Leave UNC alone, Mr Assam

THE EDITOR: In the Newsday of July 22, 2003, former UNC government Minister Mervyn Assam stated that Mr Basdeo Panday is killing the UNC slowly. I would have thought that Mr Assam being the self-professed intellectual that he is, would have known that the UNC did quite well in Tunapuna during the recent Local Government Elections. In fact the UNC gained ground as was evidenced by the handsome victory of Glen Ramkissoon in Caura/Paradise/Tacarigua.

It is strange that Assam’s recently acquired viewpoint never surfaced when Mr Panday was Prime Minister, the UNC was in government and he was enjoying the position of Minister in the Panday Cabinet. If anyone contributed to the UNC being removed from office, it was Assam and his former political master ANR Robinson. In 2001 as a UNC candidate for general elections, Assam lost the Tunapuna seat by a narrow margin. Assam’s defeat by Eddie Hart was due mainly to his high-handed attitude, which turned off many UNC grass-roots supporters. The result was that many UNC supporters chose to stay home rather than vote for Assam and some chose to vote for Team Unity’s Reynald Chinchamee. Now that Assam is no longer a Minister and he resides in the political graveyard, it has become fashionable for him to criticise Mr Panday. My advice to Mr Assam is to continue to support Team Unity and leave Mr Panday and the UNC alone.

OSCAR RAMOUTAR
St James