Abdulah: Crime summit postponed

THE civil society crime summit which was scheduled for next Tuesday has been postponed because of the state funeral for former prime minister Basdeo Panday on the same day.

Panday, 90, died in the US on January 1.

His funeral will be held next Tuesday at the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA), San Fernando, from 8.30 am.

The summit, which was organised by the People's Roundtable, was to have been held at the Valsayn Teachers' College on the same day.

Roundtable convenor and Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) political leader David Abdulah announced its postponement in a statement on January 4.

"We take this opportunity, as a gathering of important civil society organisations, to thank Mr Panday for his lifelong commitment of public service to Trinidad and Tobago and, in particular, to the ordinary men and women in our society."

Abdulah offered the roundtable's condolences to Panday's family and friends.

"It would also be totally inappropriate for a major public activity to be held at the same time as the state funeral."

He said a new date for the summit will be announced in due course.

"We know that Mr Panday would have keenly looked forward to our efforts to bring about unity of diverse sections of the society around issues of concern to the citizenry."

The roundtable comprises groups such as the Joint Trade Union Movement, Scrap Iron Dealers’ Association, the Farmers’ Union and the Network of NGOs for the Advancement of Women.