Chairman of the Mediation Board, Justice Vasheist Kokaram, is urging all parties involved in the contentious Debe to Mon Desir portion of the Sir Solomon Hochoy Highway to Point Fortin to go to mediation immediately, saying it is a fundamental step in dispute resolution. He added the country was anxious over the matter and hoped good sense would prevail. Leader of the Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) Dr Wayne Kublalsingh and religious bodies, like the Roman Catholic Church, have urged the Government to take part in mediation but Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has refused to do so.
In an interview with the T&T Guardian yesterday, Kokaram said while mediation might not be the magic bullet, it was an avenue for all parties to come together to listen to concerns. He said: “I would strongly urge all parties to consider seriously mediation as a viable option to solve emotional conflict and produce everlasting solution. This must not be ignored. “Both parties must see this from their different perspectives. That type of polarised view is seen in many ways and we see it all the time in family matters.” Saying people do not live in isolation, he said engaging in mediation brought fresh perspectives which would assist in greater understanding. “In the highway dispute, the need to mediate would result in an understating of each other’s perspectives... what are the common concerns. “The process of mediation takes those discussions in a forward-thinking manner... what are the common interests we all share and how we can come up with some ideas,” he added.
Kokaram said mediation had proven to be one of the more successful means of resolving conflict outside the legal framework. Using mediation, he added, would also result in a “buy-in”, leaving room for no uncertainty, especially by members of the public. “With mediation there is also a sense of healing and it is also less costly. It has a success rate of 75 per cent. “And even if, at the end of the day, there is litigation, parties can also mediate at the end of the litigation, as there may be many unresolved issues left,” Kokaram said. Asked if he believed Persad-Bissessar should agree to mediation, he said while that was welcome no one was obligated to do so. “You cannot force someone to mediate and mediation is not a question of conceding your position. “On the other hand, there must be an understanding of the community being a subset of the wider community,” Kokaram added.
Project 40 keeps camp going
A few weeks ago, the HRM camp outside the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair, was too small to accommodate the large number of supporters who turned up on a daily basis. Yesterday only a handful of supporters were present. A few members of the Project 40 movement, a 40-day youth “relay fast” in support of the HRM and Kublalsingh, sat under a tent supporting each other. The 12th member to undertake a 24-hour fast was Nkosi Myers, who is studying economics at the University of the West Indies Saying young people were the future, Myers said: “No one is trying to see where they can meet each other halfway. It is not a problem they are going to face. It’s going to affect my generation and younger.” Contacted yesterday, Kublalsingh said he was getting weaker and feeling more lightheaded each day. He was visited by RC priest Fr George who prayed with him. “I am putting my body on the line and that is what it is all about. It is about going on unrelentingly. “That is what people do when they go to war... they fight... they could die or they could live... that is how it is,” Kublalsingh said.