|
Three
articles carried in local newspapers
recently have alarming undercurrents for
the peace and stability of Grenada,
Carriacou and Petite Martinique,
especially leading up to the July 8th
general elections.
The first
of the three articles is one that was
published in the Grenada Informer
(Friday 20th June, 2008, p.26) and is
titled, “Lawyers Say NNP Victory Could
Create Crisis”. According to the
article, Lloyd Noel and GBA president
Jimmy Bristol believe the country will
be plunged into crisis if the NNP is
re-elected on July 8th, 2008. Lloyd Noel
is quoted as saying: “If Grenadians go
to the polls on the 8th of July and they
vote back NNP into office – If they make
that mistake and they don’t change the
system, we’re in serious trouble”. The
article provided a further quote that
says: “If something doesn’t give on
July 8th, I think we’ll be in a far
worse position than we were on the 19th
of October, 1983”.
Readers
will recall that October 19th, 1983,
was the day that one faction of the
ruling People’s Revolutionary Government
slaughtered another. This event
tragically took the life of the Prime
Minister, Maurice Bishop, members of his
Cabinet and other political and
non-political stakeholders. It also
took the lives of many Grenadian
children.
Is
Grenada’s stable democracy under threat
again? Are we being warned of something
dangerous to come? Given that the NNP
have governed this nation for 13 of the
most stable years in our recent history
the reference to “serious trouble” and
“far worse position” is obviously made
in relation to the NDC. In other words,
if the people of Grenada, Carriacou and
Petite Martinique make what the NDC
would consider the mistake of returning
the NNP to power on July 8th, 2008, then
the consequence will be something far
worse than a massacre! Far worse! Is
this not a direct threat to our
democracy?
The same
article in the Grenada Informer goes on
to bring the NNP into disrepute by
repeating the usual accusations wielded
by the main opposition party, the NDC.
However, another significant quote from
Lloyd Noel jumps out at the absorbed
reader which is: “Do we want a Zimbabwe
in Grenada?” Again, this is another
clear reference to a massacre, or
‘wholesale slaughter’ as Zimbabwean
opposition activists have been warning
of prospects in their country. The NDC
and its supporters, and Jimmy Bristol
and Lloyd Noel who are regarded as
“senior members” of the GBA, are
increasingly comparing Prime Minister
Keith Mitchell to Robert Mugabe of
Zimbabwe thinking that we do not
understand what they are trying to do.
Do Grenadians know who Mugabe really is,
and what has really been happening in
his country? Do they really believe
there is any basis for comparing the
current Prime Minister of Grenada,
however much he make be liked or
disliked, to someone capable of
genocide? The insanity of the notion is
so preposterous that it is downright
dangerous. Very dangerous.
If this
article was not frightening enough, then
two similar articles ought to make us
sit up and worry. They appeared in
Spice Isle Review (SIR) of June 19,
2008, titled, “NDC pulls in over 8,000
at Morne Rouge” and “NDC offering new
rights…”.
Both of
these articles reference a promise that
NDC Political Leader, Tillman Thomas
presented to supporters of his party in
Morne Rouge that involves offering “a
new set of rights” to Grenadians. These
new rights, the articles go on to
describe, include changing the way
Cabinet functions. But well do we
remember that in the revolution, the
People’s Law #1 was the suspension of
the constitution.
For us in
the New National Party, the coming
general elections of July 8th, 2008, is
about protecting the peace, stability,
prosperity, growth and progress of the
last 13 years. Voting for the NNP is to
Let the Progress Continue! But when it
comes to the NDC, we are not quite sure
what the people’s vote would be for.
For what exactly would a new set of
rights be? What would this amount to?
Why exactly must the people be warned
that voting for the NNP would lead them
back to October 19th, 1983?
We
understand only too well the desperation
of the NDC and its supporters in wanting
to make a case for removing the NNP if
they want to win the next general
elections. But is drawing comparisons
between our beautiful, stable and
promising nation and one of the most
unstable and brutal nation in the
Twenty-First century on earth the way to
do it? Will the NDC ever learn that its
Grenada first? Can a leopard change its
spots?
More
decent, patriotic, hardworking and law
abiding Grenadians need to ask
themselves these kind of questions. At
the very least and for the sake of
shaping our destiny, we ought to know
the answers.
Let the
Progress Continue with Positive Change
under the NNP! |
