Opposition leader awaits Warner's announcement

The PNM’s spotlight centred on Jack Warner during its weekly political meeting on Tuesday night, with Dr Keith Rowley criticising the former minister, his supporters and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. PNM supporters clad in red shouted: “Hang Jack! Hang Jack!” while Percy’s tune “Hit the Road Jack!” resonated.

Rowley promised to deal with Warner when his private motion comes up in Parliament tomorrow for Warner to explain his former role as adviser to the T&T Football Federation (TTFF) and the allocation of funds for the 2006 World Cup football campaign. “I have no vendetta against Jack as a person but I am waiting with bated breath to see Jack Warner’s face in the Parliament when he gets up to lick up Keith Rowley,” the PNM leader said. 

“I am going to Parliament to raise the conduct of a prime minister in protecting a minister who has damaged this country.” Rowley called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to explain whether the former national security minister was ever questioned in connection with the Concacaf findings which implicated him in misappropriation of funds. “Has Commissioner Williams ever asked Jack a question about the investigation of matter under the Customs Act?” he asked.

“Warner said nobody ever asked him a question yet when he resigned, Williams is saying Jack is the greatest thing that ever happened to the Police Service. You have any idea how our institutions have collapsed?” Rowley also criticised COP activist Carol Cuffy-Dowlat for her statements that the findings against Warner were not new and his resignation proved his love for his country.

“Where did our basic decency and national dignity go? I am calling on the people of T&T, wherever you are, do not surrender the values of your grandparents,” he said. Saying he was ashamed of his fellow citizens who continued to show love for Warner, Rowley made a public call to citizens to uphold spiritual morals and values. 

Moonia Balchand stood helplessly in the rain with tears pouring down her face, watching a demolition crew smash her home on Thursday. Her common-law husband Rambachan Siew ran hurriedly to secure his four pet parrots, bullfinches, picoplats and German shepherd dog Papa. However by the time he came back, their possessions, including a new stove, refrigerator and television set, were stacked outside.

Balchand said her family has been living in the house at Basta Hall, Couva, for more than 19 years. She said she was at home cooking around 7 am when the crew came with a bailiff and police officers. “They had an envelope and they said they had a court order to evict us...Then they started to break down everything,”  she said. Three old 280 C cars owned by Siew were removed from the property. They were stacked in a heap in an adjoining yard.

Balchand said she did not know where to go. “We have no place to go. We may have to spend the night out here because right now we have no choice,” she said. She also said she did not know who was the real landowner as they have been paying $226 rent annually to another person who claimed ownership of the land. Her son Anand Maraj who fixes cars said he was upset at the way the eviction was carried out.

“They didn’t have to mash up things. Those cars were old but they had valuable parts which we were using,” Maraj said. The demolition was authorised by a High Court order, four months after the landowner won a case at the San Fernando Supreme Court. Merle Baggoo who had the power of attorney for the landowners, said she gave the family adequate notice to evacuate the premises but her pleas were ignored. She also said she offered them the land at half the market value but they refused to purchase.

Siew said yesterday that he purchased a lot of land from Caroni (1975) Limited after he got his Voluntary Separation Enhancement Package (VSEP). He called on the National Self Help Commission chairman Surujdeo Mangaroo and Minister of the People Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh to assist him in erecting a structure on the land.

Patricia Miller’s condemnation of police for killing her teenage son and his friend during an armed robbery last Friday has drawn the wrath of Senior Supt of Central Division Johnny Abraham. Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Abraham said while he sympathised with Miller’s pain, the police had no choice but to shoot the robbers who engaged them in a gun battle at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas.

Tishawn Miller, 16, of Circular Road, Crown Trace, Enterprise, and his accomplice Devon Ferguson, 21, of Point Pleasant Road, were both shot dead, while two other suspects, aged 18 and 21, were arrested during the incident.

Reacting to statements from Miller that her son was no bandit, Abraham said too often, children go astray because they fail to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. Abraham said there were ten police youth clubs in central Trinidad in which parents can enrol their children to deter them from engaging in criminal activity. “We are begging parents to bring their children in so that they could get guidance. Insp Terrence Williams has been working with youths and using sports as an alternative,” Abraham said. 

