PM wrong to take part
By Ria Taitt Political Editor
trinidadexpress.com
President of the Law Association, Senior Counsel Martin Daly, yesterday criticised Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s participation in a ‘march’ last Friday at Woodford Square, Port of Spain.
Daly raised the question of whether the Prime Minister had committed a criminal offence.
Stressing that he was dealing with principle and not politics or personalities, Daly said he “genuinely believed” the Woodford Square ‘public march’ sent the wrong message. And, more importantly, “the authorities” put the Commissioner of Police in a “very, very awkward position”.
“The upshot of this is that other groups would simply say ‘we are having a cultural show’ and they would turn up and the moment you move against them, they would say ‘that is not fair,'” Daly said.
Daly said, according to Summary Offences Act, one is obliged to notify the Commissioner of Police if one is going to have a public meeting.
“If you don’t, it is an offence,” he said.
It would be quite stupid to think, that after all of the planning involved. To shuttle people, to set up a stage!!! etc etc, days before!!!. that no one with authority was “informed” when the media, the parliament, and the entire nation “knew” about the Woodford Square gathering days before! Such is the backwards nature of politics, law and media in T&T at present. All of which must be changed.
Lawyers, who don’t debate such “uninformed” nonsense are needed in T&T, i hope Mr Daly will be voicing his concerns over the legality of the Government doing non transparent “deals” and “trading” the nations money with the now bankruped corrupt Lehman Brothers that will soon cause him to practice in london, when the economy spirals, as it follows suit with it’s US counterpart’s that it’s so closely “tied” to.
And what of this criminal offence? If “proven” (because everyone in the media seem to have amnesia about things being proven “before” reporting on it), will it be a crime worthy of a few days in jail? or simply a misdemeanor where a fine can be paid? which is it? As usual with the T&T unbalanced media, half facts are the order of the day. I have seen about 4 stories on this from different media sources, all the same!
And is it section 3 or section 109 of the Summary Offences Act that mentions the 48 hr notice? shouldn’t the media and their lawyer “source” inform us as to what the “penalty” is for this crime?
This is to simply to vague to be convincing!
I wonder what’s the reason for the media omitting the penalty part of their story…? I think we already know that answer to that one.
Trinidad needs an objective media, a politically educated population, real doctors. real lawyers and real help real bad!
“Trinidad needs an objective media, a politically educated population, real doctors. real lawyers and real help real bad!”
I am in total agreement as to the need for real help quickly, but fervently believe that our problem stems from what our most famous ‘national ingrate’ V.S. Naipaul condescendingly dismissed us as mere “mimic men.” As a nation we are very enamored by the great Northern big brother North America, and tend to emulate every disgusting whim, action, and foibles in vogue irrespective of the consequences.
The Yankees for example will believe full-scale everything that Rightwing nuts like Rush Limbaugh, Rupert Murdoch fox talking heads, and other ‘objective media’ types tell them about the pointless war, the state of the failed economy, and the excellent stewardship of the Texan Harvard and Yale educated frat-boy , even when they are adversely affected in the process . With the exception of the war local nationals would accept everything that our disingenuous, corporate media types and pseudo experts -disguised as intellectuals, regurgitate for them without question.
Uncle Sam’s kids aren’t dumb as one might be led to believe but they will vote and support political figures and policies that they fully well know goes against their domestic and foreign policy interest.- be it abortion, health care, justice, war, security , tax breaks for the extremely wealthy, immigration , and the list goes on. Do not be surprise to see not only our illiterate local population, but many of our politically educated follow like ‘sheep to a slaughter,’ over the hill, and out of touch politicians with no sense of the future all the way to the grave with nothing to show for their efforts.
Real Doctors? I’ll give you that also for if they can pronounce a man that attempted to commit suicide dead, and send him for burial when the man was indeed alive, then it is not surprising that the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader and his wife ensures that their hospital room rooms are secured in London, Miami, and Cuba when ever they have to get a physical. As for lawyers , I just wish so many would not attempt to get involve in our local politics , as I believe the best one is a dead one, and too many have cause havoc within our country from Chief Justice to wet behind the ears Oxbridge grads – if you catch my drift. ‘Nuff said.’
