The battle lines are now clearly drawn in the fight for the UNC. And UNC supporters loyal to their leader have coined a new word to describe what they say is going on: RAMJACK, the hijacking of the party by two of its top men Ramesh L. Maharaj and Jack Warner - RAM and JACK.In the latest salvo in the ongoing fight between the UNC Leader, Basdeo Panday, Warner and Maharaj have called on members and supporters of the United National Congress Alliance (UNC-A) to stand up against “dictatorial rule” within the party.
“We believe that MPs, members of the national executive and the parliamentary caucus must have the courage to stand up for the rights of members and supporters of the party when they are threatened with dictatorial rule,” they said in a joint statement Sunday.
The party has turned down the duo's demand for internal elections, saying now is not the time for such an event that could do more harm than good on the eve of local government elections. But Warner and Maharaj are not accepting that.
Some UNC-A caucus members have suggested that the two men should be disciplined and possibly expelled from the party. And Panday, expressing frustration with what's going on, remarked, "Why Jack, why?"
Warner has said in the past and again in this latest statement that his fight is not with Panday but with those who are adivising the former prime minister to maintain the staus quo and keep the party mired in the past without dealing with the need for change.
And they say they plan to stay inside to get the work done.
“We do not intend to leave the UNC-A. We are more determined now, than ever before, to stand up and fight, to ensure that the UNC-A forms the next government,” their statement said.
They are convinced that the party cannot win a general election "as presently constituted with its existing policy and strategy" adding that the majority of members and supporters share that view.
“This is not a battle against Mr Panday, the parliamentary caucus or the national executive; it is a battle in support of the UNC-A and the national community as a whole.”
Warner and Maharaj are convinced that they would get the support of the majority of members of the party's national executive and parliamentary caucus.
“That is a matter for them and their consciences. We are not backing down in our battles to get the party ready to win a general election...Our first duty is to members and supporters, and not to the upper levels of the party. Our first duty is to protect the membership at the lower level of the party against dictatorship from Patrick Manning and his government.”
Panday believes that Warner might be playing completely into the hands of Manning and the PNM.
“Why is he doing that, I would like to know. Can somebody tell me why he is doing this?” Panday asked.
Editor's note: The United National Congress (UNC) is the largest party in the UNC Alliance, which fought the last general election (Nov. 5, 2007). However each party retained its identity. Panday, Warner and Maharaj are members of the UNC in the context of their party status. However, they are MPs of the UNC-Alliance. References to the UNC-A membership can be misleading because a UNC member is not a UNC-A member since the the UNC-A is not a unitary party.
1 comment:
Very interesting article. I hope this doesn't result in the collapse of an alliance. The trouble with the argument "now is not the time" is that there will never be a good time to discuss organizational changes without the party appearing vulnerable. Better long, long before a national election.
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