He noted that more than 500 children are involved in the police youth club initiative. Abraham also defended the decision by his team to fire upon the group of men who held up a woman at gunpoint and robbed her of her purse. “When you have a smoking gun aimed at you, you have just a split second to decide whether you are killed or not,” Abraham said. He added that police put their lives on the line every day.

“We always hear people condemning the police when we shoot someone and they die, but who thinks about the victims who die when the robbers shoot them?” Abraham asked. He also warned businessmen not to withdraw large sums of cash without police protection.

“Anyone who has to do these financial transactions must call the police and we will arrange an officer to provide security for you,” Abraham said. Meanwhile, in an interview yesterday, Miller again said she found it hard to believe that her son was a thief. She said he never had clothes, brand name shoes or gold jewelry. “If he was thiefing he would have come home with money, but he always broken,” Miller said. 

She added that she tried to get her son enrolled in Servol and other social programmes but he refused. She said, however, that he was delinquent and loved to fight. “He never like to see people taking advantage of others and he would fight a lot,” Miller said. She noted that two weeks before his death, the teenager told her he was not afraid to die.

“I told my son that I am seeing him dead and to go to church and stop following bad company. He told me that what is written in the Book will come to pass and if he had to dead young then nobody could stop that,” Miller said. She said God was in charge and had decided to take back her son’s life because of the kind of life he was living. 

The body of a Siparia pensioner was found lying in his shack yesterday. Police said Steve Ramjit, 67, of Kay Trace, Siparia was found dead around noon by his neighbour Rasheed Moonan. Ramjit lived alone in a shack at the edge of a cricket field. He was last seen walking on Saturday morning and was not known to be suffering from any illnesses. His body was covered in ants.

A source, who requested anonymity, said Ramjit was an alcoholic with a preference for bay rum. “He was never sick but he would spend his pension every month on rum. We accustomed seeing him around by the cricket ground drinking,” the neighbour said. District Medical Officer Dr Rajkumar visited the scene and ordered Ramjit’s body removed to the San Fernando mortuary. An autopsy will be done today. Investigations are continuing.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday promised to reveal evidence of collusion between the People’s National Movement and Independent Liberal Party’s interim leader Jack Warner. Speaking to reporters at the Piarco International Airport on her return from Panama, Persad-Bissessar said she would make the revelation on the campaign platform tomorrow night. Persad-Bissessar also challenged Warner’s statement that phones were being tapped under her administration.

“Mr Warner always makes some sort of fanciful claims, I really don't know what credibility he has,” she said. “There are those who believe that he was the one doing the tapping,” she said. She said he should bring the evidence forward if he had it. “It is very easy to make wild allegations, unsubstantiated allegations and when asked to substantiate those allegations people just fall off the cliff,” she said.

“I have no evidence that any wiretapping is taking place by any Government agency,” she said. The Panamanian trip, she said, spelled good news for local jet fuel as talks would continue regarding supply for Copa Airlines and preferential export rates for over 200 items back and forth. Meanwhile, Persad-Bissessar dismissed the findings of the Nacta Polls that puts the PNM in front in the October 21 local government elections. She said the People’s Partnership still has a good chance of taking victory.

The latest Nacta polls showed that the PNM was leading the election race. But Persad-Bissessar said she has been told otherwise as the PP’s campaign was going very well. “The campaign is concentrating on a ground war rather than an airwave war.”

Exuberant ILP activists trudged through mud and slush at the ILP’s stomping ground, predicting an early victory as the party closed off its election campaign with a massive public rally at Endeavour, Chaguanas, yesterday. The crowd of green gathered at the unpaved compound as early as 2 pm. Thousands of people wore different shades of green. Vendors sold green cotton candy, green chow and all types of green paraphernalia. By 4 pm, when Warner arrived, green confetti showered the crowd.

One man danced in front of the stage with green cane stalks strapped to his back, while a man wearing a costume of the Incredible Hulk weaved through the audience. The feel of early election victory energised the mainly youthful crowd. Many danced to the music of Anil Bheem and his band, Rakesh Yankaran, and D Original De Fosto. They were also entertained by the Primala dance company.

After an hour of entertainment, the candidates were introduced by former UNC councillor Falisha Isahak. However, the crowds booed when Isahak inadvertently urged them to vote for the UNC. She quickly had to correct herself. Banners were placed around the muddy grounds which read: “Jack will beat them” and “Do not hesitate, vote ILP, we voting for victory on Monday night.”

