Thousands Pay Last Respects To Former Leader Of Jamaica

Thousands gathered Sunday afternoon to bury Michael Manley, the revolutionary turned capitalist who defied his class to uplift black Jamaicans but failed to bridge the gap between rich and poor.

Manley, who served three terms as prime minister before retiring in 1992, died March 6 after a battle with prostate cancer. He was 72.

Thousands of people, shaded under billowing Jamaican flags, lined the street outside Kingston’s Cathedral of the Holy Trinity for the service.

To the tolling of the cathedral bells, Caribbean leaders, including Cuban President Fidel Castro and Haitian President Rene Preval, followed Manley’s flag-draped coffin into the church for the 2-1/2-hour memorial service.

People in the crowd chanted “Fidel” as Castro arrived and punched the air with raised black-power fists when Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan of the United States arrived. The fist also is the symbol of Manley’s People’s National Party.