By Omar Anderson, Gleaner Writer
Seaga
FORMER JAMAICA Labour Party (JLP) leader Edward Seaga said he will not attend today's annual party conference.
Mr. Seaga said he will not go because he is offended by the slogans announcing the event, which he thinks describe him as an "old leader" with "old vision" to be dumped.
Asked to comment on what could likely be perceived as the pettiness of his action, he told The Sunday Gleaner: "My life is not petty; I am not going to allow anybody to play around with it."
Mr. Seaga, now a distinguished fellow at the University of the West Indies, said in a press release yesterday that he found the slogans "New Leadership, New Vision" "disrespectful" and "extremely offensive" .
But describing as "unfortunate", Mr. Seaga's decision to snub the conference, party chairman and party leader-in-waiting Bruce Golding, said the advertising agency made an error in its script for the radio announcements.
'JUST UNFORTUNATE'
"You cannot be a leader and ignorant of an ad that is running for nearly a week. Something is wrong there." Mr. Seaga responded.
Asked if he felt Mr. Seaga was being petty, Mr. Golding replied: "I think it's just unfortunate."
The former party leader said he decided to forego the conference after being bombarded by calls, and hearing for himself, the advertisement which has been on the airwaves since last Tuesday.
"The JLP is free to treat the vision which I gave to the leadership for 30 years in any way it wishes," the former Opposition leader said, "but it won't be allowed to dispense with my legacy while I am sitting on the platform and without any opportunity to defend my service and my vision. It can do so without me."
At today's conference, there was a planned showing of a 10-minute video presentation of Mr. Seaga's political life.
DEEPLY REGRETFUL
But he added yesterday he was deeply regretful he would not be present to say farewell to "my delegates" who served him loyally during his 30 years as JLP leader.
"I thank them for their expression of appreciation for my service and I trust they will have a fruitful and beneficial conference," he added.
Mr. Seaga said the wording of the conference slogan was a continuation of unsavoury treatment he has had to bear for several months now.
"I will not allow myself to be treated with any more of the disrespect and offensive behaviour which is characteristic of some of the leadership for the past year," Mr. Seaga stated
But in a bid to clarify the issue, Mr. Golding said Mr. Samuda had brought his attention to Mr. Seaga's discontent with the radio advertisement earlier.
"I instructed the advertising agency to take out 'new vision' and put in 'renewed hope", but there was a foul-up and that amendment was not done," he explained.
Mr. Golding told The Sunday Gleaner he personally explained the 'foul-up' to Mr. Seaga.
"The advertising agency even called Mr. Seaga, at my request, to say the error was theirs," the JLP chairman added.