Ramesh Ramdhan said the UNC had left their people with a feeling of hopelessness. He said UNC’s deputy political leader Dr Roodal Moonilal was the PNM’s Calder Hart. “It is no longer a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea. We have an option in the ILP. We will be victorious on Monday,” Ramdhan shouted. When deputy poltical leader of the ILP, Lyndira Oudit, took to the stage, the crowd cheered. “We commit to integrity by the way we live. We commit to bringing out the good in each other,” Oudit said.

Saying the People’s Partnership could not be trusted, Oudit added, “Ministers cannot separate what is private and public money. It is a contagious disease that ripped apart the PNM and the PP. This year we are witnessing a new level of political vindictiveness, hatred and racialism,” Oudit said. Oudit said the ILP would provide opportunities for youths and reinvigorate the elderly who had lost hope for proper governance.

Works Minister Dr Suruj Rambachan yesterday called on Independent Liberal Party (ILP) interim leader Jack Warner to “bring the evidence” of the alleged bribery he was attributing to the Government. In a telephone interview yesterday, Rambachan said the Government did not bribe any member of the ILP. “That is completely unfounded and foolish,” he said. “Mr Warner is delusional and believing his own lies.” 

While Rambachan said he “pitied” Warner, he described him as a “court jester and joker.” “He said Mr (Faaiq) Mohammed was paid some $2.5 million, then said that Mr Mohammed walk out with that money in cash, then said he had some deed as evidence but that amounted to nothing,” he said. Rambachan said was “falling apart.” He also dismissed allegations that he had anything to do with the revocation of ILP councillor Simeon Mahabir’s Cepep contract or subsequent offers to reinstate same.

“Am I the Minister of Housing?” Rambachan asked. He said instead of pointing fingers, Warner should talk to his own councillors.

Minister for the Environment Ganga Singh says he expects the Beetham landfill fires to be fully extinguished by today. Singh, in a brief telephone interview yesterday, said the three crews from the Water and Sewerage Authority, Solid Waste Management Company and a private contractor worked throughout the night to bring the fires under control. He said WASA equipment remained on site to facilitate the extinguishing of the fires.

Despite that positive development, head of the Environmental Management Agency, Dr Allan Bachan said yesterday’s air quality dipped and was poorer than the air quality over the past two days. He said it has stabilised in both Sea Lots and downtown Port-of-Spain and is expected to normalise within this week.

Financial Intelligence Unit director Susan Francois has distanced herself from reports that the organisation she heads will be more responsible for a clampdown on criminal activity. Francois, in a brief telephone interview yesterday, said the lead story of a daily newspaper which quoted comments from Legal Affairs Minister Prakash Ramadhar seemed to suggest that as FIU director, she had the power to investigate the murder of her sister Dana Seetahal.

Francois spoke in hushed tones, her voice sounding raw with emotion as she initially said she “had not yet processed this entire thing.” Later, however, Francois said the FIU was not responsible for investigating her sister’s murder. “It is not the responsibility of the Financial Intelligence Unit to investigate crime, and it is not my responsibility to investigate the murder of my sister,” Francois said.

Seetahal, a prominent state prosecutor was gunned down in Woodbrook just after midnight early last Sunday morning in an apparent assassination. There was no reported attempts of robbery, as the killers shot her five times through her Volkswagen Toureg SUV front window and escaped. Seetahal’s funeral service took place on Thursday amid much tears and grief for the much-loved and admired senior counsel.

In published reports, Ramadhar was quoted as saying the Legislative Review Committee was working to modernise the FIU to give it more teeth. But a still shaken Francois remained firm on the duties of the FIU. “The FIU gathers intelligence on financial matters and refers suspicious activity to the police, the Board of Inland Revenue, the Comptroller of Customs and the Chief Immigration Officer,” she said.

Ramadhar described the timing of the upgraded FIU duties as “stars aligning,” but there is speculation that such a move could put Francois in danger. National Security Minister Gary Griffith refused to comment on the issue of security for Francois in light on this development. “I would not make a statement on that, security for private citizens is in the strictest of confidence and you can appreciate that this is a highly sensitive issue,” Griffith said.

Police are investigating the deaths of college student Joshua Martinez, 20, and former truck driver Ramlogan Jaglalsingh, 54, who both committed suicide in separate incidents on Friday. Jaglalsingh’s common-law wife Marsha Joseph said his death was unexpected since she spent several hours with him before he took his own life.

