition, it would be cheaper to maintain since, unlike the white suit, it can be worn more than once before it needs laundering. 

Agriculture will become the People’s Army’s primary role in peacetime. The Army’s barrack room becomes the nation’s countryside. The officers could easily take agricultural courses at Centeno in addition to their military training and carry out cadres for the N.C.O.s. Teaching them modern methods of agriculture and, from there, to the soldiers. 

Before I get into any detail, I will explain why Trinidad and Tobago needs an army. You have already heard Lt. Shah analyze it regarding international conflict and the rape of sovereignty. To this, I add – those who clamour to do away with an army entirely are the ones who do not believe that Trinidad and Tobago is an independent sovereign nation. They are the ones who don’t think that the country and its resources belong to them. They are the ones who are not willing to sacrifice for this nation. They are the ones who are not ready to die for this nation. In other words, they are the Colonials of this Nation. 

Mr. President and Members, I am sure with the introduction of the People’s Army, there would be: 

1. A better attitude to labour by the workers and people
2. A strengthening of discipline among the mass of the population. They would see how happy and meaningful the soldiers relate to discipline. In other words, the soldiers would be spreading our nation’s motto – Discipline, Tolerance, and Production – making it a reality.
3. Momentum would be developing among the people for more excellent production. The people would see words turned into action. They would see the soldiers engaging in meaningful activities, working for their country, making it into our fatherland, and creating something Caribbean and out of Africa, Asia, and Latin America to [advance] into the 21st Century. At present, we are just a melting pot of the influences of these areas. We have to meet the 21st Century with a Fatherland. 

This my country, this my nation. Mr. President and Members. 

I see the size of that People’s Army being a Brigade. Having three Battalions and an additional Battalion made up of women. I say that since a wrong attitude towards women burdens West Indian society. The sense of values is more or less feudal. The majority of the West Indian male population sees women as having no contribution to society – except as sexual objects and making babies. 

Such an attitude in a Third World country is dehumanizing to women. We need to change this attitude. It can be changed by having women actively participate in this country’s defense and welfare needs. 

This change would instill a feeling that “Everyone is pulling their weight; let me pull mine.” Such would go a long way in building the national spirit that we currently lack. The Battalions could be deployed in this manner. We can have one Battalion at Brigade Headquarters in the Arouca area, which Lt. Shah indicated to you on the map – on full military duty for three months. Another Battalion in the Central and Southern area engaged in Agricultural work, working with the people in Co-operatives. The Army could have its Agricultural equipment. Farmers could hire services from this equipment for a small fee. This [initiative] would go to the offsetting of the money spent on agricultural equipment. 

The next Battalion could be deployed as follows: two companies in the agricultural areas in the Nothern Range and two companies in Tobago–one on military duty and the other on agricultural work. The Battalions could change at three months intervals. 

The Women’s Battalion could be stationed at Camp Ogden with one Company on full military duty. The other three companies could be deployed throughout Trinidad and Tobago. They could work in village health offices as nurses and as teachers of different domestic skills to women in rural areas, thus making the spare time of these women more profitable. The women soldiers could also establish nurseries for working mothers, where they could leave their young ones, thus making the labour force more productive. In addition, the companies could change their location every two months. 

Mr. President and Members, there could also be a Hurricane Relief Company that would become operational from August of every year and remain until the end of November. That Company would comprise medical orderlies and earth-moving equipment operators. I mean bulldozer drivers, crane operators, masons, carpenters, plumbers, and surveyors. 

One of the officers in that Company would be a Civil Engineer. This Company would have to work in close liaison with the Coast Guard since they, the Coast Guard, would be the source of transport to whatever island in the West Indies that is hit. The Company would also need a large barge that could be hauled from Trinidad with the earth-moving equipment. So instead of the people of this country just sending a condolence message to the people of the stricken area, we could send something tangible, something meaningful: The Hurricane Relief Company of The People’s Army of Trinidad and Tobago. By that method, we would be spreading the message of Caribbean Unity, which must come about to find a place in the Sun. 

