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netsket wrote:yea well here u cant really call names cause there isnt freedom of speech
<=xjemler=> wrote:*OUTSIDER* wrote:I could be wrong but this dont look like 20,000 ppl to me..... Jus saying
Saw this yesterday poor turn out I must say
rfari wrote:netsket wrote:yea well here u cant really call names cause there isnt freedom of speech
The name of the faculty u brakesing for?you dont think that.the bigger issue is for those responsible or associated with those racist posters should be punished severely so that a message would be sent to others to cease and desist? Are you condoning that behaviour? Have you alerted the campus registrar or even the faculty dean? What has been done?
netsket wrote:rfari wrote:netsket wrote:yea well here u cant really call names cause there isnt freedom of speech
The name of the faculty u brakesing for?you dont think that.the bigger issue is for those responsible or associated with those racist posters should be punished severely so that a message would be sent to others to cease and desist? Are you condoning that behaviour? Have you alerted the campus registrar or even the faculty dean? What has been done?
thats why I asked if I may have been biased and maybe overreacting
RACE WARNING
COP leader stays clear of Warner's comments
By Irene Medina
Story Created: Nov 3, 2012 at 10:58 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Nov 3, 2012 at 10:59 PM ECT )
Political leader of the Congress of the People (COP) and Minister of Legal Affairs Prakash Ramadhar is distancing his party from racial comments made by National Security Minister Jack Warner on Friday.
Warner sought to dismiss Friday's public march in Port of Spain, called by several sectors of the society, including the labour movement and Opposition People's National Movement (PNM), as only being supported by one ethnic group.
But Ramadhar yesterday warned politicians about going down "the race road".
His warning was also supported by newly elected COP chairman Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan.
"It is not healthy. The country is too small to be divided on race," Ramadhar said.
"We in the COP do not see race...we see people. The COP has no racial base; we are for everybody."
He warned, "There are many who raise this issue but it is not healthy. It is divisive."
The COP leader further added that politicians have to be careful about making racial comments since it brings a lot of "venom and hate in the society".
Asked why there was silence among the leadership of the ruling People's Partnership with regard to Warner's comments, Ramadhar said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar was very diplomatic in her handling of such issues within the party.
He said her first step would be to have a "private word with you" and then deal with the matter further if necessary.
He made it clear, however, that he was not speaking on the PM's behalf but was noting her response in general to such issues.
The Legal Affairs minister spoke with the media at the start of a COP walkabout in Arima yesterday morning, following which the party held a legal clinic at the Arima Town Hall for members of the public.
Ramadhar was not at all critical of the street protest against the Section 34 fiasco or calls for the resignation of Attorney General Anand Ramlogan and Warner, but instead saw Friday's march as the people's right to "exercise their democratic freedom".
"I believe that people have a right to bring their issues to the fore, and when people speak, we listen. People have a right to vent," he said, adding it must also be appreciated that marchers bring a level of instability in the minds of the population.
"Yes, they have a right to exercise their democratic freedom, and we endorse that, but we must be careful of political opportunists who are intent on their own personal gains at the expense of the country's gain. We believe we need to know what is real and what is a distraction," the COP leader stated.
He reminded that some of the very same people who voted for Section 34 in the Parliament were among the marchers.
Asked if he felt the protest was a wake-up call for the Government, Ramadhar, whose party is one of the partners in the People's Partnership Government, said: "We are alert to the national issues. We must listen to the people."
Seepersad-Bachan, who is focused on building and expanding the COP base, said the Government must listen to the "people's concerns".
She said some of the issues that are being raised have merit while others don't.
The chairman added that now the COP internal election was behind them, all hands were on deck in moving forward.
And Member of Parliament for Arima Rodger Samuel promised that Arimians will have a proper hospital on or before 2015.
"It is my hope that it will come under my watch," he said.
Samuel added that the tendering process had started.
Sat defends Jack on lack of 'Indian' marchers
By Asha Javeed asha.javeed@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Nov 3, 2012 at 10:58 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Nov 3, 2012 at 10:59 PM ECT )
"Don't shoot the messenger."
That's the defence which Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS) secretary general Sat Maharaj offered up for National Security Minister Jack Warner yesterday.
On Friday, Warner had dismissed the magnitude of a march inspired by the Opposition People's National Movement (PNM) and joined by various forces against the Government, in stating: "Where was the diversity? Where were the East Indians, the mixed faces, the Chinese, the whites ...where were the young people?"
Warner has already faced criticism from political analysts for questioning the ethnic make-up of the march.
But Maharaj defended the comments made by Warner on the march which drew thousands to the streets of downtown Port of Spain, and he, in turn, attacked PNM political leader Dr Keith Rowley for "inciting division in the community".
