THE EDITOR: Allow me to add my voice to the so-called controversy surrounding Prime Minister Patrick Manning's statements to his audience at Howard Univer-sity in Washington, DC concerning kidnappings in Trinidad and Tobago. First, in a story appearing in the Newsday on Saturday December 20, 2003, the father of a kidnap victim lashed out at the Prime Minister for the statements made.

The father of kidnapped UWI student Shawn Sawh described Mr Manning's statements as "insensitive, callous and a gross insult to my son, my wife and all those innocent victims and myself." The Senior Sawh went on "I want the Prime Minister to know that I am confident that neither my son nor any other members of my immediate family staged-managed the kidnapping of my son. It is absurd to think that my wife and myself kidnapped our only child."
In light of this, I would like to pose a few questions to the goodly gentleman.
(1) Where in his statement did the Honourable Prime Minister pay special emphasis to your son's dilemma?
(2) Did Mr Manning indicate that your son's kidnapping was stage-managed?
(3) Was it the Prime Minister's claim that you and your wife kidnapped your son?
If not sir, then why was it necessary for you to complain to the media about this situation? Is it a case of you taking in front before in front takes you?

Secondly, a lot of other people have come out and condemned the Prime Minister after he indicated that a lot of the kidnappings were in fact found to be false. If we were to go by the front-page story of the Trinidad Express on Saturday December 20, 2003, we would realise that Mr Manning never said that most kidnappings were bogus. What Mr Manning did say (according to the Newsday), was "... what we are finding out is that a significant number of what has been reported as kidnappings, initially, and which has led to heightened tensions among the people of Trinidad and Tobago aren't kidnappings at all ... something else." Note that the word "most" was not used but the word "significant" was. According to the Chamber Pocket Dictionary the word "significant" means "important; worth noting" while the Heinemann English Dictionary gives its meaning as "notable."

Also in the Newsday on that same day, Ag Police Commissioner Everald Snaggs, indicated that of the 43 kidnappings this year, ten were false. Ten of 43 is more than 20 percent. Based on this I too would like to agree with the Prime Minister that the number of bogus kidnappings so far for this year is indeed "significant."

DEON JEFFERS
Chairman
PNM Tunapuna Youth League