A strategist of the National Democratic Congress who resigned amidst internal bickering within the senior ranks of the Party has written to the party Political Leader Tillman Thomas to confirm if he authorised a flyer on social media which among other things he said defame his character.
With the caption “Did you approve that facebook publication?” William Joseph who remained an ordinary member until 6 January 2014, said that the Facebook post by an entity styled “Ethical Grenada” displayed a picture of him telling Grenada and the world that he had joined the ruling New National Party.
“The position is that the fact of my resignation was known only to persons on the NDC Management. I contend therefore that it is a person or persons on that body who had specific motives for bringing the matter into the public domain, seemingly acting through surrogates,” said Joseph in his Open Letter to Thomas.
“Accordingly, I hold the NDC vicariously liable for the reckless defamation of my character that has occurred,” he added. Claiming that ordinary NDC members and supporters have been deliberately set up by false information emanating, reasonably, from at least one high-level NDC official, Joseph said that in pursuing that selfish and irresponsible course of misinformation, the NDC has been put at risk and is now exposed to considerable public ridicule. Such conduct cannot be in the best interest of the NDC,” he said.
Denying that he has joined the NNP, the former Caricom and OECS Ambassador to Grenada said that he has not joined the NNP, and that such a course of action is not in his contemplation. “Notice also that my letter of resignation contained no attack or criticism of the NDC as a party, nor did I denounce the party. I make a clear distinction between membership of the NDC and personal support for the party,” he said.
Describing the social media posting as a cheap piece of rudimentary counter-intelligence, better known as ‘propaganda” Joseph said that the intention is to muddy the waters, and divert attention from the indictment against a certain individual and to cause NDC people to think of him as they think of Peter David and the expellees who are now involved with the NNP in some form of relationship.
“Simply put, they desire to contrive a situation where I am placed on the “NDC HATE LIST”! Achieve this and the said individual escapes in the breeze! Does this conduct remind you of the heart and soul of the real NDC?” said the letter.
In a statement issue to the media about his resignation, Joseph said that he did not wish to publicly publish his letter of resignation, but provided significant details about uneasiness within the executive and senior rank of the party.
He said that his decision to resign was based entirely on evidence of serious misconduct specifically, and a set of deliberate lies presented by Nazim Burke in relation to matters in which both the Party and he had an important interest.
Without providing details, the explanatory notes said that despite providing reasonable time for him to cooperate with special arrangements put in place by the political leader to facilitate a settlement, the matter was not resolved.
Joseph said that while it is true that he does not favour Burke’s leadership of the NDC, for very important and objective reasons, he did not resign on that ground.
The party will soon be holding its first convention since the 2013 General Election in which the party failed to win a seat, and one of the important decisions for the delegates is electing a new executive. Political leader Tillman Thomas has indicated that he will not contest the election, which is done by nomination on the day and secret ballot by the delegates.
Joseph said that he suggested an alternative process by which to select a leader, involving candidates making their case before Party members at the branch level so as to discontinue the practice of ‘elections by ambush’ at the Convention.
“Furthermore, I had also suggested that the Party would be better off finding a person who was acceptable to Grenada as a national leader and then make that person the Party leader. I believe that this particular idea did not sit well with Mr Burke and was the real reason behind what I call “THE RAW MEAT WAR”; a self-made red herring used to mask his true concern,” he said while pointing out that it is very wrong and untenable for people to say that mere differences over the issue of personal support for an individual aspiring to become Party leader are evidence of division and infighting.
