Deosaran letter sent to Privileges Committee

In the case of the faxed letter to Independent Senator Prof Ramesh Deosaran from Dr Phillip Ayoung-Chee, Vice President of the Senate, Rawle Titus ruled yesterday, that a prima facie case has been made out and “a sufficient case of breach of privilege has been established,” therefore he has referred it to the Committee of Privileges of the Senate for investigation and report. Titus warned that if the allegations were proven, “the action by the doctor in question would amount to an interference with a member’s privilege and a contempt of this House.” “As a consequence, the Senate must act,” he added. 

Titus’ ruling comes in response to Deosaran’s request on Tuesday in the Senate, for the letter to be referred to the Privileges Committee. In his ruling, the Senate Vice President quoted section 55 of the Constitution which confers legal protection on members of both Houses of Parliament for anything said, or written, in a report with respect to parliamentary matters. The purpose of privilege, he explained, was to ensure absolute freedom of speech to enable members “to fulfil their duties without fear of reprisals.” Due to this protection, “members of Parliament are protected from molestation when they are, pursuing, or as a consequence of pursuing, their legitimate parliamentary activities.”                  

He said that this privilege is conferred on members  to enable them to perform their duties only without let or hindrance, and not “in any personal sense outside the ambit of a member’s normal parliamentary duties and responsibilities.” Members have a right to be protected from threats, intimidation, harassment, bribery and physical obstruction in the pursuit of parliamentary business. “Parliament has been empowered to adjudicate and punish those who breach its privileges or commits contempt against it,” said Titus, “a House of Parliament must possess the ability to protect the actions of its members in the course of their legitimate duty.” He alluded to the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, which also “exercises its own penal jurisdictions.” Titus cited section 55 subsection (3) which allows the TT Parliament to be guided by UK House of Commons practice in matters of powers, privileges and immunities of Parliament.

Ayoung-Chee: Not me

DOCTOR Phillip Ayoung-Chee yesterday denied making threats in a faxed letter to Independent Senator Prof Ramesh Deosaran. Ayoung-Chee told Newsday yesterday he intended to make a request for the Senate to provide him with a full text of Deosaran’s Tuesday speech. Deosaran had said the purported faxed letter allegedly contained threatening language to him, so much so that he was afraid for his life. He named Ayoung-Chee, who works at the San Fernando General Hospital and is a senior member of the Medical Professional Association of Trinidad and Tobago (MPATT,) as the sender of the fax.

Ayoung-Chee commented that parliamentarians do not have the right to assassinate the characters of people. “It is time that members of the public tell parliamentarians that they do not have the right to assassinate the characters of a person or group of persons,” he said. Reiterating his denial of faxing the letter to Deosaran yesterday, Ayoung-Chee said, “I want a copy of the letter that I sent him (Deosaran), but I must say that I did not threaten anyone. I did not intend to threaten anyone and I have no intentions of threatening anyone,” Dr Ayoung-Chee said.