She said she separated from Jaglalsingh five months ago because of domestic issues. On Friday, Jaglalsingh of SS Erin Road, Quarry Village, Siparia, asked to see their five-year-old daughter Gayatree Jaglalsingh. Joseph said she agreed and all three went to Siparia to buy medication for the child. She said when they reached home, Jaglalsingh asked her to go to a fete with him. She agreed and after making arrangements to get a babysitter, Joseph said she went to another room to get ready.

“When I went to check on him he was hanging from a rope,” Joseph said. An autopsy is expected to be done on his body today at the Forensic Science Centre. Meanwhile, Martinez, a student of the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of T&T, was also found hanging from the rafters of his home on Friday. Police said Martinez, of King Street, Princes Town, went to his grandmother’s home on Friday.

Around 8 pm, a relative checked on him in the bedroom and found him hanging from a makeshift noose. An autopsy will be done today.

“Watson Duke and Errol Mc Leod are traitors to the labour movement. Tell them to go and spend their 30 pieces of silver.” So said president general of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) Ancel Roget in response to comments that he was using the union to fulfil his political ambitions. Roget said he remained fiercely independent and had absolutely no interest in gaining political office.

“When the discussions were held as to who will run as MP for the Partnership and who will occupy State Boards, I immediately said I did not want any part of that. I said labour must be independent at all levels and I maintain that the OWTU is independent. We will criticize everybody as we see fit. If he (Mc Leod) vex too bad. I am not afraid of him, the cabal, the UNC, COP, Kamla or all of the above.” 

He also threatened to expose Mc Leod, who had handed him the OWTU baton in 2008, after serving as president general for 26 years. “It is war because now I know for sure he has betrayed the labour movement. Tell him that there are things about him that he knows I know and there are things he doesn’t know I know. All will be revealed.” He said the OWTU would make an intervention to stop political victimisation of workers. 

Asking Mc Leod to name the 75 collective agreements that he settled, Roget said, “Negotiations are outstanding at Petrotrin, T&TEC, Powergen and NP. TCL negotiations are before the court.” He added that while the Government had raised the minimum wage, it was not the $20 per hour rate that was promised. Roget also labelled Duke as a traitor who was in cahoots with the Government.

He said even though Duke was invited to the Joint Trade Union Movement meetings, he had been closely watched by his comrades. “We were careful not to disclose our strategies in front of him. He was sent by the UNC to undermine us and to find out strategies for labour. We have banished him in the same house as Mc Leod. They are unprincipled,” Roget said. 

Duke responds

In an interview, Duke said he did not attend the Labour Day march because the general council of the Public Services Association (PSA) was not in agreement with the guidelines laid down by the JTUM. Asked to explain, Duke said he did not want to disclose specifics. He added that Roget was given the OWTU presidency, unlike he, Roget, who had to fight for his position.

“I never tried to destroy my master openly for political gain, so I don’t know who is the traitor. Roget knows what a traitor looks like and how a traitor moves.” He said the PSA did not want to come to Fyzabad for Labour Day because of ongoing issues with JTUM. “JTUM is not an officially recognised body because there is no constitution and there was never any elections. I am chairman of the general council and I don’t know that I want to be part of JTUM.

He said the PSA would fight its own battles. “We have our own flag and constitution. Our numbers are strong enough and militant enough to fight any battle. We do not welcome the infighting among trade unions. We are asking Roget to stop causing fight among the labour leaders and lend yourself to positive developments.” He said it was time to come together to re-examine the workers’ agenda rather than trying to undermine each other with “ole talk.”

National Security Minister Gary Griffith yesterday applauded the work of the Inter-Agency Task Force, following a shoot-out between criminals and police on foot patrol in the Laventille area that left one man dead. “We have to fight fire with fire,” Griffith said. Griffith is currently in New York, but in a telephone interview with the Sunday Guardian, he said while he knew others disagreed with his approach, he encouraged officers to “return deadly force with deadly force.”

“It is a straight case, if people are trying to kill you, you have to reciprocate.” Griffith said he could not understand how people never knew which criminal killed someone in their community, but could describe whole scenes when the police were involved in a killing. “People conveniently could tell you exactly what happened when police protect themselves and return fire, but if a criminal shoots someone, suddenly no one knows who or what happened.