I now come around to the financing of it since I can hear everyone shouting that it costs a lot of money. Of course, it would, but Mr. President, this country has the knack for acquiring loans. (Recently, the government received 70 million dollars.] The initial expenditure could be in the vicinity of $15 m. Before I go any further, let me state that the T.T.R. costs the taxpayers $6 m annually, and it produces nothing. Around 800,000 dollars is spent on food annually; within the context of the People’s Army, it would maintain its upkeep and cultivate its food. The Army would develop dairy farming and livestock. It would be harvesting cocoa, coffee, citrus, and sugar, diversifying agriculture, and growing peanuts, soya beans, and pineapples. Returning to cocoa, the cocoa of Trinidad fetches preferential prices on the world market, but minimal effort is being made to expand it. I understand that production is falling, as Professor Rene Dumont, that world-famous agronomist, said on his visit to Trinidad and Tobago. “The people of this country have to orientate themselves towards agricultural production if they are to move forward.” 

You may find it strange that I speak at length on agriculture – I do so because I believe that the People’s Army is the only way by which the youth of this country will turn to agriculture. Their education orientates them to getting degrees and driving big cars. Success is gauged by the ability to adopt metropolitan ways of living. That sense of value in a Third World country leads to decay. Trinidad & Tobago has a mass of its labour force unemployed, somewhere near 25,000, increasing annually. Since 65% of this nation is 25 years old and below. Mr. President and Members, I am in that bracket, which numbers 630,000 of this population. Our sense of values is undoubtedly not colonial. 

It is toward finding meaning in our existence here in Trinidad and Tobago. And when the youth see that all their brothers and sisters in the People’s Army are involved in Agriculture, they will become involved. As our generation says, it will be the “in thing.” 

__________________________________

“Trinidad getting hard…
Plant de land, plant de land

Plant dasheen and cassava…
Plant lettuce and cucumber.”
—Ras Shoryt I, “Plant De Land.” 

___________________________________

Mr. President and Members, all the Armies of the Third World would inevitably become People’s Armies. 

Colonialism has been such a terror in the hearts and minds of the people of Third World Countries. Anytime the practice and method of relating between officers and men are based on the colonial armies, one of Slavemasters and slaves, the soldiers will someday revolt against it since they would see the officers of their own country as just a replacement for the colonial officer. The former Slavemaster. That sort of relationship can only exist briefly in a Third World country. Moreover, in the Third World, the bulk of the soldiers come from the area of the population which has suffered the brunt of colonial repression. As such, any signs of it in their work as soldiers will blow their minds.

They want a relationship based on respect, unity, and moral authority. Hence, I say People’s Armies are inevitable in the Third World. Besides this, the dehumanization of the people has been great. This dehumanizing leads to a lack of willingness to work in their society. This lack of discipline and spirit baffles many Third World leaders. The surest way of building that discipline and confidence, and being willing to sacrifice and work for that society and nation, is through a People’s Army. 

I move now to a soldier whose name has become a household name to the people of this country. A soldier whose soul touches the heart of every soldier in this country. So much so that they have started calling Teteron Barracks after his name and also Lord Harris Square, the Square just next to the jail. Can you imagine a Square in this independent Third World country carrying such a colonial name? Mr. President and Members, I am speaking about Private CLIVE BAILEY, a soldier whose courage, determination, discipline, and ability were unsurpassed. His blood soaks the soil of this country, and he willingly gave it. He gave it because he could no longer be a slave and servant boy to his slave masters. He had to be a soldier of the Third World, a man. Unfortunately, in the process of gaining it, he was murdered. 

And up to today, as far as I know, the Battalion has never seen his wife and children. They have done nothing. If I am wrong, I stand to be corrected. The people of this country and the Express newspaper gave his family something. That is why the soldiers, besides calling Teteron Barracks Bailey Barracks, also call Lord Harris Square Bailey Square. It may never appear in the Gazette as such. But Bailey Barracks and Bailey Square remain in the soldiers’ and people’s hearts and minds. The will of the people is the Will Of God. 

The Meaning of This Trial to the Third World

When I speak of the Third World, I speak of the countries and people of Africa, Asia, and Latin America who have a common heritage of having suffered and experienced [colonization] what it is to be colonised. And today, in this Trial, in this Court Martial, it is the first time that members of the Third World have come together to decide the fate of people from another Third World nation. It has never happened before. 

The people are turning to the Third World in the Caribbean, particularly in Trinidad and Tobago. They are turning their backs on metropolitan countries and their decadent way of life [towards] The Third World. They look in that direction for brotherhood, understanding, and inspiration. 

Mr. President and members, you come from that world. Your responsibility is to manifest justice for the people of that world to us. No other men ever had such a grave responsibility anywhere in history. Mr. President and Members, it needs deep searching of the soul. I want to remind you that you would not be deciding as Colonels. You will be handing it down as representatives of the nation you represent, members of the Third World. The eyes of the world are on you. The eyes of the Caribbean are on you. 

