By Chantalé Fletcher
POLITICAL leader of the United National Congress (UNC) Kamla Persad-Bissessar say Trinidad and Tobago is officially in the hands of dictator Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley.
“As they illegally took away the rights of Members of Parliament and Senators to speak in the Parliament.”
She was speaking at the Leader of the Opposition Office in Port-of-Spain during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
This conference was held after the Opposition failed to pass a motion to impeach President Paula-Mae Weekes earlier, with a vote of 47 to 24 in the Electoral College comprising all members of the Senate and the Lower House.
Thus no tribunal will be setup to investigate the conduct the conduct of President Weekes in the matter for the appointment of a police commissioner.
Persad-Bissessar described Thursday as one of “the darkest days for democracy.”
Historians and the future generations will look back on this attempt to shield the president, the prime minister and a dishonored former Police Service Commission chairman from what would have been scrutiny in the hallowed halls of the Parliament, she said.
Persad-Bissessar said, “We were not allowed to debate the very important Section 36 Constitution Motion that all 19 Opposition MPs had proposed.”
She added that the Rowley administration had suffocated democracy. “Every time, an Opposition member rose to speak, the Speaker or someone would shut down the mics thereby muting and muzzling the voices of the elected representatives of the people.
“By doing so, they deprived not just the people viewing and listening but also created another issue whereby the records of the Parliament would be impaired.”
Persad Bissessar said, “The People’s National Movement (PNM) has declared war on the democracy as we were once again denied a chance to present our arguments.”
She stated that the document sent to members of the Opposition from the House Speaker Bridgid Anisette-George highlighted that the sitting was for then purpose of a motion under Section 36 of the Constitution.
The opposition leader said, “Such an extraordinary motion, no other business is to be transacted but yet the Speaker choose to make this long announcement and then gave us no opportunity to respond.”
Persad- Bissessar said, “It was not an announcement, that was a statement by the Speaker which was the first breech which turned out to be a death announcement which tells us about the death of democracy in T&T.”
She abused the rules of the House, disguised by this lengthy announcement with no opportunity to reply and in spite of our strong objections, railroaded the process, silencing the Opposition, the MP for Siparia said.
Persad-Bissessar said, “The president is subject to the supreme law of the land as no one is above the law and we are all equal in the eyes of the law.”
She also called on Rowley to man up and stop hiding behind the Speaker’s and the President’s petticoats.
Persad-Bissessar said, “I condemn him for the battering these women have to endure. You are the last man to speak about attacking women. Why all the secrecy? If there is nothing to hide, why are you hiding, Prime Minister? Why was the debate shut down?”
The Opposition Leader questioned whether the conflict of interests existed as, Independent Charrise Senator Seepersad, the sister of the former chairman of the PolSC, did not state her interest and such voted in favour of the Government.
She said, “How many times Faris Al-Rawi recused himself when it was family matters before the cabinet, declared his interest and then left or Stuart Young and before that over 210 times, people recuse themselves from the cabinet because of conflict of interest?”
