-a PNCR traditional stronghold

LINDERS gave leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) a hostile reception when he visited the mining town on Friday.The vociferous protesters shouted: “You are not welcome in Linden!”

The protest was outside the main building of the Mackenzie High School, which served as a venue for a consultation by David Granger.
However, it is understood that a large number of Linden party members became agitated after arriving there, only to discover that the gates to the venue were locked, which they said indicated that they were uninvited.

This caused the party members to become disgruntled as they stood outside the gates with placards and hurled remarks at the PNCR Leader and Party Coordinator Sandra Adams who were said to be conducting a private meeting inside.
“Granger disrespectful to people. They come till here to lock we gate!” an angry party member shouted. “We are members of this party and right now are being disenfranchised; we were disenfranchised at the 18th Biennial Congress, and now we are being disenfranchised again. We get lock out in Congress, and now we get lock out in Linden,” another stated.
Holding placards bearing slogans such as “We are not accepting an imposed coordinator, no way!” and “Burnham and Hoyte must be turning in their graves, Comrade Leader,” the party members stood outside the gates and refused to be removed.
Angry PNCR party member Maurice Butters, who was inside the compound, related after being let out, that he had been locked inside the compound, since he had arrived early at the venue for the consultation scheduled for 18:00 hrs.
He said he went to meet with Granger, however, he was told that he could not do so.
“We can’t be hypocritical in whatever we do. I mean we are talking about participatory democracy, consultations, but then only certain persons were invited. At least, I was not invited, even though I am a Councillor, I was not invited,” he said.
Another protesting party member Leslie Gonsalves, said that the Linden party arm was dissatisfied with some of the actions of the PNCR Leader.
“Several things we are dissatisfied with: the imposition of a coordinator on us and other issues we are willing to discuss. We would have invited him into Linden several times; he never turned up.
“So after we learnt he was going to be in Linden today, we turned up to let him understand. Why come to Linden to have a meeting and you can’t deal with issues which are outstanding? And when we turned up here, the gates are locked,” he said.
Gonsalves said the protesters were not present to cause any ruckus but simply to make their voices heard.
“Irrespective of what it might be or what it was or what it might be, we are members of the PNCR and it is not a one-man show, we are members just as Granger and the others are and we are entitled to better treatment,” he said.