Ramesh plans Cedros to PoS march

Maharaj will be accompanied by scores of Chatham residents on the march, which is being dubbed a “march for real justice”, and is scheduled to take place in August.

He made the announcement during a meeting with over one hundred Chatham residents at the Chatham Community Centre yesterday.

He said the march would also be used to highlight “nationally and internationally” the tactics being used by the Manning administration to have the smelter plant constructed at Chatham. “We are going to highlight how the Government of Trinidad and Tobago wants to kill the people of Chatham and destroy the environment,” he said.

Maharaj added: “We are going to highlight all the ills in the country during that march for the whole week we will march, and we are going to culminate in Woodford Square and we are going to be able to put some public pressure on Manning.”

He also revealed that discussions were presently ongoing with several interest groups, including the residents of East Port-of-Spain, ex-sugar workers and farmers, to join the march and highlight their various concerns.

During the meeting, residents also signed a letter which gave instructions for the law firm of RLM & Company to “draft and file” the necessary action to “prevent the Government from permitting and/or facilitating the establishment of an Aluminium smelter plant.”

“The Government in permitting the establishment of such a plant would permit a foreign and/or local company to destroy our health and our lives,” the letter stated.

The letter continued: “We believe that our constitutional right to life is threatened to be violated by the Government and we therefore want the High Court to do its duty to safeguard and to protect our human and fundamental rights.”