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Dookeran: I felt it would have been a tragedy if a protester would die protesting without someone trying to intervene and save his life
By Asha Javeed asha.javeed@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Dec 8, 2012 at 9:50 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Dec 8, 2012 at 9:53 PM ECT )
The loss of human life can erase any political gain.
Already faced with a burdensome crime situation, the potentially willful death of an Oxford-educated professor in protest at the Prime Minister's door would have been untenable for the duration of the People's Partnership's Government's term of office.
That was the realisation that caused Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Dookeran to issue a public statement at variance with the administration's position last week.
"A man put himself at risk and was prepared to die for that issue. I felt it would have been a tragedy if a protester would die protesting without someone trying to intervene and save his life. To me, it was an issue of humanity. But it had political implications. People tend to respond to the politics of the situation and ask which side are you on," explained Dookeran.
It was a hunger strike to prevent a highway but it hijacked a nation for 21 days. Environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh's hunger strike to protest the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir section of the $7.2 billion highway from San Fernando to Point Fortin, gave Dookeran cause for concern.
Dookeran, who'd announced the highway in his 2010 budget, was sound in the logic that it would open up the southwest peninsula of Trinidad for development.
In his 30 months in Government, he has never publicly disagreed with the People's Partnership administration on controversial issues which have ranged from the questionable appointment of Reshmi Ramnarine as Security Intelligence Agency (SIA) chief, to the Section 34 debacle to his own re-shuffle in the Cabinet.
Enter Kublalsingh.
While out of the country, Dookeran issued a statement and appealed to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for compassion.
In an exclusive interview with the Sunday Express at his Foreign Affairs office in Port of Spain last week, Dookeran explained why he chose to speak out on this issue and not the others which had come and gone before.
He did not link the highway with the hunger strike but focused on the strike itself.
The rationale for his intervention was that humanity trumped politics.
"The truth is, I don't know if I am on any particular side on the issue. I've made it clear that the call for compassion was not in any way affronting the PM's right to authority. When it became a human issue and a man was standing up for what he believes in with the risk of dying I thought (that) would not be good for the nation," he explained.
Cognisant of the country's history after the 1990 attempted coup and the scars left behind, Dookeran said he did not know if the country would have recovered from another stain if Kublalsingh had died or if the government would have survived its duration in office.
Dookeran acknowledged he was familiar with the Kublalsingh family who the Sunday Express understands have been supportive of his idea of new politics when he'd launched the Congress of the People (COP).
But that wasn't the basis for his appeal for compassion.
It was merely the man and his mission.
And while he admits he is frequently "agitated" by the noises which emanate from the country, he considers Kublalsingh an aberration.
Unlike other politicians Dookeran's not keen to cause confusion in the public.
He observed the country requires stability for any economic growth and public utterances must be judicious.
How then does he stand up to issues? asked the Sunday Express.
"You stand up by what you do," he responded, "I make my views known. I don't think you should publicly be at variance with your government. A government must be stable. I have two responsibilities—to keep the government stable and also to guide society on the right path. I can't do one at the expense of the other."
Asked whether such positions perpetuated the assumption that he was a weak leader, Dookeran shrugged.
"I have always been criticised as being a weak leader. The concept of strength is in big voice. My concept of strength is in what I do," he answered.
You're okay with that criticism? asked the Sunday Express.
"It's not well founded," he dismissed.
"This country is accustomed to a bad-john kind of politics, a bad-john kind of culture. I sought to build a political party devoid of prejudices in what I called new politics," he opined.
When he was moved from his position as Finance Minister in June, Dookeran easily morphed into his new Ministerial appointment without murmur.
"There were some fallout in terms of the COP perspective of it being a demotion. There was some fallout in the Caribbean region because they saw the movement as a less influential position and they had warmed up to what we were doing. And that is the truth. There were fallouts in those two counts. The Minister of Finance had more power," he said.
But he reckoned it was a natural movement to work on the country's image internationally. As far as he's concerned, he's laid the foundation during his two years as Minister of Finance to move the country away from the fiscal cliff in which it was headed.
"I firmly believed in the logic of what I was doing. My economic logic and my political logic coincided. Logic is not something you can create. Logic is there," he stated.
The resolution of the CLICO issue, he believes, will help the economy move forward in the next two years.
