15.01.2018
Sometimes what happened long ago can play into current events. Knowing what happened helps people understand the present better, and work towards the future better, too. Here is one example of some events that still play out today.
The August ’79 strike was nearing, Lalit de Klas was still a tendency within the MMM, and Ram Seegobin was speaking at two or three public meetings and neighbourhood gatherings every day all over the 21 sugar estates. It was a movement building from the grassroots. There were others against it. One lot opposing the strike were gathered around Jack Bizlall of the “Lel Gos” of the MMM (actually a “Lel Drwat”) and who was negotiator for unions of parastatal bodies’ that were at the time reaching “super-deals” with Government. Another lot opposing the strike were gathered around Dev Virahsawmy of his MMMSP (within two years Dev would be in Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam’s Labour Party).
Anyway, the two men, Bizlall and Virahsawmy, had even begun to “work” together.
One of their “joint ventures” was an attack against Ram Seegobin. It was, and still is, particularly shocking. It was a piece of invented calumny. “Calumny” is that particular type of slander that is concocted intentionally, invented cynically and out of thin air, in order to harm someone. And this particular bit of calumny, being in writing, exists until today. Young people will be interested to know about it.
The calumny was originally published in just one publication: the MMMSP’s weekly newspaper Soley Ruz (No. 33 of 9-15 June, 1979). This will be in the National Archives. But you can also look up the MMM’s newspaper, Le Peuple, because the calumny was quoted in toto as part of the Ram Seegobin mise-au-point published then (in June 1979) .
Anyway, here is the Ram Seegobin mise-au-point that begins by quoting the entire original Bizlall-Virahsawmy calumny (in its original Kreol):
MIZ-O-PWIN
SOLEY RUZ, organn di MMMSP, dan so No. 33, 9-15 Juin, 1979 ti pas lartik swivan (Nu re-tip li parey kuma li ti ete dan Soley Ruz):
“WESTERN TROSKYSTE
“Kot ban trots gagn lamonê?
“Un agent notoire de la 4em internationale, fidele disciple de Trotsky, expert en demagogie, chevauchait sa moto en direction de la Banque Barclays a port Louis. Mais en route il laissa tomber son sac sans s’en apercevoir. Il s’en rendit compte plus tard et c’est a partir de ce moment que son comportement revela que quelque chose de louche entourait le sac egaré.
“Premierment toute personne normale aurait fait une declaration a la police et aurait mis une annonce dans les journaux. Mais ce monsieur prefera garder le silence. Pourquoi? Deuxiemement a la reunion de la GWF il informa ses amis qu’il a perdu son sac mais que c’etait sans gravité car il ne contenait selon lui que son diary et Rs 40.00 seulement. MENSONGE!
“L’Incident, aurait ete tres vite oublié si un ami n’avait pas ramassé le mechant sac. Ne connaissant pas le proprietaire il a du l’ouvrir et decouvrit a l’interieur (1) un carnet de versement (2) PLUSIEURS CHEQUES DE PLUSIERS MILLIERS DE ROUPIES. C’etait des cheque de la BNCI.
“Pouquoi ce comportement louche? Qui a fait ces cheques a son ordre? La 4iem Internationale? Le SECTEUR PRIVE? Une interessante affaire a suivre.”
Sa lartik la ekrir ar lame lor paz 4 dan Soley Ruz.
Mo pe dimann Soley Ruz pibliye sa miz-o-pwin la, e mo pu atann. Mo pu an mem tan pas miz-o-pwin la Le Peuple pu piblikasyon.
Li vre ki mo vwayaz a motosiklet, e mo ti perdi enn sak ruz an plastik lor sime ant Bambous e Port Louis, Merkredi 28 Mars. Li osi vre ki mo finn regayn mo sak Vandredi 30 Mars gras a enn kamarad ki ti truv sak la sap depi lor mo motosiklet.
Me lartik dan Soley Ruz kontenir enn seri invansyon ipokrit e vilger ki indiyn enn zurnal sipoze de gos, e ki osi reflet enn aberasyon grotesk dan lespri dimunn ki finn ekrir sa lartik la.
Apar bann insinnyasyon meskin depi kumansman ziska lafin, lartik la kontenir bann mansonz:
a) Mo pa enn “azan” 4iem Internasonal.
Mo finn aprann buku depi bann liv Trotsky, osi byen ki depi bann lezot gran revolisyoner, me mo pa enn “fidele disciple” personn.
b) Mo pa ti pe al Barclays Port Louis. Mo ti pe al NRB [National Remuneration Board], dan Minisipalite Port Louis.
c) Mem zur mo finn an fet avertir lapolis Pope Hennessy e lapolis Petite Riviere ki mo sak finn perdi ant Bambous e Port Louis. (Se an fet a traver lapolis Petite Riviere ki mo finn regayn mo sak). Mo finn osi telefonn Labank Komersyal Quatre Bornes pu avertir zot ki mo finn perdi mo karne manda.
d) Mo sak finn perdi Merkredi tanto, Zedi ti konze piblik, e mo finn regayn sak la Vandredi gramatin. Alor kan eski mo ti devet met enn lanons dan zurnal?
e) Mo pa finn mansyone ki mo sak finn perdi dan enn reynion GWF, kuma Soley Ruz dir: me mo finn rakont enn de kamarad seki finn arive e mo finn dir zot egzakteman ki ti ena dan sak la; zame mo pa finn dir ki li “sans gravité”, presizeman parski tu mo bann not sindikal ti ladan e zot byen inportan pu mwa.
f) “ ... si un ami n’avait pas ramassé le mechant sac. Ne conaissant pas le proprietaire ...” “Un ami” ki sann la?
g) Sak la pa ti kontenir (a) un carnet de versements, ni (b) Plusieurs cheques (labank BNCI) de plusieurs milliers de Roupies (an let kapital dan teks Soley Ruz).