"Why blame the commentator? He was only commenting on the nature of the crowd," said Maharaj.
During last week's censure motion by the PNM against Attorney General Anand Ramlogan, Warner had charged Rowley for attacking Ramlogan because of his race.
He said Indians were discriminated against for 30 years, and from 1956-1986, not a single Hindu sat in the Cabinet. And the SDMS had to go to the Privy Council to get a radio licence while Port of Spain Mayor Louis Lee Singh had his licence approved in three days by the PNM Government.
In response, Maharaj said the PNM is not reaching out to the Indian community.
"That is a fact. There is always this coded message, 'South of the River', which on its own had divided the country. The name 'Partnership' indicates the effort made to embrace the country. There are mis-steps but they are not as much as the PNM. We are not talking about Calder Hart any more. We are talking about Section 34," he said.
Maharaj observed that the Government was only two and half years old, and any coalition would suffer from some sort of fragmentation, but "this does not mean the Government has to collapse".
He said Rowley was only "inciting one side of the people".
"How many trade unions were not there? Politicians came out from their graveyards to join. You organise a march on a Friday evening in Port of Spain...you already have a built-in audience of about 100 people. As a politician, I would have advised them of that time and go down Frederick Street; you will get the curiosity-seekers, you'd block traffic, which would have given strength to your march," he said.
But Maharaj's statement did not find agreement with former prime minister Basdeo Panday.
Panday described Warner's statement as "extremely sad and unfortunate".
"No one should stir up racial sentiments for political gain. That is dangerous. We can do without the racial feelings," he said.
He told the Sunday Express he was not a "stupid Indo Trini from San Juan" and believes the Government is clearly at a low point, and it is time to take stock.
He said the People's Partnership's tenure so far has been a "great disappointment" to the people for a Government which came into power with "tremendous support".
On Friday's march, Panday said: "It's an exercise in futility, but numbers are not the point. What is relevant is that there was a march and people were dissatisfied. The Government should do well to listen to the message, or they will pay dearly for it. All over the world, dissatisfaction has led people to resort to violence."
Former parliamentarian, soldier and 1970 mutineer Raffique Shah said he was not surprised by Warner's comments. He observed that in Trinidad and Tobago, politics was driven by ethnic composition.
He said questions are being raised on the size of the march, but if 10,000 people turned up as suggested by Warner, it was "something to note".
"It is very difficult to get 10,000 on a Friday midday to march. It was an exercise in futility. The Prime Minister is not moving either minister (Warner or Ramlogan). If they go, the Government will go because of the intricate nature of the relationships. But the demonstration made a statement," said Shah.
"In comparison to 1970, 10,000 is significant. It was a power-shaking protest movement which shook the foundations of the then PNM government. On rare occasions, you see numbers like that. Outside of a political rally, people just don't turn out to march like that. If you accept that 10,000 was the figure, it was significant. The Government should be concerned," he told the Sunday Express.
A PNM source told the Express: "The PNM will not comment on race or the ethnic make-up of the march. It's not something we do. The people will decide the make-up of the march, first, by their attendance and, second, by who they saw marching with them. It will not be what Jack Warner has said, so even responding to him is to validate his indignity and his nonsense about race. It should not be a debate after thousands took to the streets to affirm a position."
When it comes to the Section 34 fiasco though, Sat Maharaj is of the view that "if one had to go, the entire 42 has to go, too", referring to all those who passed the Bill.
"The entire Senate also has to go, too, because they all supported that Bill."
"They are accusing the Attorney General of misleading them. If people are so foolish to be misled, they should not be in positions of authority. They all supported the Bill," Maharaj told the Sunday Express.
Maharaj described Section 34 as a "mistake" but observed that governments have made many mistakes over the years.
Section 34 is a clause in the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act which, upon early proclamation on August 30, allowed several people, among them financiers of the United National Congress (UNC) Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson and former ministers Carlos John, Russell Huggins and Brian Kuei Tung, to apply to the courts to have their cases dismissed.
The early proclamation has raised questions about the Government's integrity, a conspiracy to have these men walk free and a call by the Opposition for the heads of former minister of justice Herbert Volney, AG Ramlogan and Warner.
"It was a mistake. It was wrong to select one part to proclaim. The proclamation is where the mistake was made, and the Cabinet supported that. One man paid with his head," Maharaj told the Sunday Express.
Warner: Where is the diversity?
By Anna Ramdass anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Nov 2, 2012 at 9:58 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Nov 2, 2012 at 10:10 PM ECT )
National Security Minister Jack Warner said yesterday the majority of marchers came from one ethnic group and was representative of the People's National Movement's (PNM) failure to attract the rainbow of races of the country.
