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The Leadership of the Congress of the People continue to remain silent in the face of some disturbing behavior by members of the Government, and all calls for clarification and guidance on the COP's position by its members have been met with a stone wall of silence.

We note that our esteemed Leader, the Honorable Winston Dookeran, has been 'smuggling' us hidden messages in his speeches, and we accede to his willingness to at least acknowledge that we are less than happy; it is becoming increasingly difficult for the membership to accept what is taking place within the Partnership, and everyone needs to be reminded that the rank and file members of the COP are politically informed, intelligent and independent in every sense of the word; socially connected and motivated by higher ideals than what is now being demonstrated.

Set free from the trappings of 'tribal' politics, the Party (or at least the membership that make up the Party) is not for sale to any bidder and is growing wary of the bait and switch game; It is either a Partnership or it's not, and somebody has to say so we can either return to the original agreement or walk away.

The promised authority of the COP 'Team' to keep the Administration in line ethically has not materialized, and the calls for integration into one Organization to be 'ready' for the next General Election has been floated by some within the bowels of the UNC.

I believe this should be taken for what it is, a brazen attempt to disconnect the COP Leadership from its members and so remove their bargaining power.

I would like to strongly suggest that were such a disconnection to occur, it would not be to facilitate the 'morphing' into one entity, and may well see the membership once again revisiting the idea of finding a new vehicle to practice 'New' politics.

Any sensible political observer worth his salt would be well aware that the substantial COP membership, coupled with the disenchanted PNM floating voter and the non aligned 'none of the above' voters makes up superior numbers in any equation and can provide political force to the will of the people.

Now is not the time for tired old men to loosen their belts and sup.

We are at the cusp of real change in our history, and the fact that the country has remained in something akin to constant election mode is a clear indication that neither the Government nor the Opposition of the day are capturing the hearts and minds of the people.

The crazy antics of some of our Members of Parliament both within and without that hallowed chamber; the on again/off again relationship with the truth by those who speak for the Administration; the unanswered questions and the outright reneging on election promises have all cast the thing in a new light.

Coupled with the invisibility and silence of the Leader of the Opposition, the people are beginning to feel used and abandoned, and left to their own devices.

The era of change may not yet be over in our Democracy, and a strong message needs to be sent to both the Government and the Opposition; get your acts together and do the jobs you were hired to do or we will fire you and replace you with people who will.

Please be advised...