Dear Editor: UNC’s Christmas Day coffin stunt at Deyalsingh’s home shows there’s no line Kamla won’t cross


“[…] The recent ‘danse macabre’ of a coffin being positioned outside the house of my Cabinet colleague, the Honourable Terrance Deyalsingh, on Christmas Day is evidence enough that the Leader of the Opposition is prepared to cross all lines of sanity and sobriety in her quest for political relevance.

“Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s physical absence from the scene cannot absolve her from the responsibility that accompanies this descent into the dark side of our politics…”

The following Letter to the Editor on the placing of a coffin outside the home of Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh on Christmas Day, by United National Congress (UNC) activists Victor Roberts and Renision Jeffrey was submitted to Wired868 by Minister of Social Development and Family Services Donna Cox:

Photo: UNC activists activists Victor Roberts (left) and Renision Jeffrey (right) present Minister of Health Terrence Deyalsingh with a coffin at his Valsayn home on Christmas Day 2021.

The phrase ‘politics is not for the fainthearted’ is as old as the hills, and ‘politics has a morality of its own’ is of more recent vintage. Neither of these two often-quoted phrases though, could have envisaged the depths of desperation now being demonstrated by the leadership of the UNC through its activists.  

The recent ‘danse macabre’ of a coffin being positioned outside the house of my Cabinet colleague, the Honourable Terrance Deyalsingh, on Christmas Day is evidence enough that the Leader of the Opposition is prepared to cross all lines of sanity and sobriety in her quest for political relevance.

Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s physical absence from the scene cannot absolve her from the responsibility that accompanies this descent into the dark side of our politics. The unvarnished fact is that she has given support to this madness by endorsing the actions of her failed La Brea candidate.   

She too, dressed in her black, has marched and danced behind this coffin.

Photo: UNC political leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar (centre) joins activist Victor Roberts in a ‘March for Democracy’ on 27 November 2021, as part of protests against the government’s handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
(via UNC)

While we, as politicians, are and certainly ought to be prepared to deal with political disaffection with the policies and actions of our respective parties, whether in Government or Opposition, there can be no excuse for drawing our families into the political gayelle by invading the sanctity of our homes—more so on a day held sacred by many, including non-Christians.  

This is the only space where we can have a quiet time with our families. Our homes are our private sanctuaries where, but for the short time that public life allows us to be there, we can relax, unwind and reenergise ourselves for the next gruelling day.

Is it any wonder that persons are reluctant to offer themselves for public office and have become disenchanted with politics and politicians?  

Is it any wonder that many good citizens are hesitant to offer themselves for the frontline of political office—wondering whether their spouses and children will ever be able to live ‘normal’ lives because there still exist persons like the Opposition Leader and UNC activist, Victor Roberts? What is the message being sent to the national community, that nothing is sacred anymore, that nowhere is safe anymore?  

Photo: Leader of the Opposition Kamla Persad-Bissessar tears up the Speaker’s guidelines during an extraordinary sitting of the House on Thursday 21 October 2021.
(Copyright Office of the Parliament 2021)

Having already desecrated the sanctity of the Parliament with their boorish display in October, they have now resorted to desecrating the sanctity of our personal homes. 

When will this end? Indeed, where will it end?

Today, I call on the Opposition Leader to demonstrate some of the qualities of statesmanship once displayed by her predecessors, men of the ilk of Basdeo Panday and Patrick Manning who, when in opposition, demonstrated that civility still had a place in our society.  

Today, I stand with the rest of my colleagues and all-right thinking citizens, and condemn in the strongest manner, this barbaric display of political desperation, and call on the Opposition Leader to reign in her activists.

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2 comments

  1. Agree!! There are no lines they aren’t willing to cross. But they are very consistent in terms of the persons they choose to carryout these acts on their behalf. Their wanton disregard for law and order should be of concern for most but this is TnT…. Anything goes.

  2. A dastardly act on the part of the UNC!!

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