Ashworth Jack must also call for resignation of Devant Maharaj

Mr. Sandy made some unfortunate comments during the election campaign in Tobago and has been rightly condemned for them. But what disgust me is the hypocrisy of the UNC, TOP and it's leader Ashworth Jack in calling for Mr. Sandy to withdraw from the election. Where was Ashworth Jack when Devant "Parsuram" Maharaj wrote an article entitled "Secrets of the census in Trinidad and Tobago" back in 2005? This article which can be found from a simple Google search, revealed what Mr. Maharaj truly thought of Afro Trinbagonians back then, Tobagonians in particular. He was not concerned about national unity then but about the ethnic domination of the East Indian. 

The following excerpt is from Mr. Devant Maharaj's article, "Dr Morgan Job has been attempting to influence the people of Tobago to seek a federal relationship with Trinidad. He even advocates outright independence. I say let the 44,190 (Tobago) go independent if they wish or, for that matter, let them join a federal relationship with Grenada and let Morgan Job be president. The result will make the African population of Trinidad a smaller minority by another two per cent. With the Tobago figure taken out of the 2000 census figures, the Indian majority will climb to 41.85 per cent while the African will slip to 35.04 per cent. These census figures that are being suppressed have serious implications for the disbursement of funds for education, culture, regional development and other State realignments." You can read the entire article at this link >>>>>> http://www.southasianoutlook.com/issues/2005/may/indocarib0409.html 

As you can see back then Mr. Maharaj who was a prominent member of the Maha Saba now a government Minister under the People's Partnership Government was not interested in national unity at all. He was only interested in the ethnic dominance of the East Indian. As a matter of fact Mr. Maharaj wanted Tobago to go their way just for the simple fact of reducing the Afro population in the unitary state Trinidad and Tobago. Yet still Mrs. Kamla Persad Bissessar leader of the United National Congress deemed Mr. Devant Maharaj a suitable candidate for her so called "multi-ethnic" government. How could Mrs. Bissessar appoint someone with the philosophy of Devant Maharaj? And he is functioning as a current PP Minister serving all ethnicities without fear or favour? If he can do that after making these comments why can't Mr. Sandy serve after making his comments? 

How can someone who wanted to get rid of Tobago just because of the Afro population across there, be a valid member of a government which claims to want to give Tobago autonomy and which claims they are inclusive of all races in Trinidad and Tobago. I eagerly await an explanation from Mr. Ashworth Jack of Mr. Devant Maharaj's presence in the People's Partnership Government.

Highway Standoff A Governance Issue

Without venturing into whether Dr. Kublalsingh is right or wrong in his position regarding the issue of the Point Fortin highway a particular position of the Government has intrigued me. Dr. Rambachan along with Jack Warner and others have accused Dr. Kublalsingh's actions as being "political". My question to the members of the People's Partnership Government is "so what?" What is wrong with Dr. Kublalsingh being political? Does this government not understand that for it to even grace the halls of power it required citizens of this country to be political and engage in a political process of electing them? 

Why is it that the People's Partnership Government seems so afraid of citizens becoming enlightened and engaging the government on a civil level? If it's one thing this present group belonging to the People's Partnership Government has demonstrated to the citizens of this country is that as a nation we seem to have a breed of politicians who are quite contented with having citizens exercise their democratic rights just once every four years and then simply granting absolute unquestionable power to them so they can rule over us like Lords and Serfs without question or accountability. 

This latest stand off between Dr. Kublalsingh and government goes deeper than the need for a highway by some, it goes deeper than economic and social consequences albeit very relevant. This stand off between a lone civilian and a government ever eager to display it's arrogance and contempt for the citizenry strikes at the very heart of our democracy and the type of governance that exist in our Republic. The question is are Trinbagonians satisfied with being mere spectators in the affairs of their nation or are they prepared to grow up and take charge of their destiny and tell the politicians who have no regard for their voice exactly where to get off?

T&T No Hindu Nation

It seems like Jack Warner is determined to use his political office to cause racial and ethnic acrimony in Trinidad and Tobago. That is the only logical conclusion one can come to with this man's inane weekly statements that repeatedly receives "silent endorsement" from the Prime Minister and by extension this government. So Jack's latest gnashing of teeth on behalf of the Hindu community comes in the form of a claim against the radio stations for not playing any bhajans in the lead up to Divali but almost 8 weeks before Christmas they flood us with carols.

