Nadia Bishop, daughter of former Prime Minister Maurice Bishop, says its time to forgive and reconcile with members of the Grenada 13. Bishop, who resides in the United States, paid a visit to Grenada for the holiday and on Tuesday called on the nation to join with her in making 2008 a year of unconditional forgiveness and reconciliation for those involved in the killing of her father on October 19, 1983. At a press conference held on Tuesday, the daughter of the late Prime Minister said it has taken her 22 years to get to this stage. “What I invite you to join in here is unconditional forgiveness that is not dependent upon anyone admitting responsibility for anything nor a request that forgiveness be granted to them,” she said. “I believe if we start to place conditions on the forgiveness that we offer they would always be more conditions added, we would never be satisfied and forgiveness and reconciliation would not be realised.” On Monday, Bishop met with some members of the group known as the Grenada 13, who were all part of the October 19 events that led to the death of her father Maurice Bishop and some of his cabinet colleagues. They are Bernard Coard, Selwyn Strachan, John Ventour, Liam James, Leon Cornwall, Dave Bartholomew, Calistus Bernard, Kamau McBarnett and Ewart Layne. Three members of the group, Lester Redhead, Christopher Stroude and Cecil Prime, were released in June 2007 following a re-sentencing hearing ordered by the Privy Council. According to Bishop, the men on Monday expressed their regrets for the events of October 19 and extended heartfelt apologizes to her and the family and all of the families who suffered losses on that day. “I accepted their apologizes on behalf of myself and my family. I cannot off course accept their apologies on anyone else's behalf but I can at least convey them,” she said. Bishop reported that it was the first time she had spoken to the men since the death of her father and their subsequent incarceration in connection with his death and the events of October 19. Bishop described Monday’s meeting as warm and joyous, and forgiveness and reconciliation were welcomed by all. “The meeting went better than I could have hoped for. We were together for about three hours. In my mind I have never imagined that the word joy could be associated with any meeting between me and these men. But I honestly tell that I felt joy in speaking with all of them yesterday [Monday] and we mutually freed each other from the bonds of negativity that have existed between us these past 24 years. The best word to describe what happened in that conference room at the prison is ‘grace,'" she said. While forgiving the Grenada 13, Bishop used the opportunity to apologise to those who she said would have felt harmed by the revolution and by her father personally. She said: “I apologise to the daughter of Hyacinth Brizan; she was only 8 years old when her father was killed on March 13, 1979, day one of the revolution. For all those who were detained or felt they were otherwise wronged by the revolution and held my father personally responsible for their detention I apologise on his behalf. "In particular I apologize to Llyod Noel, Teddy Victor, Leroy Neckles, Winston Cortney, Dereck Knight, Leslie Pierre, George Houston, the family of Strachan Phillips and Ralph Thompson, who is no longer with us, and to any other persons detained during the revolution of whom am unaware. As I am willing to offer forgiveness to those who harmed me and my family, I hope the forgiveness that I seek on behalf of my father would also be granted to me,” Bishop said. Marcel Belmar, sister of the late Jemma Belmar, who died as a result of the October 19 tragedy, attended the press conference in support of Nadia Bishop. Belmar said over the years she has been advocating that the Grenada 13 remain behind bars for the rest of their lives and now that feeling has changed. “I would like to publicly declare that I have forgiven the guys on the hill and there is no condition attached to it. Like Nadia, I too was at the prison and we spoke and I was able to embrace each and every one of them, was able to express love, I was able to pray with them and I really thank God, because I think when we sit and we don’t forgive it holds both parties in bondage; just as how they felt relieved, it took of that great burden off me because I have been struggling with the burden. And I just want to say too it is our pride sometimes that causes us not to forgive,” Belmar said. Reprinted from Caribbean Net News caribbeannetnews.com