"In the end you do get the credit but you're not going to do it for applause to start with in the first place. The country is in a safe place financially. The systemic risk in the banking sector has been removed. The debt situation has not become worse. But it is probably going to become worse," he said.
But he's aware that there's brewing dissatisfaction with the Partnership by the populace. He said the country's path to nationhood had led the population to shed the monolithic political system to a multiple political vision system.
"In the same way the country was in search of another kind of expression of multiple political visions and that is why they bought into the Partnership," he observed.
He argued, T&T cannot hide behind the excuse that it's a relatively young democracy.
"I think that some people use it as an excuse to say we are young. I think 50 years is not young. You ought to fix up a few things in 50 years," he said.
But he recognises that changes in the system are often difficult to make, explaining the challenges to public sector reform and the legal constraint to management.
"When we accepted independence we accepted a control system that was concerned about control than performance. A control system that's further controlled by our legal system. There are legal obstacles to development that makes it impossible to move forward without changes in the legal framework if you believe in the rule of law," he said.
In his view, there are three hurdles which the country needs to cross before it can expect a different form of governanc: Constitution Reform, Procurement Legislation and Legislation on Campaign Financing.
He said if those three things can be achieved in the short term, the country would not be held to ransom by entrepreneurs.
"The Economist magazine recently coined a new phrase to describe businessmen around the world who benefit from government contracts, calling them 'tenderpreneurs'. See Page 12.
"There are always interest groups that are affected negatively by positive change," he said.
"Entrepreneurship is very fertile in T&T. It is done on the basis of ethnicity, on the basis of culture and on the basis of religion. They use the power that they have to advance their entrepreneurship.
"I always say the winners are not yet born. The losers are here now, they can talk. The winners are the next generation. Nobody is going to take the babies and form a trade union."
Questioned whether he thought racism was seething beneath the surface of the country, Dookeran said he did not think the country was fundamentally racist.
"I don't see that. There's entrepreneurship. The groups form themselves and the protagonists of those groups are entrepreneurs for State funds because of the dominance of the State in providing support for everything. That is what you see coming through and is interpreted as racism but it is not. It is entrepreneurs competing for State funds and they position themselves to do so," he said.
He explained, the political system has been fed in the past on the basis of ethnic division.
"Then there are political entrepreneurs which exploit that division so they go and make a speech in certain areas and they appeal to the natural ethnic divisions. And that's easy to do because of group identity. There are political entrepreneurs in our scene and the most powerful politicians are those who can exploit the political entrepreneurship and now that's a numbers game," he said.
"So if you view these things as entrepreneurship, one for the sharing of State wealth and two, for the acquisition of State power. Political entrepreneurs look for State power and they use it. This country is not fundamentally racist from my experience over the years," he said.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule.
"There are prejudices. There will always be prejudices in any society, everywhere you go but the State itself must be above it. The State, in the discharge of its functions must not be party to those prejudices. This is how I see it," he said.
He credits his present philosophy to time.
"I was never against anyone making a case for their people. That is their legitimate right. I was never against Sat Maharaj (secretary general of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha). I supported him for his case. I didn't agree with him taking his case and extending it to society. That's how I see it. I support the Emancipation Committee and what they are doing but I don't think they should use that to hold the entire government to ransom," he said.
He conceded there were questions being raised about the ethnic compositions of State boards.
"If you go into office with a goal to undo the neglect of the past by creating neglect for the future, you're in trouble. People say the public service is dominated by Afro-Trinidadadians. It's an historical phenomenon. The situations have been set up to perpetuate it," was all he would offer.
But in his view, the country's greatest short-term challenge was dealing with the crime scourge.
"It's not a problem that can be solved overnight but it must be a problem that is solvable and can be solved," he said.
He said while there are some results, it's not as fast as a civilised society would like it to be.
He said he had agreed with the 21st Century Policing initiative which former commissioner Dwayne Gibbs had sought to introduce into the local police force because he felt it was a new direction in engaging the communities.
"We are building a society on protest rather than a society on engagement," he said.
However, as has repeatedly happened, development became subservient to interest groups, he lamented.
Start work from Point Fortin
Kublalsingh on highway delay costs:
By Sue-Ann Wayow sue-ann.wayow@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Dec 7, 2012 at 10:04 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Dec 8, 2012 at 7:57 AM ECT )
ENVIRONMENTAL activist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh, who ended his 21-day hunger strike two days ago, urged yesterday for the highway construction to begin in Point Fortin while the complex issues related to the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway were resolved.
