A group of young people, calling themselves Project 40, is optimistic that President Anthony Carmona’s acknowledgment of a letter to him seeking his intervention in the ongoing hunger strike by Highway Re-route Movement (HRM) leader Dr Wayne Kublalsingh shows that “a positive outcome can still be achieved.” A statement from the group yesterday said the fact that Carmona accepted the letter “was an important step in establishing invaluable lines of communication on the matter.”
The group had delivered letters to Carmona, Anglican Bishop Claude Berkley and RC Archbishop Joseph Harris on Monday seeking their help to mediate the dispute between the HRM and the Government in the contentious Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy highway extension to Point Fortin.
Project 40 members who are in support of the HRM are predominantly under 35. For the past 17 days a different member of the group has been fasting from food and water in solidarity of Kublalsingh’s action. An e-mail copy of the letter sent to Carmona said citizens had been continuously disappointed with its leaders which was made evident by the apathy and selfishness which were pervasive in the once relatively cohesive society.
It also called on Carmona to demonstrate strong and fair leadership, adding that his intervention could not only be the key to unlocking a matter which had become stalemated but also could send a powerful and crucial message so that the Office of the President would play an integral role in providing hope for the country in times of turmoil.
“At your presidential inauguration on March 2013, you gave so many of us hope that your presidency harkened positive change, with your assertion that there must be a willingness to be accountable, and your promise to ‘Do right to all manner of people without fear or favour, affection or ill will,’” the letter added.