Newsday Editorial
Saturday, August 15 2009
www.trinidadandtobagonews.com
It was an imperative that Israel Khan should have recused himself from the Uff Commission of Inquiry into Udecott and the Construction Industry. The ten-page letter which he issued to Udecott’s attorneys some days ago appeared to pre-judge the personalities and the issues before the Commission. As a Commissioner, Mr Khan should not have been giving vent to such opinions prior to having them stated in the body of the eventual Commissioners’ Report.
Israel Khan’s appointment to the Commission was met with objections before the sittings began. MP Jack Warner wrote to President Maxwell Richards and to Professor Uff stating that Mr Khan was an open and admitted supporter of the governing PNM, and in the interest of justice “appearing to be done”, should not sit on a Government-appointed Inquiry. The President and Professor Uff both declared themselves in favour of retaining Mr Khan. Mr Khan vigorously proclaimed his integrity and his ability to be fair in the hearings.
Indeed, those who feared that Mr Khan may have been “soft” on the Government and on Udecott were soon surprised. The advocate attorney treated the Udecott witnesses, particularly Calder Hart, to searing cross-examination and even caustic comment. His action seemed to set the tone for other commissioners to join in these attacks. Cynics in our society may have wondered if these attacks — more suited to the attorneys for other interests in the Inquiry than the commissioners, who hold a quasi-judicial, rather than an advocate, role — were designed to allow the whole process to be nullified under a plea for Judicial review.
Given what had transpired earlier, we were not surprised to learn that Udecott was seeking to have all the commissioners replaced. Their letter in this regard was withdrawn, allegedly on the advice of the AG. This should have let the matter rest, even if only for the time being.
But it did not rest. Mr Khan issued his ten-page letter to Udecott’s attorneys and copied the media with it. Certainly, Mr Khan’s remarks and opinions expressed in that letter would have debarred him from continuing to sit in judgment of the issues surrounding Udecott and Mr Hart. However, the letter was received with what we can only admit was stunned silence! It must have been clear to most observers that the Commission had been torpedoed, but it seemed everyone was waiting to see what reaction would follow.
Into this vacuum, Israel Khan returned. He wrote to President Maxwell Richards, admitting that his letter may be construed by some as showing bias against the subjects of the Inquiry. This was an understatement from the man who boasts of his advocate tendencies and the need to be rough at times!
It is being suggested that Mr Khan withdrew on the advice, or at the instruction of the Attorney General. If this, like the withdrawal of the Udecott letter is true, then the AG appears to be playing a quiet but responsible role in bringing the Inquiry to a fair conclusion.
While we are assured that the Commission can continue its work with the three remaining Commissioners, we must wonder if its work has not already been compromised by the earlier comments, still on record, of Mr Khan.
Would Udecott, and Mr Hart, and therefore the Government, still have a case for Judicial Review of the whole process, bringing it to nothing, just like the UNC’s Deyalsingh Inquiry into Piarco Airport?
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Enough with all this Udecott , PNM /UNC tedious , difficult to decipher affairs . It’s simply ‘much ado about nothing,’ and over the heads of many of our 1.3 million concerned nationals. If we care about corruption, equal justice , fairness and concrete democracy as it is linked to our country, it will take the will to perform three distinctive actions starting yesterday. They are to first finally send Abu Bakr to the long awaiting hang man noose where he deserve ,after what he subjected our nation to endure in 1990 . Secondly, begin the much delayed trial that would ensure Mr. Basdeo Panday get a minimum of 15 years hard labor in prison , plus confiscation of all properties and accumulated wealth from the loot that emanated from his corruption fiascos while in power.
Finally, I want to see Uncle Israel Khan throw his hat into the political ring and upstage some of these uncaring political jokers that choose to talk the talk about law and order , without a true appreciation of it’s importance as a prerequisite for social and economic development of a budding democracy like ours. You can count my vote Mr. Khan , and let me assure you that I won’t care if you use the Cascadoo fish as a symbol for the new party creation, or better yet, the old school one you’ll be forced to revamp once you take charge. Enough already!
“While we are assured that the Commission can continue its work with the three remaining Commissioners, we must wonder if its work has not already been compromised by the earlier comments, still on record, of Mr Khan.
Would Udecott, and Mr Hart, and therefore the Government, still have a case for Judicial Review of the whole process, bringing it to nothing, just like the UNC’s Deyalsingh Inquiry into Piarco Airport?”
Could it be that Israel Khan, who declared his support for the PNM and handles lucrative legal matters for the government, was placed on the Commission of Inquiry in order to sabotage it?
The many games of Government. It does indeed look like Mr. Khan’s role was to sabotage t he Uff commission. We all wondered why the Gov’t acquiesced to a full commission of inquiry so easily. prof Uff seemed too smart and the Gov’t looked doomed, but they never appeared ruffled or even perturbed as Hart’s and UDECOTT’s seemingly endless stream of dirty laundry was aired in the public domain.