THE OPPOSITION Jamaica Labour Party, dogged by the perception of persistent disunity, has been jolted again by the firing by Party Leader Edward Seaga of Karl Samuda as Leader of Opposition Business in the House of Representatives.But a conciliatory Mr. Samuda, who as MP has held the seat of St. Andrew North Central for the last 20 years, told The Gleaner last night that the country "is now faced with great difficulty and it is necessary to move away from internal squabbles."
He said the focus should be on the objectives of "regaining state power, removing the PNP and restoring good governance to the country."
He worried that the Jamaican people would see his removal as "another in a series of internal strifes within the party", but said "This in no way is going to diminish my involvement in political activity. I will remain the MP for North Central St. Andrew, a seat I have held for the last 20 years and I will continue to debate motions and pursue issues vigorously in Parlia-ment."
He said it was unfortunate that Mr. Seaga felt it was necessary "to take this action ... unfortunate as it comes at a time when a lot of effort was being made to unite around a set of principles and to get away from the focus on personalities".
Mr. Samuda denied that he had been in any negotiations with the National Democratic Movement to merge with the JLP. He said that at a meeting his house in Linstead a recommendation was made to have the JLP "initiate exploratory talks to encourage some NDM members to join the JLP, but that was a far as it went."
He said that all that he had been involved in was an attempt to unify the party and to reach out to its people."