“The police service has my full support because I do see this as a war.” Griffith also encouraged police to arrest protesters. “You cannot stage an illegal protest because you feel the police did something that is illegal, and I am saying that that mindset needs to change. That has to stop.” Griffith said while some “editorialised” crime and gave lofty and often unrealistic ways to deal with crime, he knew what he had to do. “I am not negotiating with criminals.” 

President of the Parents/Teachers Association of the Palo Seco Government Secondary School Rafael Samuel lambasted Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh yesterday for making a surprise visit to the fungus-infested school without informing the PTA. He said the PTA had been waiting for months to meet with Gopeesingh after an air-borne fungus forced the closure of the school.

Since the fungus was first spotted in the art room in July, a teacher fell ill after developing sores. The teacher, who said he was contemplating legal action, has not yet returned to school. He is recuperating at his home. A female teacher and a clerical worker also tested positive for the fungus which spread from the art room to the female washroom and administrative office.

Since then, all of the students have been relocated to the Beach Camp facility in Palo Seco. In an interview, Samuel said he was disappointed with Gopeesingh’s decision to visit the school “secretly.” He added: “We believe that he deliberately did not inform us. We have been calling on him to meet with us for a long time. To hear that he visited without telling us is northing short of disrespectful.”

Samuel said the PTA wanted the ministry to condemn the old school building and construct a new school on a piece of land belonging to the Palo Seco Agricultural Enterprises Limited (PSAEL). “The land was earmarked for the Erin Farm processing plant but we want to relocate there,” Samuel said.

He added that the existing school compound was conducive to fungus growth and that was negatively affecting the health of students and teachers. Based on a report submitted to the PTA by the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI), Samuel said the fungus was dangerous to human health. Attempts to contact Gopeesingh for further comment on Samuel’s claims proved futile as calls to his cellular phone went unanswered.

Defending her decision not to set up an independent probe into the re-establishment of a new Flying Squad, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has admitted she was not on a “fact-finding mission” and so did not think an independent investigation is necessary. Speaking to reporters at a local government reform consultation at City Hall, San Fernando, on Tuesday, Persad-Bissessar said acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams was most suitable to investigate the alleged re-emergence of the squad.

“At the moment I have referred the matter to the Commissioner of Police...There have been allegations left side, right side, all kinds of allegations,” she said. “Therefore, it was not my view, as Prime Minister, that I should be on a fact-finding mission. I felt the Commissioner of Police and the T&T Police Service will be in a better position to take statements from all quarters.” 

Once that is done, Persad-Bissessar said the police would give the Government the findings. Leader of Government Business Dr Roodal Moonilal also said Williams’ office was independent and capable of conducting such investigations. “The first act of the Prime Minister on receiving the reports at the first National Security Council meeting was to look at it and refer it to the Commissioner of Police,” he said.

“The office of the Commissioner of Police is an independent office. The commissioner operates not only with operational independence but also with financial independence as well.” Moonilal said the CoP was also “the most appropriate office to deal with these offences.”

On Tuesday, attorney Dana Seetahal, SC, said she did not think Williams was the best person to evaluate the reports of National Security Minister Jack Warner and former strategic adviser to the minister Garvin Heerah on a new Flying Squad, since he was named in the contentious issue. Saying an independent investigation would have been preferred, Seetahal said the Police Complaints Authority would have been one option to do an independent investigation.

Warner, who broached the re-establishment of a Flying Squad in June last year, has continually denied any knowledge of the squad. Last week he presented the report to Persad-Bissessar which contained an explanation from Heerah about the matter. Several members of the squad reportedly swore affidavits on Saturday outlining details of the setting-up of the unit. They said they were given the go-ahead by ministry officials. 

Retired police Sgt Mervyn Cordner has claimed Warner recalled him to head it, but Warner has denied this claim.

Air pollution rules have already been tabled with the Environment Management Authority and will be laid in Parliament soon, despite strong criticisms from industrial companies. The assurance was given yesterday by Minister of State in the Ministry of the Environment  Ramona Ramdial, as she spoke with reporters at the launch of the avionics trainee engineer programme at the Aviation Institute in Couva yesterday. 

