Dear Editor,
There is a minor error of fact in Clement Rohee’e letter on Roger Luncheon in yesterday’s edition – “Luncheon was one of many in the PPP who had the courage to defend freedom.” I was not one of the three persons along with President Janet Jagan and Dr. Roger Luncheon discussing with the three CARICOM representatives – Sir Shridath Ramphal, Sir Allister McIntyre and Sir Henry Forde QC – as alleged by Mr. Rohee at which meeting it was agreed to reduce the PPP’s term of office from five to three years. The only two persons from the PPP present at that meeting, which took place at President Jagan’s home, were President Jagan and Dr. Luncheon. I was with other members of the Executive of the PPP at President Jagan’s home awaiting the conclusion of the meeting for a report by President Jagan and Dr. Luncheon as to its outcome.
I performed another function in relation to those events. Along with the late Haslyn Parris, I was an interlocutor with the CARICOM representatives. Our task was to transmit recommendations to the leaderships of our respective parties for rapid responses. We were on standby at Herdmanston House for the two days or so to effectively carry out our duties but were obviously not part of the meetings. While the error is minor, it has important implications in relation to PPP history. It was alleged for several years after the events that the PPP’s Executive wrongly conceded a reduction of the Party’s term of office to three years when it had legitimately won five years at the elections. That decision was not that of the PPP Executive. It was agreed to by President Jagan and Dr. Luncheon alone at the meeting, with the three representatives, and announced to the waiting Party’s Executive, which included me, minutes after the meeting concluded.
We were all disappointed with the decision but, having been taken by senior leaders, one of whom was the President, there was no suggestion of reneging on it. Subsequent events in the Esther Perreira case made the decision a moot one.
Sincerely,
Ralph Ramkarran
