Maurice Bishop, former prime minister of Grenada.
ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):
Grenada on Friday commemorated the birthday of its most famous former prime minister, Maurice Bishop, with the renaming of its international airport in his honour.
The former Point Salines International Airport, located at the southern tip of the island, now carries the name of the slain revolutionary leader who died in a bloody internal uprising in 1983.
On Friday, passengers arriving at the airport were already being told by flight attendants "welcome to the Maurice Bishop International Airport".
A new departure lounge will also be unveiled at the airport, which was formally opened on October 28, 1984.
United States assistance
It was Bishop's People's Revolutionary Government which had started construction of the airport but the project was eventually completed with assistance from the United States following the government's collapse.
The renaming project, ordered by the 10-month-old Tillman Thomas administration, has therefore been embroiled in much controversy with critics suggesting that the honour was not befitting of the man who had years earlier deposed of the duly elected leader, Eric Gairy, in a revolution.
The public has been invited to the ceremony and a number of stringent security measures have been put in place to ensure the safety of those in attendance.
There will be no flights leaving or arriving at the airport during the two-hour ceremony which is expected to start at 3 p.m. local time.
Bishop would have been 65 had he been alive today. His mother Alimenta Bishop, who has survived him, will be present at this weekend's ceremony, along with other members of his family.
St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves is slated to give the feature address.
Ahead of yesterday's event, a vigil was scheduled to take place at the airport from 7 p.m. Friday until midnight, led by former leader of the Maurice Bishop Patriotic Movement (MBPM) Terrence Marryshow and former Grenadian ambassador to Cuba Vyra Mc Queen, who have been advocating for the name change for some years now.