UNC tells Kofi Annan of crime, politics

The Opposition may appeal at some future time to the United Nations to intervene in the governance of Trinidad and Tobago. So said Caroni East MP Ganga Singh and Senator Wade Mark addressing reporters minutes after meeting UN secretary general Kofi Anan yesterday at the Hilton Trinidad.

In a “very cordial meeting,” the duo had raised with Annan several issues facing Trinidad and Tobago. Singh said: “One was the issue of crime and the failure of the current Government to protect not only our borders but the safety and security of our citizenry. That murders and kidnappings and robberies were on the rise, and that there existed almost a siege mentality in our society and it was affecting the whole issue of proper governance in Trinidad and Tobago. “We indicated to him that we are open for dialogue on the issue of constitutional reform...He felt there should be dialogue between the Opposition and the Government of the day. The secretary general also indicated, and it’s a phrase that resonated with  every one of us there, governance must be a cloth which must fit every one of our citizens equally.”

Mark added: “We focused on the management of diversity — one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. In a plural society as ours we need to manage our diversity extremely carefully. Within that context the whole question of sweeping, holistic and comprehensive constitutional reform came to the fore.” Mark said the UNC had stopped short of asking Annan to intervene in the affairs of Trinidad and Tobago. He added: Of course we didn’t ask him to intervene, because there will come a time when this society and this party will have to go directly to the United Nations if this regime doesn’t change its ways.

If this regime doesn’t end its rampage in terms of discrimination, marginalisation, and racial discrimination against large sections of this population. We may one day have to go directly to the Secretary-General and seek his intervention in this country’s affairs. For the moment we have just brought to his attention some matters and we hope in the not too distant future Mr Manning and the PNM would be able to come out from their dark closets and see the light and bring some peace, harmony, unity and stability to our country”.

Singh added: “But the Secretary-General was of the view that dialogue was important. His assistant gave the undertaking that they had spoken to Prime Minister Manning on the necessity of dialogue with the Opposition and they were bringing that same message to us. The fundamental point made by His Excellency the Secretary General was that for equality, we need to deal with this issue of proper governance of a society, and that cleary there was need for systemic reform in the society through constitutional reform and the basis for that must be both formal and informal dialogie betwenn the Opposition and the Government. Today we reiterate our call to the Governmemnt to have dialogue on this issue of constitutional reform with the Opposition”.