Yetming: UNC should revisit its position on CCJ

Reiterating that the UNC’s “about-face” on the CCJ has hurt the party, UNC MP Gerald Yetming said yesterday that he had not yet worked out in his mind what position he would take when the legislation establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice comes to Parliament.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning said on Thursday that he planned to canvass UNC MPs individually in order to get support for the CCJ bill. The bill requires a special majority and therefore Government would have to get the support of at least four UNC MPs. Yetming said his own view “was and is” that the UNC’s position of non-cooperation on that matter ought to be revisited by the parliamentary caucus. “When we visit it at caucus I guess we will decide collectively or individually, what course of action we will take,” he said. He added: “All I said was that it should be revisited. That our about-face on those issues has hurt us, and I think continues to hurt us, and that we need to revisit that policy position”.  He said at the appropriate time he would expect that the matter would be re-visited by caucus. “At which time I expect that every person would be allowed to have a say. And I’ll wait and  see how that goes. I am not unduly concerned,” he stated. On Panday’s statements that members of Parliament would stand “the consequences” of the actions they take on the CCJ,  Yetming said he agreed with Panday. “Everybody would know that if they take a particular course of action, there could be consequences. I don’t see a problem with that. He is correct. I assume he means political consequences”.

The UNC MP, who came out two weeks ago and expressed independent views on number of issues, is still in Mayaro. Barataria/San Juan MP Dr Fuad Khan said yesterday that before the CCJ could become a reality, two things had to happen-( a) the Constitution must be changed so that people who sit on the bench must be recommended by persons who are apolitical and ratified by the Law Association; (b) the Equal Opportunity legislation had to be implemented.  “After Prime Minister Patrick Manning has done that he can canvass as much as he likes, he will get fruit,” he said. Khan said it was not far-fetched that Manning — who put his friend Malcolm Jones on Petrotrin board, his wife in the Cabinet and Errol Grimes at WASA — would put people like former Chief Justices Clinton Bernard and Michael De La Bastide on the bench of the CCJ.  Khan said both men had showed their “leanings” and bias. He added that Bernard’s level of competence was already demonstrated at the Piarco Commission of Inquiry. “It is frightening that this type of attitude could perpetrate itself on the Caribbean Court of Justice,” he said.