‘Warner was recycling Soca Warriors $$’
Capt. Griffith calls his suspension an insult
(TnT Mirror)
May 28, 2006
UNITED National Congress (UNC) executive member, Capt. Gary Griffith, believes his suspension from the UNC executive has no foundation in law and is an insult to the 6,000 financial members who elected him to serve the party.
Griffith told TnT Mirror he is keeping his options open in the interim, and his main concerns are not for himself, but for the membership of the UNC, whose goal is to have the party remove the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government because of its abysmal failure to manage the affairs of the country.
In the present scenario though, Griffith is convinced the UNC executive is just as bad as the PNM.
Known as a “straight shooter” and one who isn’t afraid to tell it like it is, Griffith accused the UNC “renegades” in the executive as visiting “political domestic violence” upon the Political Leader, Winston Dookeran.
“Look at the kind of people we have calling the shots,” Griffith declared.
“Let’s start with Jack Warner, the ‘money man’.
“When he switched from supporting Dookeran to backing Basdeo Panday, he said he had a plan to enhance the image of the party.
“In Warner’s mind, the only thing that is important is money and that is the only thing people are interested in.
“So if the UNC spends money, the party looks good.
“It is, in fact, having the opposite effect.
“I am just happy to say that I support someone like Political Leader Winston Dookeran, who will never sell his soul for political office.”
Griffith then added: “Warner gave $100,000 to the UNC, for the UNC to give a donation to the Soca Warriors.
“He waited until Dookeran was out of the country and then Kamla Persad-Bissessar the Opposition Leader, gave back the $100,000 to Warner as a donation to the Soca Warriors.
“But the Opposition Leader has no status within the administration of the party.
“It is the Political Leader who had to present the cheque to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation.
“They were just recycling the money; Warner gave with his right hand and took it back with his left hand, and I have to ask if that money from Jack Warner ever went towards the Soca Warriors?”
Griffith lamented the state of affairs within the UNC executive, but defended his outspokenness, adding the UNC membership deserved to know the truth.
“What you are hearing on the UNC platform is mild compared to the way the executive speaks to and treats the Political Leader during executive meetings,” Griffith stated.
“It is to the Dookeran’s credit that he maintains his composure under that kind of ‘friendly fire’.
“The executive is demonstrating the height of hypocrisy.
“They want to shoot the messenger (me) for showing the country the type of political domestic violence they are abusing Dookeran with in the executive meetings.
“They robbed Gerard Yetming of the position of deputy chairman of the party; I have witnesses and evidence that they allowed Vasant Bharath to slip in through the back door.
“They dismissed Manohar Ramsaran when several others had missed just as many meetings.
“They kicked out Robin Montano because he was brave enough to give his opinion on Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj.
“And as soon as I wrote officially of my concerns pertaining to Warner breaching eight of the 10 codes of conduct of the UNC, including his attacking Basdeo Panday during the pre-election campaign when he was supporting Dookeran, and then when he switched, his persistent attacks on Dookeran after he had switched his support back to Panday, they decided to suspend me.
“Wade Mark raised his hand in the meeting and said he had a perception that I was responsible for leaking information to the media about details of executive meetings.
“All I will say is that I hope he, Wade Mark, never becomes the National Security Minister.
“Can you imagine him saying, ‘I believe you killed somebody, so I will have to hang you’?
“Wade Mark has no evidence to substantiate his accusations, so the suspension is highly irregular and has no foundation in law.”
Griffith then added: “The vote to reinstate Ramesh Maharaj was not unanimous.
“I voted against him.”
