By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 19, 2011
Addressing the 15th Divali Celebration organized by the United National Congress Siparia Women’s Association last Friday, the Hon. Prime Minister offered the following remarks to her followers: “I thank you for your support, for your prayers and the adjustments you have made to your lifestyles during this period of the State of Emergency [SOE].”
Continue reading Moving Backward Into Slavery
By Gail Alexander
October 13, 2011 – guardian.co.tt
The Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) and the Congress of the People (COP), a coalition partner in the People’s Partnership, have called on Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to immediately act in the issue concerning taped statements by Works and Infrastructure Minister Jack Warner. PNM MP Amery Browne said Persad-Bissessar must immediately suspend Warner from the Cabinet and allow a police probe to proceed. COP chairman Joseph Toney, who said he was not at all comfortable with the situation pertaining to Warner, added that the Prime Minister must speak about the issue and the country must be told whether any laws were broken.
Continue reading PNM, COP on Jack video: PM must address issue now
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
October 04, 2011
I hate to be on Keith Rowley’s case but Rowley (and by extension the PNM) is really missing the pulse of the people and, in the process, failing to take the lead politically in the society. A serious party must be the elevated consciousness of a people. The leadership of the PNM has not shown such leadership in this crisis. We are following rather than leading the masses and that is not good for the party. It speaks volumes about Rowley’s leadership abilities.
Continue reading Sandy Must Stay!
By Raffique Shah
October 2, 2011
I HAVE always seen sexual assault of a woman as the most heinous crime a man could commit. There are other gruesome criminal acts, of course, such as murder by multiple chop-wounds, kidnapping and torturing victims, and brutal acts of violence against children and geriatrics who cannot defend themselves. Some may argue that all crimes in which the victims suffer physical abuse can be deemed heinous.
Continue reading Encounters with serial rapists
Suspect in Central rapes surrenders on ‘Crime Watch’
By Gyasi Gonzales and Camille Bethel
UPDATED: September 25, 2011 – Trinidad Express
Four men are now in police custody for the robbery and rape of the Central mother and daughter and police say the arrest of a fifth man in connection with the incident is imminent.
Masked men broke into the family’s house in Longdenville, Chaguanas, around 2.30 a.m. on Thursday, raping the 49-year-old mother and her 17-year-old daughter and beating her two sons who were at home at the time. They stole cash and jewelry and the family’s car.
Continue reading Suspects Nabbed for Rape of Mother and Daughter
By Dr. Selwyn R. Cudjoe
September 20, 2011
Sooner or later it had to happen. Amidst the chaos and head-in-the-sand posture, a mature voice had to rise up and address the implications of the state of emergency (SOE) that was declared by the government. While so many of my fellow citizens, buoyed by the apparent calm of the society welcomed the suspension of many of our civil liberties, it took a brave voice to remind us that a constitution cannot suspend itself and that the declaration of a SOE does not automatically abrogate all of our right as citizens.
Continue reading The CJ’s Wisdom
By Anika Gumbs-Sandiford
September 18, 2011 – guardian.co.tt
Back off! This is the strong message being sent by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Roger Gaspard to “office holders” regarding the arrest of citizens under the state of emergency. Warning that he would “continue to jealously guard his office at all cost,” Gaspard, in an exclusive interview with Sunday Guardian, said his office would continue to act independently. On the Attorney General’s decision to retain a battery of attorneys to assist with the prosecution of matters under the state of emergency, Gaspard said: “No other office holder would be allowed to choose any attorney for me for the prosecution of any matter; that choice remains exclusively mine.” On the issue of the perception of a war between the AG and the DPP, Gaspard said: “I know of no war between the AG and myself. There are no winners in war. I humbly prefer simply to continue to do my work soberly so as to protect and advance the public’s interest.”
Continue reading DPP tells ‘office holders’ back off
newsday.co.tt
September 18, 2011
To our knowledge, none of the actors involved in criminal activity caught on the CCTV footage provided by the state and published this week by this newspaper had active matters before the courts. Quite the contrary. It was our belief that some of the individuals who appeared on the screens may have been men from Nelson Street who were freed of the charge that they were gang members after the DPP advised the Chief Magistrate that the State had insufficient evidence against them. Once there is no matter before the court, we are free to publish the footage, the only risk being that of defamation, a matter for the civil, not criminal courts and thus no concern of the DPP.
Continue reading DPP’s Decision
By Raffique Shah
September 18, 2011
MANY moons ago—I must have been age 15, still attending college—a simple incident exposed me to the abuse of power, authority, uniform, maybe a combination of all these, by certain police officers. We Form Four or Five boys, as we awaited the bus to take us to our home districts, used to lime in a concrete drain (it was clean and offered some shade) that we had christened “Canal Park”.
Continue reading Squandering Emergency Gains
September 17, 2011
guardian.co.tt
After hours of continuous searching at the Port of Point Lisas, police seized yet another 40-foot container of high grade Arizona marijuana on Thursday evening. Customs and Excise officers said the haul had a street value of $7.4 million. But in a news release late yesterday the Police Service Public Affairs Unit quoted the street value as $30 million. The release said the value had been confirmed by an “expert in the field of narcotics.” But Customs communications manager, Alicia Charles, said yesterday Customs and Excise worked out the figure by calculating a kilo of marijuana to be approximately $8,000. She said the officers found 38 bags of marijuana weighing more than 921 kilos.
Continue reading Marijuana in the chicken: Drug bust at Point Lisas