According to police estimates, Warner said he was advised there were some 10,000 marchers, led by the labour movement, Opposition and civic forces.
"Where was the diversity? Where were the East Indians, the mixed faces, the Chinese, the whites; where were the young people?" asked Warner at a news conference at the National Security Ministry, Port of Spain.
Warner called the news conference to refute reports in the media that the crowd was in the vicinity of 20,000 plus.
Warner said Government was not disturbed by the march, pointing out that he secured 12,650 votes in the election for United National Congress (UNC) chairman and some 19,640 votes in his election as Chaguanas West MP —more than the persons who came out yesterday to march.
"Today's march, which I call the failure of the three R's—Rowley, Roget and Ramesh—defined for the nation what Rowley's PNM represents. It was the most non-representative assembly of our nation's citizens, reflecting the narrow-minded thinking of a party that once claimed to be national," said Warner.
He then shared some aerial photographs which were taken by the police which showed a cross-section of the crowd on Independence Square.
Warner said he was informed that when Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was speaking, there were some 3,000 persons present.
"The 'bus-a-crowd' of old PNM stalwarts, with a smattering of a few hangers-on, does not represent either the future of this nation or any so-called coalition of interests," said Warner.
Warner advised that for any party to see power, it must be able to attract all the people of the country.
"So the march of the PNM today was really a demonstration of everything that is wrong with Rowley and his old style of 'us versus them' mentality. Try as he might, Rowley cannot muster the appeal of a wide cross-section of the national community," said Warner.
"Today's attendance showed that there is only one group that responds to him, and Trinidad and Tobago is beyond that. In this country, we are no longer Afro-, or Indo-, or Syrian, or Chinese or any singular group. The only colour we see is red, white and black, the national colours of our proud nation," said Warner.
Ethnic talk will anger voters, says analyst
By Anna Ramdass anna.ramdass@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Nov 2, 2012 at 9:58 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Nov 2, 2012 at 10:05 PM ECT )
National Security Minister Jack Warner's singling out of the ethnic make-up of the mass demonstration yesterday will fuel anger, says political analyst Derek Ramsamooj.
"The issue is not about ethnic participation, the issue is about accountability and transparency about the People's Partnership winning a campaign on the change factor and their disappointment with the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissesssar," said Ramsamooj.
Warner yesterday dismissed the march, saying it was a failure as Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley was unable to attract the rainbow of races in the country.
"Rhetoric of political bullying will just ignite anger amongst the swing voters who perceive themselves to be Trinidadians and Tobagonians first, as opposed to East Indians and Africans," said Ramsamooj.
"In his capacity as chairman of the UNC (United National Congress)...Jack Warner does not have the luxury of emotional outbursts; he must be shrewd in his comments and must at all times reflect an all-embracing culture," he added.
Ramsamooj said the march yesterday would have an impact on the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) election— and it would be seen as to who are the beneficiaries of the Section 34 protest.
"There is the perception that this protest can serve as a catalyst for the campaign platform in the THA elections, making the election into a referendum on the leadership of Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her manner on the request to remove Jack Warner and the Attorney General," he said.
Political analyst Bishnu Ragoonath shared another view—he does not believe the protest would have any impact on the THA election, and it is left to be seen if it would have any on the local government election next year.
Government, he said, would simply ignore demonstrations and move on.
"(The) Government is elected for five years, and they feel they can do whatever they want during that period," he said.
With respect to the THA election, Ragoonath said while the PNM would want to use the march as part of its campaign, it would carry no bearing on Tobago.
rfari wrote:<=xjemler=> wrote:*OUTSIDER* wrote:I could be wrong but this dont look like 20,000 ppl to me..... Jus saying
Saw this yesterday poor turn out I must say
It was already established that this pic is misleading
deliah wrote:^i didn't say u is ah PNM-your topic subject did.....
AllTrac wrote:rfari yuh gone back insinuating the RS is a liar? hope dem selasse-i pins could stop bullet eh.....
TriP wrote:
According to him- the PROTEST MARCH was Opposition GIMMICKS!
I reading .. he likes to walk around with a lot of food card. He is is very loose with taxpayers money
Minister of HAMPERS
rollingstock wrote:^ No pic of the picture with the caricature of the PM in bed with Dookeran jumping out the window as Jack opens the bedroom door?
rfari wrote:Its politics at the end of the day but u're right. Heed the message because its valid.
What happen to all the racist claims? For something so srs i find certain tuners taking it rell slight.
TriP wrote:rfari wrote:Its politics at the end of the day but u're right. Heed the message because its valid.
What happen to all the racist claims? For something so srs i find certain tuners taking it rell slight.
wah jacky say ..no indians..?
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