Ramdial said: “We have raised the standards with regard to industrial emissions and we have tabled, with the EMA, the new air pollution rules.” She said the bill was already before the Legislative Review Committee (LRC). “It has been accepted and it will be laid in Parliament soon.” She also explained that air pollution was the number one form of pollution in T&T.

“Some of the industries are not very happy with us, because they are saying it will be additional costs to upgrade the plants to accommodate the new rate allowed under the EMA,” Ramdial said, adding that some industries in the Point Lisas Industrial estate were unhappy.
“We are serious about protecting the environment and we are committed to doing that.” 

Buses under the Public Service Transport Corporation (PTSC) will also be held accountable, she said. “We will protect our communities from all forms of air pollution and we will also continue our green initiatives,” Ramdial said.
 

The EMA says

The EMA Web site says air pollution is the most widespread form of pollution in T&T affecting the entire population, especially children. The authority’s technical services department said air monitoring is done in Pt Lisas and Toco. The EMA also said it has been working with the T&T Bureau of Standards with regard to exhaust emissions.

Opposition leader awaits Warner's announcement

The PNM’s spotlight centred on Jack Warner during its weekly political meeting on Tuesday night, with Dr Keith Rowley criticising the former minister, his supporters and Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar. PNM supporters clad in red shouted: “Hang Jack! Hang Jack!” while Percy’s tune “Hit the Road Jack!” resonated.

Rowley promised to deal with Warner when his private motion comes up in Parliament tomorrow for Warner to explain his former role as adviser to the T&T Football Federation (TTFF) and the allocation of funds for the 2006 World Cup football campaign. “I have no vendetta against Jack as a person but I am waiting with bated breath to see Jack Warner’s face in the Parliament when he gets up to lick up Keith Rowley,” the PNM leader said. 

“I am going to Parliament to raise the conduct of a prime minister in protecting a minister who has damaged this country.” Rowley called on acting Police Commissioner Stephen Williams to explain whether the former national security minister was ever questioned in connection with the Concacaf findings which implicated him in misappropriation of funds. “Has Commissioner Williams ever asked Jack a question about the investigation of matter under the Customs Act?” he asked.

“Warner said nobody ever asked him a question yet when he resigned, Williams is saying Jack is the greatest thing that ever happened to the Police Service. You have any idea how our institutions have collapsed?” Rowley also criticised COP activist Carol Cuffy-Dowlat for her statements that the findings against Warner were not new and his resignation proved his love for his country.

“Where did our basic decency and national dignity go? I am calling on the people of T&T, wherever you are, do not surrender the values of your grandparents,” he said. Saying he was ashamed of his fellow citizens who continued to show love for Warner, Rowley made a public call to citizens to uphold spiritual morals and values. 

Moonia Balchand stood helplessly in the rain with tears pouring down her face, watching a demolition crew smash her home on Thursday. Her common-law husband Rambachan Siew ran hurriedly to secure his four pet parrots, bullfinches, picoplats and German shepherd dog Papa. However by the time he came back, their possessions, including a new stove, refrigerator and television set, were stacked outside.

Balchand said her family has been living in the house at Basta Hall, Couva, for more than 19 years. She said she was at home cooking around 7 am when the crew came with a bailiff and police officers. “They had an envelope and they said they had a court order to evict us...Then they started to break down everything,”  she said. Three old 280 C cars owned by Siew were removed from the property. They were stacked in a heap in an adjoining yard.

Balchand said she did not know where to go. “We have no place to go. We may have to spend the night out here because right now we have no choice,” she said. She also said she did not know who was the real landowner as they have been paying $226 rent annually to another person who claimed ownership of the land. Her son Anand Maraj who fixes cars said he was upset at the way the eviction was carried out.

“They didn’t have to mash up things. Those cars were old but they had valuable parts which we were using,” Maraj said. The demolition was authorised by a High Court order, four months after the landowner won a case at the San Fernando Supreme Court. Merle Baggoo who had the power of attorney for the landowners, said she gave the family adequate notice to evacuate the premises but her pleas were ignored. She also said she offered them the land at half the market value but they refused to purchase.

Siew said yesterday that he purchased a lot of land from Caroni (1975) Limited after he got his Voluntary Separation Enhancement Package (VSEP). He called on the National Self Help Commission chairman Surujdeo Mangaroo and Minister of the People Dr Glenn Ramadharsingh to assist him in erecting a structure on the land.