Let us first deal with Jack's selective folly, how come Jack did not make the same claim prior to Eid, Double 10 or the Shouter Baptist Holiday? People of African descent make up the second largest ethnic group in this country and I say with utmost confidence that all my life I have never heard an indigenous African song tribal or otherwise playing on any local stations, but I have heard many Indian songs. How come Jack does not speak about this?

According to a 2000 consensus as stated on the CIA World Fact Book the religious denominations in T&T are as follows, Roman Catholic 26%, Protestant 25.8%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, Hindu 22%, Muslim 5.8%, Other Christian 5.8%, Other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4% and none (which includes me) 1.9%. Without having genocide or any major internal conflict it is highly unlikely that between 2000 to present there would have been any major changes to those percentages over a 12 year period. If one were to add up all the "Christian" based denominations one would find that the Christian community in this country is roughly 76.2% while the Hindu community is a meager stand alone 22%,. Therefore it is only logical that any religious holidays that center around Christianity will be given more attention by the populace than the religious holiday's of smaller sects. 

But if Jack so wishes he is free to utilize the funds he was going to use to buy the T&T Mirror and instead buy Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM and play bhajans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. I assure him it would not matter either way to the average Christian Trinbagonian, I highly doubt there will be a mass religious conversion to Hinduism and it definitely does not matter to the non-religious like myself. So to Mr. Jack Warner I say Namaste, go in peace my brother, I'm sure Christian T&T along with their Hindu brothers and sisters are praying for your speedy mental recovery.

Red Card That Jack

Prior to the 2010 General Election I was a very vocal voice against the People’s National Movement and their way of governance. I wrote many blogs which are still circulating in cyber space because I never took them down, I wrote many letters to the Express editor all of which I have copies. I attended political meetings of the United National Congress, the signing of the Fyzabad accord between the Partnership Parties and I voted for the Congress of the People. The interesting thing is, despite being well in my 20’s, 2010 was the first time I have ever voted or have been so actively involved in politics and as a consequence the first vote I have ever cast in Trinidad and Tobago went to the Congress of the People, a member of the People’s Partnership Government. I say the above in light of the nasty, vicious, divisive and hateful comments made by Minister of National Security Jack Warner concerning the march last week Friday regarding Sec 34, that seem to indirectly accuse people of African descent in this country of having a racist agenda against the shadowy government of which he is a member. Jack Warner claimed that he only saw Africans marching on Friday. Firstly this could not be so because I marched alongside my co-worker who is predominantly of Chinese descent, I saw persons of East Indian descent and I also saw few Caucasians and many persons who were patently of mixed ethnicity.

In Trinidad and Tobago politics has always been predominantly along the lines of ethnicity. When I attended the UNC political meetings back in 2010, despite there being a few other persons who “seemed” to be of African descent, I was engulfed in scores of East Indian supporters of the United National Congress, and it has always been that way just as the People’s National Movement crowds have always largely been of people who seem to be of “African” descent. Jack Warner as Chairman of a political party whose core supporters comprise 90% of East Indians is in no position to speak about the ethnic composition of any other political party in Trinidad and Tobago. Furthermore the COP is the party which gave the People’s Partnership the appearance of a multi-ethnic political party not the UNC, the UNC is still by and large a party supported predominantly by persons of East Indian descent. But to further analyse the illiteracy of Jack Warner’s statements, where does someone like me fit in to Trinidad and Tobago’s society? I am dark skinned like Dr. Rowley but my mother has a fair complexion like the wonderful Denyse Plumber and I have a Hebrew Surname. If I am an African according to Jack Warner because I took part in Friday’s march, notwithstanding the fact that I voted for Jack’s Government, Jack Warner needs to tell me from which African nation I came. There are 57 recognised countries on the African content so Jack Warner need to tell myself and the other Africans from Friday which country is our mother land. Are we South Africans? Zimbabweans? Angolan? Ethiopian? Somalian? Am I a Hutu or Tutsi? Which one of these African countries will take me in, and would they consider me African especially if they see my mother?!

