COP founding member Gary Griffith, who held recent talks with UNC leader Basdeo Panday, has urged COP leader Winston Dookeran to get an accommodation effort moving before COP loses more support.

Griffith and other COP members are expected to speak about the unity issue at a COP public meeting at Tunapuna Hindu School tonight.

Griffith informed Dookeran of his talks with Panday, which occurred early last month, in a letter to Dookeran.

The letter was subsequently sent by the leadership to other members.

A COP team headed by Ganga Singh has been set up to gauge the views of COP supporters on the unity issue. Singh on Monday declined comment on the project.

Assuring Dookeran of his support for COP, Griffith’s letter stated: “The meeting with Mr Panday was not on behalf of the COP but in my capacity as a concerned citizen looking for the right channel to remove a PNM dictator. However, we as opposition parties are busy fighting with each other over the scraps.”

Griffith’s letter stated: “Mr Panday was honest enough to admit that some UNC members will be reluctant to have an accommodation as they want to ensure that the COP is crushed in the next local election poll.

“Mr Panday stated that such a ploy would not help remove the PNM. He seems fully aware that the only way to remove the PNM in the present political framework is via some type of compromise,” Griffith added.

Griffith told Dookeran: “If we continue down this road of hating Basdeo Panday more than our love for T&T and not giving the 350,000 anti-PNM supporters some degree of hope, then we are no better than the PNM.

“Our hate and resentment for Panday cannot be at the expense of the common good of the 350,000 who are looking to the leaders of both the UNC and COP to do the right thing.”

Taking issue with public remarks by individuals of both parties which have delayed the talks, Griffith said the only way to ensure that the COP will make the decision which supporters want is by hearing what all members want, as opposed to some officials only.“Every senior member and every supporter has stated emphatically to me that we must commence some sort of dialogue with the UNC immediately,” he said.

Griffith said that while some have “serious reservations” about Panday, they still want some sort of dialogue.

He stated, “Over 350,000 persons voted against the PNM. Even Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles can see that the COP can never win an election whilst Basdeo Panday is alive. Likewise, UNC can never win an election whilst COP exists.”

Griffith said once COP continued to reject UNC’s request for dialogue, COP will continue to lose grass-roots support daily... And we will be seen as the arrogant ones who are keeping PNM in governance.”

Griffith said those against accommodation “are those who made no sacrifice when the COP was formed.”

Bas: Power-hungry people delaying unity

Panday’s last call for unity met a lukewarm response from COP chairman Roy Augustus. COP executive member Anand Ramlogan and some other executive members are in favour of unity, but not with Panday.

Last week, UNC deputy Jack Warner said he was prepared to go to COP’s leadership himself to pursue unity. But COP deputy chairman Hulsie Bhaggan gave a lukewarm response.

Panday said yesterday, “Sometimes my calls meet disdain but I’ll continue to call for unity as my duty. The people all want the same thing. It is leaders who are power hungry. Lust and greed for power makes asses of men.

“Power-hungry people—that’s the real problem delaying unity. They will not agree to the democratic process; let the people decide.

“They are afraid of Panday. They feel I have power with the people and they want that. They feel if I die they must inherit a base. But power is not something one can hand over like a cow,” Panday added. (GA)