By Raffique Shah
April 12, 2014
Ray Robinson was the most titled politician in the history of Trinidad and Tobago: President of the Republic, Prime Minister, Chief Secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, and for good measure, Chief Olokun Igbaro of the Yoruba people.
But he was not the most successful, certainly at the polls. He was King of Tobago but a knave in Trinidad. In fact, he was a Tobagonian politician whom Trinidadians loved to hate.
Continue reading He cast a giant shadow
Robinson has died
By Multimedia Desk
April 09, 2014 – trinidadexpress.com
Former President and Prime Minister Arthur NR Robinson has died.
Robinson, who had been ailing for several months, passed away at the St Clair medical Centre at around 6 a.m. He was 87.
His passing was confirmed by National Security Minister Gary Griffith who said a State funeral was being planned.
Continue reading Arthur NR Robinson has died
By Michael Harris
January 08, 2012 – trinidadexpress.com
What is the difference between a silkworm and a maggot? This is the question which popped into my head as I reflected on the current controversy which has erupted over the recent appointment of senior counsel. Frankly I did not think that there was anything salient which could be added to the debate after the cogent and comprehensive submissions made by Messrs Hudson-Phillips SC and former CJ Michael de la Bastide.
I changed my mind, however, after reading the brilliantly lucid summation of the issues presented by Terrence Farrell in his article in the Express on January 5. It often happens that a particularly lucid exposition on any topic can serve to excite new and additional insights which help to develop the issue further.
Continue reading Of Silkworms and Maggots
guardian.co.tt
January 05, 2012
Attorney General Anand Ramlogan cannot really be faulted in awarding silk to two sitting judges because there was precedence in the matter. That view on the controversial matter was given by Israel Khan SC yesterday. “When it was first announced I didn’t give it much serious thought because there was precedence for a chief justice to take silk,” he said. Khan recalled that former chief justice Clinton Bernard was awarded silk in 1988 by the attorney general of then National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government.
Continue reading Khan: Don’t blame AG, it was done before
I DO not know how Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her Cabinet arrived at a decision to appoint a Commission of Enquiry into the attempted coup of 1990. I suspect the hype that always surrounds the anniversary date of the Muslimeen assault on the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) government may have prompted the PM and her colleagues to attempt to “put this matter to rest for once and for all”. It certainly was not part of the People’s Partnership manifesto or 120-day action plan.
Continue reading 1990 Enquiry: Exercise in Futility
Probe into 1990 Coup
Twenty years later, there is going to be a Commission of Enquiry into the July 27, 1990 attempted coup which was led by Imam Yasin Abu Bakr and members of the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday during at the post-Cabinet press briefing at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair.
PM: Why did it happen?
Cabinet has decided a Commission of Inquiry into the circumstances of the July 27, 1990 attempted coup will take place to find out “what went wrong” and to “bring closure” and relief to citizens traumatised by the event.
Continue reading Probe into 1990 Attempted Coup