While T&T’s politics has traditionally been along the lines of ethnicity, as a people we have historically come together to vote out a government that we perceive to be a threat to all of us as happened in 2010, and which I suspect will happen in 2015. Many young individuals like myself are no longer falling for the racial divisiveness of people like Jack Warner and as Political analysts Derek Ramsamooj has pointed out, asinine statements like the one made by Jack Warner only serves to anger persons like myself who know exactly who and what we are i.e. TRINBAGONIAN! Jack Warner has some gall to level such an ugly accusation against persons in this country who may have some measure of African ethnicity in their DNA make up. Who does Jack Warner think helped give his government a Parliamentary majority in the 2010 general election? One would think that it was only Jack’s core supporters of East Indian descent and some race from another planet in the universe voted in the 2010 general election because his ridiculous utterances and vulgar conduct as a government minister are pretty much out of this world. 

By his statements Jack Warner has only confirmed to me as a citizen that he still harbours racist beliefs that belong to an era before I was born. He has also confirmed to me that he thinks he can drum up support for his government by playing on the ethnic sentiments of his core supporters. Rather than denigrate persons of African descent, Jack has simply exposed the policy that still exist amongst some in the United National Congress, a policy of playing on the ethnic sentiments of my fellow East Indian brothers and sisters to support his government even when his government is engaging in gross miss-governance. That Jack Warner should find support from this country’s most controversial figure regarding race relations I can only say mission accomplished Jack, you have successfully roused the support of those who would blindly follow you in your anarchist quest for unbridled power. But make no mistake, Jack’s racial card is a two edge sword as he has earned himself a political red card from many like myself and we have already disqualified him and his government from the next election world cup in 2015!

Poor COP, they are drowning in the cesspool of incompetence and ethnic division of the UNC that is being bandied about as good governance. Leader of the COP Prakash Ramadhar has speedily distanced himself from Jack’s comments and rightly so, but I say to Mr. Ramdhar that you are guilty by association. Despite the many missteps of this government including the Reshmi Ramnarine fiasco, Section 34, nepotism in the distribution of legal briefs and now Jack Warner’s racial comments the COP has remained a steadfast member of the PP Government. The COP is now tainted with the rot of the UNC and has lost all credibility. I assure all parties concerned that no matter what name they call me, they could call me African, Martian, Alien, Cling-on, whatever they choose to call me, as a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago irrespective of whether they got my vote or not in the past I shall continue to demand good governance and transparency! Sticks and stones may break my bones your words can never harm me, however your poor governance will destroy my country!

People's Partnership celebration an erosion of democratic principles

I am of the opinion that last Thursday's celebration by the PP Government concerning their two years in office, is a breach of democratic principles. Since when is it the practice of a government to celebrate what they are constitutionally mandated to do and what they are paid to do? As far as I am aware it is only in monarchies, dictatorships and despotic fanatical countries like North Korea where the achievements of leaders and government institutions are celebrated. Can any of you imagine Barack Obama hosting a million dollar celebration in Time Square to tell the people of America about some community centre he built in Oklahoma? Or David Cameron holding a celebratory rally in London to talk about some colour me orange project he launched in Essex? The practice is unheard of and is also inappropriate and smacks of political 'never see clumsy' and immaturity. 

The Prime Minister has stated that the purpose of the celebration was to 'account to the people'. If my memory serves me right, in the Westminster system Parliament is the institution by which the elected government of the day accounts to the people. Having this discussion last week with a pro PP colleague they jeered at me saying I just vex cause the PP use their money to throw their celebration and account to the people. It is then I indicated to the person that it is exactly that which reveals the perversity of the PP Government's actions. Why must the elected Government of the day spend private funds to account to the people of the country when they can do so freely under the constitutionally charged institutions such as the Parliament? Why can't they via their weekly Cabinet meetings tell the public what they have decided to do as a government and what they have done? Instead they opted to throw a big fete which climaxed akin to that of an all inclusive carnival fete and at the end of the day all they have done is further erode the democratic mechanisms of this country and the citizens of this country are still non the wiser of their achievements.

And while the PP was busy frolicking Thursday night, a CAL Chairman appointed by themselves requested a $20,000 leasing of a luxury vehicle for himself, this from a state enterprise which has incurred a $339 million loss and which he was appointed to steer back to a viable financial status, not withstanding the fact that the 2011 State Enterprises Performance Manual clearly states "company cars or car loans should not be granted to Chairmen or directors". Criminals continue to run amok and the economy is stagnant. It seems we have now become a country which celebrates underachievement and mediocrity.