“it is not surprising that the Prime Minister, the Opposition leader and his wife ensures that their hospital room rooms are secured in London, Miami, and Cuba when ever they have to get a physical”.
I could not have written that any better!
People in T&T generally are politically dunce and I make no apologies for writing that, they don’t realise that the fools you put in power will affect your life!!! they follow the PNM and UNC parties like if it’s a tribe. If this event was not authorized then then certain members of the PNM have to be arrested. I make no apologies for saying that because this PNM Regime seems to be akin to Adolf Hitler and his Gestapo in it’s mindset and Black people have to realise that their own Beloved Patrick Manning has betrayed them or maybe the hurt is too much to show in public like their televised general meeting.
I am glad to see that for once the question of media coverage and the journalists who write for their respective papers are scrutinized. After the ‘debate’ on Friday I was looking to read what was discussed in parliament and what was the vote tally on the topic, instead our journalists concentrated on telling us about CEPEP workers, PNM supporters, Manning in the Square and Panday calling off his supporters from coming to Woodford Square. The Issue of course was the Opposition’s vote of no-confidence in the prime minister and our dearly beloved reporters concentrated on the party supporters to write their stories. What a shame! what a damning! It is our hope that the people who so vigourously defend their right to freedom of speech and their right to report it, barely report an intelligent account of what is taking place in the people’s house of representatives and the people we put there to do our bidding but find plenty of time to give ‘national enquirer’ type gossips.
“I make no apologies for saying that because this PNM Regime seems to be akin to Adolf Hitler and his Gestapo in it’s mindset and Black people have to realise that their own Beloved Patrick Manning has betrayed them ”
I think that the exact same statement can be said about the UNC, Panday, and the Indian-folk, Donny! Were you there between 1995 and 2001? Why trivialize the analogy to impune one group and it’s leaders, when Indo-leaders and their flock are just as liable.
I understand that you are answering to the event referenced in the blog, but these kind of statements can be taken out of context, and have far damaging effects…
Leadership and lawlessness
Port of Spain Mayor Murchison Brown has been publicly castrated by his own party. Not physically, of course. But certainly mentally. Surely the Mayor must know now – and one suspects must have known then – that the “Friends of Woodford Square” who got approval to hold a cultural rally last Friday – the day of the non-event that the UNC’s no-confidence motion turned out to be – was nothing less than an undercover PNM entity.
Meanwhile, Acting Police Commissioner James Philbert must have had several embarrassing moments as he watched how the afternoon events proceeded, not least being the arrival of the Prime Minister who turned the event into a political meeting, the better to trumpet his moral superiority over his detractors in the nearby Parliament.
One suspects, too, that many in the red-clad crowd were more nonplussed than anything else, the whole to-do being much ado about nothing except, of course, the inconvenience caused to citizens by this public demonstration of irrelevant posturing to say nothing of illegal manoeuvring to score what political point only the PNM’s movers and shakers can tell – and, word is, they are still busy making out that they have, indeed, scored points, public perceptions to the contrary be damned.
Full Article : trinidadexpress.com
Patrick Manning used the resources of the State (the mass transit system) to bring in CEPEP and URP workers to show that the PNM has the support of the “people”. Tying up the mass transit system for this event greatly impacted many persons who relied on mass transit to get home. If this action was not illegal, it was clearly unethical and demonstrated one of the many weaknesses within the system. It is clear that CEPEP and URP workers are being used as instruments of politics in Trinidad and Tobago. Basdeo Panday would have done likewise.
Patrick Manning and Basdeo Panday are both currently exploiting the weaknesses that are inherent within the political and legal framework of this country, and unless the system is reformed, future politicians will also exploit the weaknesses within the system. The losers under a system that is not reformed would be the public, whether they chose to believe it or not.
