Some 42 civil society groups have knocked Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar who had expressed doubt whether mediation would solve the current Debe to Mon Desir impass. While fielding questions from members on the media at a recent function Ramadhar had said: “There were efforts to mediate by Minister Rambachan (Suruj) and was rejected by civil society." But in a press release yesterday, the groups said that was a misrepresentation of the position held by civil society members.
It added that Rambachan was a party to the dispute and therefore could not be a mediator.
"The civil society groups have been consistent in our stance on this issue as evidenced by the press release of October 12 which states 'The HRM and Dr Kublalsingh agreed to mediation of this issue from the time it was called for five days ago by religious leaders. Our role as civil society is to support calls for mediation to resolve differences through dialogue and to encourage the Government to follow due process in accordance with good governance practices’.”
The groups added they readily accepted an invitation on October 15 with Rambachan and Nidco. "Our letter of acceptance of Minister Rambachan’s meeting said, 'As our letter to the Prime Minister stated solutions can be arrived at through dialogue and commitment to achieve win-win outcomes’. The creation of the space for this dialogue can properly take place in a meeting such as you have now proposed in your letter.
"Our opening statement at the meeting explained that the Prime Minster stated that her government had considered the Armstrong Report. “We accept this assertion but we do not have expertise in these areas and therefore cannot judge the merits of such an assertion. “We cannot assess any particular aspect of the Armstrong Report or the optimum connectivity proposal. Our concern is the process, which would help us be able to live together in our communities,” the release added.