Sak la an fet ti kontenir:
1. Mo diary.
2. Bann not lor renyon sindikal
3. Mo karne manda (Bank Komersyal, Quatre Bornes)
4. 2 manda Rs700 sakenn (mo lapey pu mwa Zanvye ek mwa Fevriye kuma dokter anplwaye par Bambous Health Project) e 2 manda Rs90.00 sakenn (pu sanze labank e pey lokasyon kabine konsiltasyon Bambous Health Project).
Tu le 4 manda ti bann manda Barclays Bank tire lor mo nom e sinnye par Prezidan e Trezorye Bambous Health Project ek estampe “BAMBOUS HEALTH PROJECT”.
Mo abitye gard pa plis ki Rs 40.00 dan mo sak, me an fet sa zur la pa ti ena okenn larzan ladan, apar bann manda.
h) Lartik la fer krwar ki kamarad ki ti ramas sak la finn donn Soley Ruz sa linformasyon la. Sa li fos. Sa kamarad la finn azir dan enn fason absoliman egzanpler e li finn fer plis ki bizin pu evit mwa tu konplikasyon, e fer mwa regayn sak la osi vit ki posib. Sa kamarad finn sey telefonn lapolis Bambous kan li finn truv mo nom e ladres dan mo sak – li pa finn reysi kontakte Bambous alor li finn les enn mesaz lapolis Petite Riviere e lapolis finn donn mwa nom e ladres kamarad la e mo finn al sers sak la laba tutswit.
i) Mo pa resevwar okenn larzan (an manda u otreman) depi ni 4iem Internasyonal ni sekter prive.
Konklizyon
Kan nu lir leres sa Soley Ruz la (paragraf 5, p 2) nu kumans konpran ki oter sa lartik la pe sey fer; nu komans konpran ki ena dan so pov ti lespri.
Eski li posib servi bann imbesilite parey pu avans lalit dan Moris?
Eski bann militan kapav kontiyne toler bann bases parey?
Nu pu osi azute ki apre enn lanket, nu finn ariv konpran egzakteman ki manyer sa ti zistwar la finn fabrike, e ki sime li finn pase pu ariv dan lagazet MMMSP. Sa li reprezant enn erer byen grav de la par sertin militan GWF, me mo panse ki li ankor posib rezud sa problem la ant kamarad militan.
Zordi dan Moris tu bann klas oprime pe lite fas a enn kriz byen grav: nu panse li ti a neseser pu tu militan met tu resurs disponib pu avans sa lalit la.
Ram Seegobin
10.6.79
[Ram Seegobin later found out that the reason the article was in Dev Virahsawmy’s handwriting was that those responsible for the MMMSP newspaper, Peter Craig and Alain Laridon, were not prepared to take responsibility for the article, believing it to be dubious, though describing the source as someone “lao tu supson”. That was Jack Bizlall, as our enquiry showed. Whatever he does, he remains “lao tu supson”. He was at that time in the same party and in the same union federation as Ram Seegobin..
Ram, accompanied by his partner who is also a LALIT member, Lindsey Collen, went to see him immediately at his home and confronted him with the article and the facts. Jack Bizlall, when confronted with being the source of the calumny, replied, “Si u anvi get li kumsa, abe, get li kumsa.” He did not dissociate from the content of the article, let alone condemn it. He never admits wrongdoing, or even errors. Nor does he show any remorse.
LALIT has, despite this calumny, attempted to work, on occasions between 1989 and his even worse calumny against LALIT members in 2008, when his sexist abuse of women became known to us. In the 1979 calumny incident, Ram Seegobin requested the party Lalit de Klas was in, the MMM, to publish the calumny more widely because the shame is Jack Bizlall’s (and Dev Virahsawmy’s) and not LALIT’s. This is in the interests of the truth. And, people should be warned. In 2008, Lindsey Collen, too, requested LALIT to publish the calumny on www.lalitmauritius.org – which has been done, and so it is still public.
In addition, at the time in 2008 and again in 2017 when Jack Bizlall, while standing as candidate for the by-election under the slogan “Seul candidat credible: Il a fait ses preuves” in a L’Express interview accused Lindsey Collen of “aggressing” him, LALIT members shared out a list of senior journalists and media people, and submitted them a hard copy of the A3 pamphlet Jack Bizlall wrote and published. For the record, these journalists include Touria Prayag, Josie Lebrasse, Aline Groeme, Jane Luchmaya, Danielle Babooram, Anne-Lise Mestry, Rabin Bhujun, Gilbert Ahnee, Catherine Boudet, Geraldine Legrand. LALIT’s concern is that journalists are informed, this too in the interest of the truth. We believe in exposing the truth. For its own sake, and because it prevents misinterpretation of current events.]
LALIT
13 January 2018