Class, not race the cause for political tension

THE EDITOR: For many reasons I do not support the quick-fix suggestion to amend the Constitution, to change the provisions for the removal of a Chief Justice and I hope the Opposition will resist the piecemeal reform idea. What the country really needs is complete overhaul of our Constitution. History’s story is that our Republican Constitution is a creature of the PNM. It all began with the 1971 General Elections when the PNM won all 36 seats in Parliament as a result of a no-vote campaign organised by the then opposition parties with ANR Robinson as a leading figure in the campaign.

Resulting from a popular call by the opposition for Constitution reform, the PNM in 1972 appointed the Wooding Constitution Commission. However, when the Wooding Commission submitted its recommendations, it was rejected by Dr Eric Williams, his 36-seat Government and its supporters claiming that the commission’s report was a dagger in the heart of the PNM. Following the rejection of the Wooding Report, Dr Williams appointed an all-PNM committee of Parliament to make recommendations for constitution reform. It followed that the approved constitution that was established in 1976 as our Republican Constitution was a PNM Constitution. Recently, after some 29 years — according to press reports — Sir Ellis Clarke has publicly stated that the constitution was compiled “in a great hurry.” Was this a late discovery?

Ten years later (1986) when the PNM fell under the rod of corruption and lost the government to the NAR party, led by ANR Robinson, within a year he appointed the Hyatali Constitution Commission whose report was never brought to Parliament. It is still lying somewhere gathering dust after some 18 years to date. Notwithstanding all the intellectual gymnastics that support piecemeal Constitution amendments, there is an explanation for deliberately avoiding comprehensive reform. Let’s face reality. Politicians and their supporters in high places are fully aware that the  Constitution is an important instrument of power and there have been claims in certain quarters that both the Independence and Republican constitution were drafted to give one group, or party if you like, an edge to hold the instruments of power that the constitution can possibly allow.

Politicians in government never see the need for fundamental Constitution reform when the Constitution is designed to frustrate and make powerless any opposition in Parliament. In 2002, Sir Ellis said that “after 40 years the time is more than right to consider fundamental Constitution reform,” now he is telling us, that will take too long so let’s do a quick-fix job. Civil society seems not to realise as yet, that a Constitution is for the people and is not the property of two upper middle class groups battling for the control of the instruments of power which also includes controlling the minds of the less fortunate. The political tension in the country today has very little do to with race. It is all about the raging battle among the bourgeois for the control of the instruments of power. Start the process for Constitution reform now — to give our people hope.

WYCLIFFE MORRIS
Tacarigua