Stop assault on our constitutional rights

THE EDITOR: This letter is addressed to the leaders of the steelband movement, pan players and supporters. This is a call to action. Speak up now to stop this assault on your constitutional rights.

The recent announcement by the central executive committee of Pan Trinbago of the “2021 convention and annual general meeting postponement until further notice” is not just illegal, but a blatant attempt to trample on the legitimate constitutional rights of all Pan Trinbago member steelbands.

I raise this alarm on behalf of the conscience of all right-thinking steelband leaders, making it clear that our right to vote for a new leadership of our organisation every three years is a sacred and non-negotiable right.

We must speak up now and say “no” to this attempt by the central executive, who are taking us for granted, believing that we would lie down and play dead while they trash us with this foolish reason for violating the constitution and illegally extending their stay in office.

There is still time to stop this abuse of power and let it be known that pan people are not fools and we will not tolerate our rights being trampled upon.

If this illegal move is left unchallenged, any future president would be free to come up with a lame reason for staying in office and cite this occurrence as a precedent for taking such action. We must safeguard against that happening in the future and raise our voices now in opposition.

There are many options available to the central executive to conduct the elections by the due date of October 31. What is absolutely clear is that no effort was made to find a safe and effective solution to holding our constitutionally due elections.

Furthermore, there was no consultation with the membership. Rather, what we got was an announcement that resembles dictatorship. We must let our president know, in no uncertain terms, that we expect elections will be held and our democratic right to cast a vote at our triennial meeting this year must be preserved.

Surprisingly, the president was in attendance on Friday at Shell Invaders’s virtual J’Ouvert Jab Jab Invasion Zoom Party. At one point there were 113 participants, all being able to make a contribution.

Let the president know that you are serious about protecting your rights, and you are prepared to take action to preserve the integrity of our organisation.

ROBERT HERNANDEZ

manager/delegate

Highlanders Steel Orchestra