The Caribbean people were brought here due to the Colonial World’s need for sugar and no other reason. Up to today, our existence has been tied to satisfying the needs of metropolitan countries. In the seventies, this is changing. People look forward to finding meaning in their lives by meeting their needs. 

The people in the Caribbean and Trinidad and Tobago, in particular, see that coming about by closer ties and trading links with the Third World. We are the sons of the Caribbean, and in this Trial, we have been placed in the hands of the Third World. In your hands, at your mercy. 

If the people of the Caribbean see that we are made to suffer by any decision and action of yours, they will turn from listening to your leaders and what they say. They will not see your suffering as their suffering, which they see at present. They will become indifferent. It will become like a romance that has come to a bitter end due to a lack of understanding. The attitude will be, “Let them suffer; it does not matter.” Mr. President and Members, this is not Rex Lassalle on Trial. I had my Trial from April 21 to May 1, 1970. The people have made their decision about me already. 

They know that I acted to save this country from a bloodbath. The people of this country know that I am committed to it. They know that I am willing to die for it anytime. They also know that the members of the Army hierarchy are committed to nothing except for their interest and safety, exemplified by sitting still and hoping for the best. The people of this country want to bury the images of colonialism anywhere they see it. They see it in that Regiment with its Queen’s Colours, Honorary Colonel, and white suits. 

Mr. President and Members, if the decision goes to the Army hierarchy since I doubt you can consider this case without considering the actions of the Army hierarchy, then you would say, “Long live Colonialism.” You would be saying, “Long live Slavery.” You would say, “Long live Officers who give no Leadership. Long live Cowardice”. 

You would tell the people to be proud of such men who are not morally committed to their Regiment and Nation. 

Mr. President and Members, whatever your decision I ask of you, don’t perpetuate the suffering of the soldiers. They suffer throughout their Army life. So let me take that responsibility for them and die for them. That sacrifice I am willing to make. I was glad to make it on April 21; today, I stand even more ready. 

I am convinced that my action was proper. Nothing you decide can ever change that. I am proud of all my efforts; I stand by them. But, Mr. President and Members, whereas the Army hierarchy gave us suffering and oppression, we reflected in our actions Dignity and Respect. Now it is your turn to throw a reflection on the Third World. We have given you Truth and Respect. We wait in expectation of what you will reflect. 

Mr. President and Members, I stand before you today as a man liberated of all colonial sense of values by that whole experience. But if you think I have not yet earned my manhood, send me to jail and let me make it there. As Kenyatta earned it, as Nehru earned it, as Kaunda earned it, as Castro earned it, like Nelson Mandela still earning it, don’t hesitate if you believe I have not yet earned my manhood. But, if you think I have earned my manhood and it needs to be taken away, don’t hesitate. 

Mr. President and Members, I have come to terms with my existence. I want to get the fullest meaning out of it. If your decision is death, let me be shot in the same spot where Clive Bailey was murdered… and let my blood soak into the soil of this country till my body can give no more. Then cremate my body and provide some ashes to my parents. With the remainder, I say throw some in the hills overlooking Belmont, where I was born, and some in the Caribbean sea for the unity that I believe we, the people of the Caribbean, should achieve. Some are thrown somewhere in Latin America for the common bond I share with them, having been colonised. 

Some on the Ganges, where such a large part of the people from this nation comes from, and the bond that I have with them, and this country has with Asia, having been colonised. And finally, on the River that leads from Liberated Africa into racist South Africa, that liberation will be achieved by the oppressed in that police state someday. 

Let my death have meaning, Mr. President, if necessary. 

HERE I STAND! 

 

*This is a slightly edited version of Lassalle’s Court-Martial 1970 Speech. © 2023 by Rex Lassalle

---

Rex Lassalle’s Court Martial Speech, “Here I Stand,” to the Commonwealth Court about being a leader of the April 21, 1970, Mutiny in Trinidad and Tobago, outlined a new vision. He asserts, “These officers who tried us were from ‘formerly’ colonized countries and were part of a neo-colonial mindset, so no surprise with the verdict they handed down.” Lassalle now lives in Finland, where his work and writings focus on discovering and honouring his Indigenous origins. In doing so, he creates virtuous actions that generate extraordinary moments in people’s lives. He is the author of Rex Lassalle & The Alchemy of TIME  and the soon-to-be-published “Lifestyle Solutions For Lifestyle Diseases: A Guide to Gentle Movement, Self-Massage and Home Remedies.”