Indian group meets Pres on race

A five-member delegation from the Global Organisation of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO) yesterday met with President George Maxwell Richards to outline their concerns about perceived racial discrimination shown toward Indo-Trinidadians.

They also recommended to the President that a Presidential commission be set up to ascertain the perception, hopes and aspirations of the Indo-Trinidadian community, and to investigate complaints about discrimination. In addition, the group suggested that the commission gather data on the socio-economic status of the major groups in the society and the distribution of State funds to various groups to impress upon Government the need to urgently establish the Equal Opportunities Commission. The President was also urged to “set a timetable for constitutional reform towards a more just and equitable society, given its plural nature,” and to consider in his appointment of Independent Senators, two Senators to respectively represent the views of Indo-Trinidadians and Afro-Trinidadians. Another proposal was that the President highlight to Prime Minister Patrick Manning, during their weekly meetings, “the fears and perceptions of the ‘Indo’ population, as it relates to crime and other matters.”

The delegation, led by GOPIO’s President Parsuram Maharaj, also included Dr Suruj Rambachan (Mayor of Chaguanas), Sadro Mohammed, Kumar Maharaj and Khasraj Maharaj. The meeting took place at President’s House yesterday morning and lasted an hour and a half, according Parsuram Maharaj. Maharaj told Newsday that it was the first time that a President has met with an Indian organisation to discuss their concerns and fears. Maharaj said he found His Excellency to be very receptive to their concerns and told them he would “study their proposals.” His Excellency is also said to have extended a further invitation to the group “in a few weeks.”

In a release, GOPIO said their request to meet with the President was based on recent events and utterings of State officials, that is, the threats of the PM to use the riot squad against peaceful marching, threats to revise the Treason Act and the refusal by the Central Bank to provide the SDMS with information under the Freedom of Information Act. The group added that the perception of the Indo-Trinidadian community as being the target of crime, and being relegated to a second class citizen, must be based upon some information or experience and not merely an emotive conclusion. GOPIO is said to be a non-partisan, secular global organisation engaged in promoting the well being of people of Indian origin, and does not represent the views of any particular political party or religious body.