- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 19/Aug 07:08

Where was patriotism in past, Penny?

THE EDITOR: I read with some astonishment the recent statement by Opposition Leader Penny Beckles, who is suddenly attempting to lecture the newly elected UNC government on matters of patriotism and respect for national tradition. Beckles has no moral authority whatsoever to make such pronouncements. Where was her voice over the past ten years when TT was ravaged by corruption, mismanagement, and the highest levels of violent crime under the Dr Rowley PNM administration? Where was her outrage when citizens lived in fear daily, when murders spiralled out of control, when hospitals were under-resourced, and when families struggled under the burden of an economy that the PNM wrecked? Silence. Not a word. Not a peep. For a decade, the PNM presided over a crumbling nation and never once considered the people’s well-being as paramount. Yet today, after the UNC government made a responsible and security-driven decision to cancel this year’s Independence Day parade, Beckles wants to pretend she is the defender of patriotism? That is astounding. The decision to cancel the parade was not made lightly. It was guided by clear security advice and in the best interest of protecting our people and our national leaders. True leadership is about placing citizens’ safety above political grandstanding. That is exactly what Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her government have done. If Beckles truly cared about patriotism she would have stood with the people during the PNM’s decade of failure. Instead, she remained complicit in silence. Today, her criticisms ring hollow and self-serving. The UNC government remains committed to the safety, dignity, and prosperity of TT. Beckles and her colleagues in the Opposition would do well to reflect on their own record of neglect before daring to lecture anyone about patriotism. CURTIS A OBRADY Arima The post Where was patriotism in past, Penny? appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.