| But it's a moot point for the PUP - who failed to challenge the law as they had promised to do on Saturday. 3 weeks ago, the party said it was going to the Sarstoon to challenge the Government to stop them.
It was marketed first as direct action against an oppressive law. But then, starting last week, the leadership of the party started to change tune, describing this intended excursion as an "educational" trip.
Still, we were on board, and plans were made for the members of the PUP's National Party Council to go down to PG on Saturday morning at 10:00. The plan was for them to board boats which would take them near the mouth of the Sarstoon. But, at about 11:00 on Friday night, hours away from departure time, word started getting around that the PUP had suddenly cancelled their Sarstoon sojourn.
Politically, that's a major letdown, especially since the law has now been rescinded.
Today, we got a chance to ask Opposition Leader John Briceño about the flop, and he explained that there were two major reasons which forced them to take that decision:
Hon. John Briceno, Leader of the Opposition
"This trip we started planning from earlier in the week, but unfortunately my father got very ill and we had him in the hospital since Monday. So, I was not intimately involved in the operations and organizations and everything. All I was told that on Friday that several of the boats that we already had lined up to take our people were doing last minute cancellations. They were under extreme pressure from the powers that be, for them not to participate. So it would have been difficult for us to be able to take the amount of people that had already said that they want to go to the Sarstoon. But just as important, on Friday, the doctors advised me that I need to stay by my father, because they were saying that he was not getting better, he was getting worse and that he could have died at any moment and so their recommendation was that I should not leave. I have to stay around my dad and I am the only son in the family and I felt that it was my responsibility to be with my father and with the family. And I felt it would not have been right for me to send members of my party to go to the Sarstoon where they may be potential problems and I not be there with them. I don't think that I as a leader should send them and I'm not there with them. So when the recommendation was made by the people in charge, said that they think its best that we call it off. I did not object because I wanted to be there with them."
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