Patricia Miller’s condemnation of police for killing her teenage son and his friend during an armed robbery last Friday has drawn the wrath of Senior Supt of Central Division Johnny Abraham. Speaking in a telephone interview yesterday, Abraham said while he sympathised with Miller’s pain, the police had no choice but to shoot the robbers who engaged them in a gun battle at Carlsen Field, Chaguanas.

Tishawn Miller, 16, of Circular Road, Crown Trace, Enterprise, and his accomplice Devon Ferguson, 21, of Point Pleasant Road, were both shot dead, while two other suspects, aged 18 and 21, were arrested during the incident.

Reacting to statements from Miller that her son was no bandit, Abraham said too often, children go astray because they fail to take advantage of the opportunities available to them. Abraham said there were ten police youth clubs in central Trinidad in which parents can enrol their children to deter them from engaging in criminal activity. “We are begging parents to bring their children in so that they could get guidance. Insp Terrence Williams has been working with youths and using sports as an alternative,” Abraham said. 

He noted that more than 500 children are involved in the police youth club initiative. Abraham also defended the decision by his team to fire upon the group of men who held up a woman at gunpoint and robbed her of her purse. “When you have a smoking gun aimed at you, you have just a split second to decide whether you are killed or not,” Abraham said. He added that police put their lives on the line every day.

“We always hear people condemning the police when we shoot someone and they die, but who thinks about the victims who die when the robbers shoot them?” Abraham asked. He also warned businessmen not to withdraw large sums of cash without police protection.

“Anyone who has to do these financial transactions must call the police and we will arrange an officer to provide security for you,” Abraham said. Meanwhile, in an interview yesterday, Miller again said she found it hard to believe that her son was a thief. She said he never had clothes, brand name shoes or gold jewelry. “If he was thiefing he would have come home with money, but he always broken,” Miller said. 

She added that she tried to get her son enrolled in Servol and other social programmes but he refused. She said, however, that he was delinquent and loved to fight. “He never like to see people taking advantage of others and he would fight a lot,” Miller said. She noted that two weeks before his death, the teenager told her he was not afraid to die.

“I told my son that I am seeing him dead and to go to church and stop following bad company. He told me that what is written in the Book will come to pass and if he had to dead young then nobody could stop that,” Miller said. She said God was in charge and had decided to take back her son’s life because of the kind of life he was living. 

The body of a Siparia pensioner was found lying in his shack yesterday. Police said Steve Ramjit, 67, of Kay Trace, Siparia was found dead around noon by his neighbour Rasheed Moonan. Ramjit lived alone in a shack at the edge of a cricket field. He was last seen walking on Saturday morning and was not known to be suffering from any illnesses. His body was covered in ants.

A source, who requested anonymity, said Ramjit was an alcoholic with a preference for bay rum. “He was never sick but he would spend his pension every month on rum. We accustomed seeing him around by the cricket ground drinking,” the neighbour said. District Medical Officer Dr Rajkumar visited the scene and ordered Ramjit’s body removed to the San Fernando mortuary. An autopsy will be done today. Investigations are continuing.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday promised to reveal evidence of collusion between the People’s National Movement and Independent Liberal Party’s interim leader Jack Warner. Speaking to reporters at the Piarco International Airport on her return from Panama, Persad-Bissessar said she would make the revelation on the campaign platform tomorrow night. Persad-Bissessar also challenged Warner’s statement that phones were being tapped under her administration.

“Mr Warner always makes some sort of fanciful claims, I really don't know what credibility he has,” she said. “There are those who believe that he was the one doing the tapping,” she said. She said he should bring the evidence forward if he had it. “It is very easy to make wild allegations, unsubstantiated allegations and when asked to substantiate those allegations people just fall off the cliff,” she said.

“I have no evidence that any wiretapping is taking place by any Government agency,” she said. The Panamanian trip, she said, spelled good news for local jet fuel as talks would continue regarding supply for Copa Airlines and preferential export rates for over 200 items back and forth. Meanwhile, Persad-Bissessar dismissed the findings of the Nacta Polls that puts the PNM in front in the October 21 local government elections. She said the People’s Partnership still has a good chance of taking victory.

The latest Nacta polls showed that the PNM was leading the election race. But Persad-Bissessar said she has been told otherwise as the PP’s campaign was going very well. “The campaign is concentrating on a ground war rather than an airwave war.”