UNC moves to expel Warner, Maharaj and 'Gypsy'

Sources close to the United National Congress (UNC) say the the national executive (Natex) on Wednesday launched a vicious attack on the so-called dissident group of Jack Warner, Ramesh L. Maharaj and Winston "Gypsy" Peters and is planning to expel them from the party.

The sources say Natex decided that Peters should be removed from under the Chief Whip if he fails to return to his seat on the front bench. The sources say there was a feeling among members attending the meeting that Warner and Maharaj would suffer the same fate although the executive did not make any decision on that.

The sources say the meeting also decided that if Warner and Maharaj don't toe the party line or declare their independence they face expulsion from the UNC. In the case of Gypsy, the executive decided to have his Mayaro constituency officials move to expel him.

The party appears to be taking a different route to discipline that might be in conflict with its constitution. Under UNC rules, members can be expelled on the recommendation of a disciplinary committee after the party's congress accepts the committee's recommendation on the matter. No such committee has met to date.

The sources say the plan is to expel Warner and Maharaj if they don't vote with the UNC in Parliament. Warner has always said he would vote based on what's good for his constituents and with his conscience and that won't change.

The party plans to write to Natex members who support the "dissidents" asking them to explain why they should not be removed from the executive. The sources say it seems that Natex has already made its decision to expel those members, suggesting that they have aligned themselves with "a parallel party" and are speaking at illegal meetings.

Natex asked the UNC's communications officer to make disclaimers that meetings held by Warner and Maharaj and not UNC events.

Political leader Basdeo Panday is reported to have told the meeting that there are newspaper reports and and news tapes that prove that Warner and Maharaj have held meetings since both sides agreed to a "truce".

The evidence is likely from a public meeting held in Arima the day after both sides agreed that they won't discuss party matters in public while the party is trying to resolve the issues of change raised by Warner.

When the party decided on a truce it also said it would hold a retreat in Chaguanas on April 26 to deal with healing. Warner isn't attending that event because of a prior international commitment. But he has written to the party offering whatever assistance he can give, including subsidizing members who cannot pay the $150 fee to offset costs. Maharaj plans to attend.

Peters is optimistic that the retreat would help iron out the issues plaguing the party, despite the events at Wednesday's Natex meeting.

"I am perennially optimistic. Yes, I am optimistic that all things can be worked out, I have no doubt about it," the Mayaro MP told reporters following the meeting at the UNC Rienzi headquarters. Warner and Maharaj were absent from meeting.