He said all works should be stopped in the Debe to Mon Desir area until the determination of the legal action filed by the Highway Re-Route Movement (HRM), and pending the report of an independent committee being set up to review the feasibility of the segment.
Kublalsingh, who spent yesterday at a sister's home in San Fernando, said that contractually, if work is suspended in one area of the highway and diverted to another" if they (Government) invoke that clause (in the contract) there would be no cost to the Government."
He said, "I think the Prime Minister should use her good grace and intervene." If work continues, he said he will have a meeting with HRM to decide " what the next course of action will be."
In the meantime, he is hoping that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar give instruction for all work to cease.
Kublalsingh said he was told by president of the National Infrastructure Development Company Ltd (Nidco) Dr Carson Charles just before he ended his hunger strike that work will continue on the Fyzabad Interchange but "they would try to keep the work to a minimal," and not acquire new property or invade private property.
Kublalsingh said the Joint Consultative Council (JCC) tried to get works to stop while the reviews were being conducted but were unsuccessful.
Kublalsingh said, "One of the things they (JCC) were not successful in doing was to get the Government to stop work on the interchanges because the interchanges have already been handed over to the contractors OAS Constructora. So they came out of the meeting without any assurance that the works is going to be stopped at the interchanges. I myself spoke to the JCC about it. I asked them to try again to see if they could get the Government to stop work at the interchanges. That was not successful."
He said, "The Government should really be honest with the people, suspend work in the interchanges in Fyzabad and switch work to Point Fortin to San Fernando and that is where the cry for the real highway is. That is what the people want. If it starts in Point Fortin, they get jobs quicker in that area and I agree with the people. We have been lobbying with the people down there to get the people to start the Point Fortin to San Fernando highway."
Kublalsingh said the HRM was not against the highway even though there are "orchestrated mistruths that are designed to give the people the impression that we are against the highway."
Kublalsingh said he was resting at home recovering from his hunger strike.
He said, "I am very well indeed, I am taking some light soups and light beverage and I am resting. I have family members around supporting me."
Kublalsingh said of his actions, "I have no regrets. I think that the people of Trinidad and Tobago woke up not because I did it. It was not me alone. If i did it I would not have changed anything. The people of Trinidad and Tobago especially rose up and force the Government not me. The people have been given power. They must feel the cutting edge of their power and they have the power to do it all the time to force the government to do the right thing."
rfari wrote:pyung99 wrote:i like how rowley is careful not to not not to not to not have a stance on this matter.
but open d eyes and ears to pnm abroad and all d pnm talk shows etc. all part of d machinery and ppl lil bit briter nowadays
So wha u tryna say?
pyung99 wrote:rfari wrote:pyung99 wrote:i like how rowley is careful not to not not to not to not have a stance on this matter.
but open d eyes and ears to pnm abroad and all d pnm talk shows etc. all part of d machinery and ppl lil bit briter nowadays
So wha u tryna say?
i trynahh say that rowley might be trying to represent a change (albeit blatantly obvious an attempt at "quick fix" of public persona) the party he is part of acts otherwise (and hence counters his effort), using the same sick strategy as that of the past.
rhetoric: is he auditioning for leadership of another party?
on d issue of kubs: "Kublalsingh feasts on bake and bhaji." d man know good ting.
pyung99 wrote:i don't know abt ajit. why is his opinion of any importance. answer that.
and a perceived wolf in sheep clothing, will always be that unless proven otherwise. we cah change human nature over night. many people doh trust any of our leaders any way.
pyung99 wrote:nah man, i eh feel ajit has so many followers
pyung99 wrote:^^ buss files! bring facts!
u studying who ajit is following? he middle name hah unc or pp in it?! he not worth losing sleep over.
rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:kurpal_v2 wrote:S_2NR wrote:rfari wrote:Ajit ramcharan of debe should be feeling like a dummy now. These unc monday night meetings really theefin some people head yes
not surprised. bush indians will always be bush indians.
always vote on race.
You really that clueless
Yup i agree , why would they vote for a PNM party when one of the PNM MP stands up in Parliament and says "what so special about Penal and Debe". Not knowing that these people born here and pay taxes.
