THE EDITOR:
It has come to my attention that teachers were forced to attend the Congress of the People (COP) rally at Centre of Excellence on September 10.

In addition, executives and members of mandirs were also compelled to attend the rally.

There was an underlying “veiled” threat to teachers, principals, other school administrators, Parent-Teachers Association (PTA) officials and executives of mandirs that their status, jobs and titles would be in jeopardy if they did not co-operate in making the COP rally a success.

A female principal told me that she was instructed to be at the Centre of Excellence or to put in her retirement papers.

All these people were expected to be seen at the Centre of Excellence and their presence/absence noted.

They knew the consequences if they did not attend.

If these allegations are true, then we have reached a new low in politics and unfortunately they are coming from a newly formed group which says it is seeking to reform the politics of T&T.

But what kind of reform is this?

I should note that many people who attended the rally -- parents of students, members of mandirs, teachers, etc. -- did not know they were going to a rally to support the formation of a new party that would split the base of the United National Congress (UNC).

They were all misled.

Even some UNC activists went to the rally not realising they were lending their support to split the UNC base.

This is not a good start for new politics.

Where is the integrity that Winston Dookeran and Gillian Lucky speak of and why aren’t they condemning this kind of dishonesty and misrepresentation of their colleagues?

Information has come to me that a leader of a Hindu organisation has promised to deliver all the Hindu votes to Dookeran’s COP.

I wonder how he will do that. This Hindu leader who lost his deposits in contesting elections in 1971 and 1976 and has refused to hold an election in his organisation and who has been leader for 30 years.

This Hindu leader campaigned on the People’s National Movement (PNM) platform against the UNC in 1995 elections. He told Hindus in mandirs not to vote UNC.

Yet the UNC still won.

Panday still gave his organisation a Senate seat and a ministry and increased funding to their schools.

This leader is getting tens of millions of dollars of unaccounted money from the Ministry of Education in exchange for splitting the UNC base through support for Dookeran.

It is a shame to hear about people (destroying their own people) for money and yet these people are judging.

Panday calling him unethical and corrupt.

But they don’t see their own failings and dishonesty.

The party formed by Dookeran has turned out to be most dishonest in the history of T&T because it comprises or is affiliated with people who stand for nothing progressive and who are all tainted. What kind of party is this when people were threatened to attend a rally to make up numbers? Who are they trying to fool?

People would soon wake up that they are agents of the PNM.

THE EDITOR:
It has been confirmed that a Senior Cabinet Minister in the People’s National Movement (PNM) regime, one whose face is always in the newspaper adds of his Ministry did pay for maxi-taxis to take persons to the Dookeran Congress meeting.

Indeed, the sister of that minister was in attendance at the Dookeran “New Politics -- Old Politician” meeting.

We have also unearthed the horror stories of persons who were forced to attend that meeting because their father/brothers work with the Maha Sabha, or in one of the schools.

The directive to Maha Sabha teachers was to attend or face penalties.

Imagine, a watchman at one Maha Sabha School had to drag his United National Congress (UNC) family to the meeting because the directive from the Maha Sabha was that he attend the meeting and full up a maxi-taxi with 24 persons.

His wife and children had to go.

They, however, are die-hard supporters of Basdeo Panday!

In one case a pundit begged his godchildren to attend since he said that “maxi-taxi police” would be in the Centre of Excellence carpark to ensure that he attended and brought people.

I ask, is this the new politics?

Come on Winston Dookeran, you were never a leader, you have no history of achievement, it is Panday who will always promote you, stop this nonsense and don’t be misled by the dynasty of Bhoe Tewarie, Manohar and others.

It is shameful, that according to the newspapers, Manohar Ramsaran says that he should never have joined the UNC.

Did he study that when he was Panday’s super-minister and flying all over the world first-class or attending all the international sports events with VIP status?

THE EDITOR:
Why should anyone believe Colm Imbert on the Bombardier issue?

The People’s National Movement (PNM) has a history of shady deals involving kickbacks from large corporations.

Does anyone remember the McDonnell Douglas deal?

So why would you want to believe it’s going to be any different with a huge corporation like Bombardier, which is keen on landing a lucrative contract in Trinidad and Tobago? 

 Imbert and PM Patrick Manning must take the people of Trinidad and Tobago for idiots by suggesting that they will have nothing to do with the bidding process for the transit contract.

In a small society such as ours all that’s required is to send a signal that the PM wants this or that or that he’s not in favour of something and he gets his wishes.

That’s not rocket science.

 But the real question is why would a company such as Bombardier send an executive jet for Manning and Hazel to go on a joyride if they didn’t want to win favour with the Mannings -- and by extension the Government -- and also influence the bidding process?

 The people of T&T must stop being so gullible and it is time the media start asking some tough questions instead of being a political stenography service for the PNM and the Manning administration.

Somebody needs to ask why exactly did the big Canadian conglomerate send a jet all the way from North America to take Manning for a ride.

There must be a logical answer. And anyone looking for it will find one.

 The company had business to conduct with Manning.

And what better way to do than in the privacy of one of its own executive jets, high up in the sky over the Caribbean Sea!

 Obviously Manning wanted to discuss something with Bombardier.

After all it’s their jet.

Nobody but Bombardier could hear what’s going on in the privacy of the cabin.

Nobody could see what transpired.

No eyes, no ears, no witness.

I would pay a few million dollars to be the fly on the wall in that cabin.

 So the question is not whether the Government wants to buy a jet for Manning.

It’s what discussions went on inside that jet.

The PNM and the Government are pulling the wool over the eyes of the people by creating an issue over whether or not it’s buying a jet so people won’t ask the real question: what the hell was the PM discussing up there with Bombardier officials.

 Bombardier obviously knows what it’s doing. 

And so does Manning. Whose best interest was he seeking?

Let’s not forget that this PM likes to take private flights with companies that want to do business in oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago. 

 If the people allow him to get away with this, they have only themselves to blame.

 There was more to that flight that the luxurious cabin and the view from up there.

It’s time for people to ask Manning what he talked about and explain whether he was taken for a ride or whether he wants to take all of Trinidad and Tobago for a ride.

THE EDITOR:
Winston Dookeran, former political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) must come clean, and clear his name as to allegations that he received big bucks from financiers on behalf of the UNC.

Did his donors know that he is going to form his own party?

Did they know that they were giving money to the UNC leader to take to the corpse?

I agree with Basdeo Panday when he calls for a full disclosure from Mr. Clean as to the status of his financial activities.

We, the UNC supporters, feel so betrayed that Mr. Dookeran came into the UNC with the purpose of destroying the party and giving the brutal People’s National Movement (PNM) another five years.

Mr. Dookeran will be responsible for the removal of the Privy Council by Manning, the morning after the PNM wins a constitutional majority.

Can you sleep comfortable in the night Mr. Dookeran knowing that you betrayed the trust of over half of the population of Trinidad?

Why did Dookeran form his own party to attack the UNC?

All the corpse people know that they cannot win an elections, this is there objective to divide the UNC votes.