More than 40 PNCR/APNU supporters were locked out of a meeting that was held by PNCR/ APNU leader, David Granger on Friday evening at the Mackenzie High School auditorium.
Most of those supporters who were locked out carried placards that criticised the alleged disrespectful manner with which some members of the PNCR in Linden feel they are being treated by their political leader and the Central Executive of the party.
Shortly before 6 pm, the protestors gathered in front of LICHAS Hall and from around 6.15 pm, they proceeded in an easterly direction along Purple Heart Street for about 150 yards to the main gate of the Mackenzie High School compound, which was padlocked.
Two senior police officers were inside the locked gate and refused to make any effort to open the padlock as they endured verbal taunts from the irate protestors. Several RDC councillors and Linden IMC members were among those who were locked out.
Several months of tension between the PNCR and some of its supporters in Linden culminated in a showdown at its recent delegates’ congress in Georgetown to elect a leader. In the fracas, a gunshot was fired leading to severe embarrassment for the party.
One of APNU’s main mobilisers, Gordon Callender, was among those who were locked out and in an invited comment he told Stabroek News that he knew personally that some of the operatives the opposition leader was listening to with respect to the current impasse between the Linden PNCR/APNU supporters and Congress Place, were operatives of the PPP.
“We know all of them,” Callendar said, “and we suspect that one of them from the Central Executive Committee, is the devil’s advocate for this confusion in Region Ten.”
Callender, who is an APNU councillor in the Linden municipality, pointed to RDC councillors, Leslie Gonsalves, Douglas Gittens, Mayfield Greene, Charles Sampson and his PNCR/APNU colleague on the Linden IMC, Fern McCoy, who were also locked out of the meeting. He said these people have been locked out because efforts are being made to keep out “the real die-hard PNC people after they disrespected us at Congress Place during the PNC Congress a few months ago.”
The meeting, which was scheduled to begin at 6 pm was repeatedly advertised on the lone Linden radio station for most of the day. Callendar said he understood that the meeting was called to discuss matters of local government and anti-money laundering.
“You see the embarrassment the leader walked into today,” Callendar said. “The people dat dey got in de meeting is just a handful. A next thing, Denton Osbourne, one of the operatives for the PPP, who was working with Minister Jennifer Westford, he is the one giving the directive to the police inspector to lock the gate and keep people outside.”
Sampson, who is an APNU councillor on both the RDC and the Linden IMC, brought Stabroek News’ attention to the fact that he was locked out of the meeting. “I am supposed to be at a meeting here and I have turned up for this meeting,” Sampson said. “You know, I’m a councillor of the RDC and a councillor of the town council and l have been denied entry to the meeting. This meeting has been summoned by the leader of the opposition. I don’t know what is the agenda of the meeting, but I turned up for the meeting and I have been denied entry. As a member of the PNCR, I am taking that very seriously.”
The APNU councillor on the RDC said: “I am not sure about the issue but we have some strong views that we need to ventilate with the leader of the opposition and we are looking forward to seeing him before the night to get these views aired.”
The Mackenzie High School teacher stressed: “This is a situation, we are outside – locked out. We can’t be treated like this. We have been party members for years and we can’t be treated like this, come on man.”
A longstanding PNCR activist, well known as Jason told Stabroek News: “Linden is supposed to be a stronghold of the PNC and we, Lindeners are being treated (badly) by somebody, we put there as our leader and he is fighting for transparency in Parliament from the government but he ain’t got transparency among his own people. We get views that we want to address and we want to know which part of the PNC we stand. If is the back, or the front? Elections coming on and we have selections we could make. So, if Granger want mek heself a joker, he gon get the pay for it.”
TUC President, Gonsalves said it is the second time that the leader came to Linden without members of the RDC and the town councilors being informed prior to his arrival. “That’s one, and secondly, we want him to understand how we feel about his modus operandi. Generally, I think this is bad because other persons, who were here such as Mr (Norman) Chapman, a longstanding member of the party in this community, could not go in because apparently this was a private meeting for only certain persons to attend. And it’s something we are not going to condone. We are not going to condone it.”
After about 45 minutes into the meeting, RDC councillor Maurice Butters attempted to leave the Mackenzie High School compound but could not do so because of the locked gate.
Region Ten Chairman Sharma Solomon was not among the protestors. Efforts by Stabroek News to reach him by phone proved futile. Attempts to contact MP Vanessa Kissoon also failed. The disciplining by Kissoon by the PNCR over an incident with General Secretary Oscar Clarke is one of the causes of the rift in the PNCR community in Linden.
