DEAR EDITOR,
I congratulate you on your editorial entitled “Still Too Much Unease” in your May 20, 2017 publication.
In discussions on a proposed review of our constitution, I recommended that we remove the label of OPPOSITION from your Constitution. This inherited terminology handed down to us is interpreted by an elected minority to oppose almost everything proposed or enacted by a previous majority of a people through elections.
Very often, the opposition is to the very principles and formulations of a previous government. The so-called OPPOSITION is the minority elected representation. They form part of a governance structure. This takes me to my terminology of PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY where elected representatives play a fundamental part in governance and development.
Over the years, I note that the so-called OPPOSITION appears to oppose almost everything proposed or enacted by a previous Government. This is not only true for St. Lucia. You only have to read and listen to television releases coming from the media of some more developed countries where the opposition opposes or seeks to oppose almost all that was enacted or proposed by a previous government.
We need not follow that direction. We can show the world that as a small nation we embrace PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY and good governance for the benefit of our people and not oppose even the pronouncements of a previous government. This should help alleviate the “Still Too Much Unease” in your May 20 editorial.
Ambassador Dr. Joseph E. Edmunds, OBE
Former Ambassador of St Lucia to the
UN, OAS, and US and Member of the Executive Board
OF UNESCO