Reckless and out of context statements like these is what keeps certain parts of the country voting on tribal lines. Just like the recalcitrant minority comment and the cowshed statement that unc for decades have used and put a spin on to keep u down
zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:kurpal_v2 wrote:S_2NR wrote:rfari wrote:Ajit ramcharan of debe should be feeling like a dummy now. These unc monday night meetings really theefin some people head yes
not surprised. bush indians will always be bush indians.
always vote on race.
You really that clueless
Yup i agree , why would they vote for a PNM party when one of the PNM MP stands up in Parliament and says "what so special about Penal and Debe". Not knowing that these people born here and pay taxes.
Reckless and out of context statements like these is what keeps certain parts of the country voting on tribal lines. Just like the recalcitrant minority comment and the cowshed statement that unc for decades have used and put a spin on to keep u down
Stop telling mis-thruths, UNC has not be here decades
it was/is the PNM that used all these statements to keep PNM in power
It was Eric Williams that used the recalcitrant minority and cowshed statement, not UNC.
zoom rader wrote:^^^ Eric Williams and the PNM meant every word they said in that speech. It was used by the PNM to split the indo vote between the Muslim and Hindu vote. Williams knew that muslim and hindu vote will make the PNM loose every election. All that have changed now as the Muslims no longer vote the PNM
rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:^^^ Eric Williams and the PNM meant every word they said in that speech. It was used by the PNM to split the indo vote between the Muslim and Hindu vote. Williams knew that muslim and hindu vote will make the PNM loose every election. All that have changed now as the Muslims no longer vote the PNM
Aye zoom zader. U funny unno. As i say, unc has used the statement out of context and u meh friend are a product of this machination. Do urself a favour and educate urself on the circumstances of the speech and dont take wholesale what any politician tells u
zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:^^^ Eric Williams and the PNM meant every word they said in that speech. It was used by the PNM to split the indo vote between the Muslim and Hindu vote. Williams knew that muslim and hindu vote will make the PNM loose every election. All that have changed now as the Muslims no longer vote the PNM
Aye zoom zader. U funny unno. As i say, unc has used the statement out of context and u meh friend are a product of this machination. Do urself a favour and educate urself on the circumstances of the speech and dont take wholesale what any politician tells u
The statement was not used out of context. Every word the PNM says and tell must be reviewed for the real meaning. The PNM can no longer hide behind words that are racist. People are alot smarter now and know better. Why do u think PNM is out of power now?
rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:zoom rader wrote:^^^ Eric Williams and the PNM meant every word they said in that speech. It was used by the PNM to split the indo vote between the Muslim and Hindu vote. Williams knew that muslim and hindu vote will make the PNM loose every election. All that have changed now as the Muslims no longer vote the PNM
Aye zoom zader. U funny unno. As i say, unc has used the statement out of context and u meh friend are a product of this machination. Do urself a favour and educate urself on the circumstances of the speech and dont take wholesale what any politician tells u
The statement was not used out of context. Every word the PNM says and tell must be reviewed for the real meaning. The PNM can no longer hide behind words that are racist. People are alot smarter now and know better. Why do u think PNM is out of power now?
Propaganda at its finest. As i say, do some research and educate urself because the way u're thinking, that's what ur party using to keep u down buddy. Open ur eyes my boy
rfari wrote:That is another story and there is a ched for that. See my position on that.
As i say, go do some research on the topic and quit showing ur ignorance re recalcitrant minority and cowshed.
U too old to be believing what these politicians telling u
rfari wrote:Right right. Pnm is bad, unc is good. 2baa. No matter what i say you always going to believe otherwise zr. So let's agree to disagree. Someday there wouldnt be people like you to draw for the race card as a front to not deal with reality
zoom rader wrote:rfari wrote:Right right. Pnm is bad, unc is good. 2baa. No matter what i say you always going to believe otherwise zr. So let's agree to disagree. Someday there wouldnt be people like you to draw for the race card as a front to not deal with reality
Sorry dude I am not drawing on the race card. Its a fact and some people cant stand to bare truth, You and PNM cant handle the truth. Spin all you want to spin its not gonna help the PNM back in power
Kublalsingh to PM: Protest could have been avoided
By Carolyn Kissoon carolyn.kissoon@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Dec 9, 2012 at 10:46 PM ECT
(Story Updated: Dec 9, 2012 at 10:50 PM ECT )
The protest action against the construction of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the highway to Point Fortin could have been prevented by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, environmentalist Dr Wayne Kublalsingh said yesterday.
