Official Website Launching

The P.D.M. (People’s Democratic Movement) is proud today to launch its website. It took a long time in coming. But we turned our backs on shortcuts.

We thank all those who have encouraged us in the process. And we are particularly grateful to Dominican Webmaster of “Sir Raglan Presents” for so willingly providing the technical requirements.

The website will greatly extend our outreach to Dominicans everywhere, to our sisters and brothers in the Caribbean region, and to our counterparts in the developing world who, like us, are engaged in the uphill task of reversing their history of colonial rule and contemporary underdevelopment and dependency. It will enable computer-users in and out of Dominica to obtain information on the present state of our country as well as on what P.D.M. is doing to bring about much-needed and much sought-after change.

Such information will include: how PDM came into being; the 25 Principles which guide the work of our Party; PDM’s Constitution; the Party’s Draft Minimum Economic and Social Programme; Our 13 Emergency Steps Forward; Individual Plans for the various Sectors; Community Development Plans drawn up by the communities themselves; and PDM’s Press Releases on matters of national and international importance.

There will also be a FORUM for viewers to raise and comment on PDM’s specific proposals as well as on matters and issues which viewers consider to be of significance to the development of not just our own country but also to that of the Caribbean region and of the developing world of which we are an integral component.

Further, website viewers will gain access to an enormous body of scholarly material on (1) the history of Dominica from earliest times, and (2) the more relevant aspects of the law in Dominica.

What this means is that our website will serve to add a new dimension to the means PDM has thus far been using to inform and interact with our people. But it can never replace them. Regular Press Statements. The Political Education Hour. News items on radio and television. Pamphlets and leaflets. Town hall sessions. Open public meetings. House-to-house visits. Groundings with sisters and brothers. Street protests. These will remain, probably forever, at the root of the electioneering process.

We want to state at the very outset that our intention is not to make www.dapdm.org a facility for cross-discussion by a select few. Neither do we intend it to be a facility for persons who do not now agree with our ideas and positions to lower the level of debate and return political discourse to the gutter. Our hope is that the website will evolve into something to which our people can turn to for inspiration and comfort. And, above all else, we wish to convert it from a PDM installation into the property of all those at home and overseas who care about this country and wish to lend a hand at this historical moment in the processes of its growth and development.

So, we say this to you: Let www.dapdm.org become a household phrase. Make it a constant companion. Learn about our history and our laws. Use the FORUM. Become a member of P.D.M. Support our Party’s activities. And, most of all join the call for change now.

William Para Riviere
Political Leader
November 3rd. 2008