Roosevelt Douglas; Prime Minister of Dominica Was Banned From U.S.

Prime Minister Roosevelt “Rosie” Douglas of Dominica, a former Marxist who spent 18 months in a Canadian jail for his part in destructive black power demonstrations three decades ago, has died unexpectedly, government officials announced.

Douglas, who returned Saturday from a Caribbean leaders’ summit in Jamaica, died Sunday morning of an apparent heart attack at his home in Portsmouth, about 30 miles from the capital city of Roseau. He would have been 58 on Oct. 15.

His death was confirmed in a brief statement on state radio by Communications and Works Minister Pierre Charles, who said he had become acting prime minister.

Douglas’ Dominica Labor Party called an emergency meeting in Portsmouth for Sunday morning. It was not clear whether new elections would be called.

Elected in January, Douglas promised to clean up corruption and diversify the sluggish economy of the Caribbean country of 66,000. But many observers feared that his grand plans might be hampered by his own colorful past, including strong personal contacts with Libya, Iraq and Cuba that helped earn him a 15-year ban from U.S. soil.

Douglas, insisting that he was not a communist, told The Times shortly after taking office that his government would not be anti-West.

“I don’t pick fights,” he said, acknowledging that the majority of Dominica’s 200,000 annual visitors come from the U.S. “Our economy is so vulnerable, so dependent on tourism.”

Asked whether his views had softened since his anti-American speech in 1996 in New York, in which he advocated an end to economic sanctions against Iraq, Libya and Cuba, Douglas smiled and told The Times’ reporter: “I think [President] Clinton has softened a lot of the extreme behavior of imperialism.”

Douglas was born into Dominica’s elite but broke with his family’s background to help lead the Caribbean’s black power movement and fight for Dominica’s independence from Britain.

He gained notoriety as a McGill University graduate student in Montreal by organizing a 1969 demonstration by Caribbean students at the computer center of Montreal’s Sir George William University, now a part of Concordia University. The rally supported six students who claimed they were being flunked because they were black.

When police moved in on Feb. 11, 1969, demonstrators destroyed the university’s mainframe computer, causing $2.5 million in damage. The incident remains the most destructive student riot in Canadian history.

Douglas, who claimed the two-week sit-in he led was peaceful until police approached, was found guilty in 1971 of obstruction of private property, was fined $5,000 and served 18 months of a two-year sentence. In 1975, the Canadian government declared him “a risk to national security” and deported him.

Recently, Douglas had demanded that Canada pardon him and pay his family compensation for imprisoning and deporting him.

Douglas founded the Popular Independence Committee in Dominica and briefly became a senator after the island won independence from Britain in 1978. He was dismissed after he invited Cuban troops to help Dominica after 1979’s Hurricane David.

Douglas took control of a fractured Labor Party in 1992 and gradually pushed it toward the center. Campaigning for prime minister early this year, he promised to use his international contacts to attract businesses, develop eco-tourism and lessen Dominica’s dependence on banana exports. He told The Times after taking office that he would cultivate investments from Libya, Britain and even his former nemesis, Canada.

In July, he surprised his Caribbean colleagues by announcing that Dominica would apply for membership in the European Union because it is sandwiched between the French Caribbean islands Guadeloupe and Martinique.

On Sept. 19, Douglas urged the United Nations General Assembly to add Taiwan to its membership.

Douglas is survived by two grown sons and a daughter, all reared and living in Canada.