Ramesh unhappy with Govt over Mandela visit

Former attorney general Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC, who met legendary South African freedom fighter Nelson Mandela in Rome in 1998, is not satisfied that all of Trinidad and Tobago benefited from the former South African president’s official visit, which ends today. Maharaj also said he hoped Mandela’s proposal to include provisions for an Equal Opportunities Commission in the South African constitution would sway Prime Minister Patrick Manning into enacting this country’s own Equal Opportunity Act, which was formulated when Maharaj was attorney general the UNC Government.

Describing Mandela as a “beacon of God’s light on earth,” Maharaj said yesterday that Mandela was deserving of a public holiday as a mark of honour for the living legend. Saying Mandela meant much more than a mere rally at Queen’s Park Oval, Maharaj condemned what he described as a “partisan welcome” on Thursday night at Piarco International Airport. “How could a man of such stature, who transcends all barriers, not be met by all members of Government and the Opposition, including the Senate,” Maharaj asked. Maharaj, who said he felt as if the hand of God reached out to him when he embraced Mandela in a hotel in Rome, again asked, “Where were the religious leaders and representatives of so many of our social organisations.”

He said Mandela was an inspiration to labour leaders such as Tubal Uriah Buzz Butler, Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday, deceased trade unionist George Weekes and Adrian Cola Rienzi, who were all jailed during their respective struggles for the betterment of citizens of this country. Maharaj said he was not surprised that the Patrick Manning Government did not fully capitalise on Mandela’s visit by including more of this country’s leaders who were part of this country’s political and legal history. “I think nothing short of a public holiday was deserving of Mandela’s visit.”