He said Persad-Bissessar and her People's Partnership Government refused to listen to the cries of residents affected by the construction of the multi-billion dollar highway.
Kublalsingh was responding to statements made by Persad-Bissessar that the protest action against Government's proposed Point Fortin highway was her biggest challenge this year so far.
He said, "If that has been her challenge...fine. She is the Prime Minister. But the people of Mon Desir to Debe have had a whole lot of challenges as well. They have been served very punitive section notices, very punitive land acquisition acts, they had dogs raged against them, they have had bulldozers come into their private property."
Kublalsingh said the protesters and members of the Highway Re-Route Movement have been ridiculed by Government ministers.
"The camp was smashed, our showroom was smashed under the instructions of the former minister of national security. Nothing was done about that. We have sent letter after letter to the Prime Minister and others and they refused to answer. The people have suffered a lot, it would be interesting if the Government had been attuned to this suffering and listened to the people, to common sense and logic. I don't think the Prime Minister would have had to undergo so much distress herself. Leaders are there to work for the people, to serve the people," he said in a telephone interview.
Speaking at a children's Christmas party at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Arima, on Saturday, Persad-Bissessar said there were many challenges this year, but the movement against the highway stood out.
Kublalsingh ended a 21-day hunger strike outside the Office of the Prime Minister in St Clair last week.
Tuesday, December 11 2012
THE EDITOR: I have been described as “simple-minded,” “mad,” and “an opportunist”.” Let me explain the motive for my outrage.
The point is I went to save a friend’s life. My modus operandi was via a citizen’s arrest. I had to say something to get the attention of the media. Wayne is a personal friend. I hired a taxi for $100. I thought that at least I would have been able to take him as far as the vehicle which was parked just across the road. If I had succeeded in getting him inside, I would have taken him to a brethren’s home to spend the evening. And I was going to force him to break his hunger strike. That was the plan.
Of course this only reveals how utterly irrational I can be. Perhaps the correct term is “naïve.” Given the unexpected consequences of my intervention, I am very thankful to Cpl Trim and PC Clarke for saving me from a good licking. I could have been lynched by that mob.
I visited Wayne the week before and pleaded with him to let good judgement prevail. Re-routing the highway is a lost cause. He just listened and said nothing. When the second week came around, my genuine compassion for him turned to anger. His repeated declaration that he was prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice convinced me that he had embarked on a quest for martyrdom, aided and abetted by his entire family except his sister Karen. After seeing her emotional outburst on the television, I just had to intervene.
I was totally against Wayne’s hunger strike. I consider it an utter abomination.
Let it be known that Sledge has a deep and passionate love for his island home that has been named after the Divine Trinity. Here three great faiths meet: Christianity, Hinduism, and Islam. Here on this incredible Caribbean isle three continents converge: Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Let it be known that Sledge loves one and all, including his brethren on Death Row, and believes that Trinis are the nicest people God put on this blessed Earth.
He loves the landscape of TT, especially the Northern Range which he considers the most majestic mountain range in all the world, especially when its valleys and ridges are dotted with the magnificent Yellow Poui in bloom.
He loves the birds of TT, and gets up early each morning just to listen to the dawn chorus of the avian world.
He cherishes the glorious Queen’s Park Savannah where he spends many delightful hours bird-watching.
He loves the rich and wonderful culture of TT, and the camaraderie that exists between the two ethnicities that have made this extraordinary island their home. He is convinced that to be born a Trini is to win First Prize in the Lottery of Life.
Sledge loves TT bad, bad, bad, and he can not and will not tolerate anyone denigrating this lovely land of his birth.
ISHMAEL SAMAD via e-mail
Cost not yet decided
Only when the committee is selected then cost could be decided, said Dr Carson Charles, head of the National Infrastructure Development Company (Nidco). Charles said if it was decided Nidco should “chip in” to cover the financial cost, then the company would have no problem doing so.
“It is only when members of the committee are finally decided then we could talk about cost. But we can’t attach a cost to something when there is nothing yet in place,” Charles added. He said Nidco was still awaiting word from Armstrong on the finalisation of the committee and names of specialists.
JCC president Afra Raymond, when asked who was paying the committee, said yesterday he could not comment on the matter and questions should be directed to Armstrong and his committee.
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