Kamla wants Panday's assurance that he will respect democracy

Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar kicked off her 2010 campaign for the leadership of the United National Congress (UNC) in Biche Monday night, slamming for what she called anti-democratic moves by some members of the party.

And she said she intends to ask UNC leader Basdeo Panday whether he condones such moves or stands by his strong defence of democracy.

It was a reference to statements by UNC MPs Roodal Moonilal and Vasant Bharath that even if she wins the election, she would find it difficult to lead because the majority of MPs would continue to support Panday for opposition leader.

In an interview with JYOTI she called that an assault on democracy since it would mean that 10 MPs and four Senators who signed a letter of endorsement for Panday would try to frustrate the will of the majority.

She suggested that Panday's record on defending democracy is too strong to allow that to happen.

"Persad-Bissessar said if a few party officials decide to try to negate the result by refusing to support her their action would run counter to democratic values and practices and would make the election "an expensive, wasteful and irrelevant operation."

She said she does not think Panday would support such a move, adding that she intends "to ask Mr Panday where he stands with respect to the democratic process so that our party would not be brought into disrepute."

She said, "We are participating in a democratic process to ensure that the people's voice is heard and the people's voice is respected.

"By running for this high office I am honoring my elder Mr Panday by emulating him in a fight to defeat the PNM. I am not challenging my colleagues, I am challenging Mr.Manning the dictator."

She also spoke about suggestions from some UNC officials that she is trying to steal the party's base and that she is bringing in members of other parties - mainly the Congress of the People (COP) - to try to win the election.

Persad-Bissessar dismissed the rumours, noting that "People cannot carry around or transport a base. I cannot steal the UNC base anymore than I can steal the Northern Range or the Caroni Plains or the hills here in Biche. I assure you that I will keep my promise to remain faithful to our party," she said.

She said the election is not about any individual but about the future of the party and the future of the nation.

"The world has changed. But our party has remained stagnant. And that is why we remain in opposition," she said. "But it is not too late. There is hope for a better tomorrow. But I want to warn you...that this is our last chance."

Persad-Bissessar said Trinidad and Tobago is fast becoming "a failed state and the politics remains stuck in the past. It’s the same in government and in our party."

She said the UNC seems content to remain in opposition.

"But I am not prepared to do that...So I say now is the time to send a clear signal that we are going to do something about it...this is our last opportunity to save this country because if we fail this time, Manning and his clique will win again. If you fail now we won’t be able to save this nation from ruin," she said.

Persad-Bissessar said of the three people running for the post of leader she is the only one who can get the UNC out of the political quicksand and make it the strong political organization it can be, capable of defeating "Manning and his clique."

She said the election on January 24 is critically important because it will determine whether the country keeps sliding downhill or moving forward.

"When you cast a vote for me, you are making a positive move for all of us and those to come. You are giving yourself an insurance policy that states that you will not have to remain in opposition.

"It is a policy that states that the UNC will become strong again. It states that all of us in the UNC will unite under a strong leader and remove this corrupt government and restore decency and hope to this great country.

"Don’t let anybody blackmail you into believing otherwise," she declared.

She said she represents a revolutionary way of thinking that includes is based on tghe central theme of unity and healing. And she said her 4-H approach to leadership would be defined by honesty, hope, harmony and happiness.