A day of shame, disgrace
by Clevon Raphael
17th September ,2008
guardian.co.tt
I would find it difficult to believe anything this administration has to say from now on.
The Opposition may have “lost” the no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Patrick Manning, but a dispassionate assessment of Friday’s disgraceful events outside the Parliament told an even more frightening and poignant story.
That is, if we as citizens do not exercise greater vigilance we could wake up one morning and find our democratic way of life has been brutally snatched from us.
At that time we would have nobody but ourselves to thank because we failed to take preventive action at the right time.
I never thought I would have had to express such misgivings about our Prime Minister, but as they say, to be forewarned is to be forearmed.
Let me briefly recount the scenario leading up to “Shameful Friday,” a day that I pray we would never be subjected to again.
The Opposition filed a motion of no confidence in Mr Manning, a perfectly legitimate process in our democratic system of governance.
Manning had nothing to worry about except his ego, which is not the nation’s business.
Neither was it a sinister plot as the PNM sycophants and Mr Manning would have the misinformed in our midst believe.
A few days before the debate was due to begin, the nation found out that PNMites were coming in their droves to Woodford Square in a show of support and solidarity with their beloved leader.
In the build-up to last Friday several top officials of the PNM, including its public relations officer Jerry Narace, vehemently denied the party had anything to do with this supposedly spontaneous show of affection for Manning.
At that time and including on “Shameful Friday” itself, all the PNM top brass were shamelessly still maintaining the party was not behind the event.
Of course not even the most stupid among us were fooled and knew fully that the level of professionalism and sophistication which went into preparing the venue was not the work of these supporters, who were almost exclusively Cepep and URP dependents.
Now that it has been established they were cajoled, coerced, and maybe threatened to come into town or else they would lose their jobs did not organise the mob-like occasion, a very pertinent question arises.
Why did these PNM senior people think it fit to so brazenly and shamelessly conceal the truth from the entire nation?
I mean it isn’t like they were committing a criminal offence by arranging that bacchanal to curry-favour with Manning.
If these people could get on radio, television and the press and be such strangers to the truth on a matter of such infinitesimal importance, one wonders now how can we believe them in the really important issues.
Can we ever believe these people when they get into Parliament or any other public platform that they are really speaking the truth?
If they can take God out of their thoughts and try to pull the wool over our eyes in this instance, I would have serious doubts about their truthfulness in the really important national affairs.
Is this the sort of message that they are sending to the nation’s young people—that they boldfacedly hide the truth and hope to get away with it?
Is this the nation-building message the new PNM members of the Parliament are being taught—that it is cool to try to hoodwink the people who entrusted them with the future of the state?
I don’t know about you but I would find it very difficult to believe anything members of this administration say from now on. How could they really expect the people to take seriously their spoken word after such a display in a relatively trivial matter?
Who advised them to go down that road? Or do they really think we are bunch of doltish people that they can ram anything down our throats?
Try as I might I just cannot fathom why did they have to resort to subterfuge where none was necessary, which is not to say that it could ever be justified.
The Opposition I am sure had no illusion that it would have “won” the debate because it really was not that type of debate.
It was an academic exercise, giving the Opposition another opportunity to lambaste the head of government for what it perceives to be his failure to properly govern the country.
Absolutely nothing about attempting to overthrow the Prime Minister, which simply put could never be achieved as long as the Government has a majority in the Parliament.
Why was it necessary to humiliate their humble supporters in this ego-building trip in the square?
“Shameful Friday” was an abuse of poor people who would continue to be abused at the hands of heartless politicians bent on keeping them in perpetual dependency and mental bondage.
After being caught in this big stink I think the Government’s strategy backfired and it has raised a high level of distrust among the citizenry.
Indeed, there are many people including myself who would now doubt our confidence level in this administration after that unbelievable conduct on “Shameful Friday.”
http://www.guardian.co.tt/archives/2008-09-21/Clevon-Raphael.html