N Touch

Congrats to Exodus on its winning ways

THE EDITOR: Once again Exodus has proven to be the best steelband in the world after winning this year’s Panorama. So far they have won all competitions locally and also in Grenada.

They were winners at the Caripan Competition held last year. This show was held in Grenada to see who was the best band in the West Indies and other parts of the world, and Exodus was the winner. Then they were also victorious at the Steelband World Festival held here last year. I was born in St Augustine, and so was Exodus, so I am happy to be associated with these musical geniuses and hope they continue to grow from strength to strength. The discipline they exercise go a long way in trying to eradicate the criminal elements of many young people of today in this country.

Mr Ainsworth Mohammed and Mr Pelham Goddard must be highly commended for keeping the band together, and producing such beautiful music always to the amazement of the foreigners and also our local audiences. Miss Bishop must never be forgotten for drilling the band and bringing the music to perfection as only she can. I am sure the late Amin Mohammed and Neverson were elated when in their spiritual state they witnessed the Panorama victory and all the other shows in which Exodus was successful. Years ago I am sure nobody would have thought that steelband music would have conquered the musical world, but so it has. This innovative instrument has taken the world by storm, and we in this country should be elated because it was invented right here about 50 or more years ago.

Some people seem to believe that competition is not necessary, but if there is to be improvement, there must be competition. In cricket, football as in many other games seeking magnificence, there must be competition. If there is no contest the band would not stay together, and there would not be keen interest shown by players and also their supporters. I wish Exodus, its managers and musical directors continued success while continuing on the winning ways to which they are becoming accustomed, while maintaining discipline and keeping the youths together. The flagman must also be mentioned for his unique movements while dancing the flag. Continued success goes out to Exodus, the reigning steelband world champion.


HORACE DESORMEAUX
Maraval

Wanted: courageous and forthright citizens

THE EDITOR: Our misfortune stems from the lack of courageous forthright people, with the gumption to “step up and speak up” — they tell it like it is type of people. Blind loyalty and downright stupidity are different kettles of fish.

I am alluding to Basdeo Panday’s hold and control of his loyal supporters (UNC). His defiance of the present Government is no secret to anyone. Dissension is the pillar of a democracy, as a consequence, it is everyone’s prerogative in such a society to come out in favour of or against the government. However, Basdeo Panday’s glib utterances against the government should be taken very seriously and remarks like the government being responsible for the spate of kidnapping and crime in TT, followed up with accusations of the government’s liaison with well-known criminals and gang-members should not be overlooked. This type of talk, buttressed with the call for civil disobedience, can only lead to civil unrest which is synonymous with anarchy, the likes of which we can do without.

We should be loath changing places with Guyana, Haiti and even Jamaica in the region and beleaguered Iraq, all the way in the Middle East; being mindful that what is presently taking place in Iraq, can well occur here within a moment’s notice. Complacency has no place in modern day living and should not be allowed to flourish. Just to highlight some of Basdeo Panday’s meanderings which should not be ignored. He withdrew his support for the Police Service Reform Bill that he once favoured. The government was forced to enact a watered-down kidnapping Bill, because of the lack of support for the passage of a stringent kidnapping Bill, which required a two-thirds majority for passage in Parliament. Living up to his reputation as an astute politician, he has intimated his desire to meet with the Government to address the prevalence of crime in TT. (Something he could not do during his stint as Minister of National Security.) Not to be undone, he is now a strong advocate of constitutional reform, which he is claiming is the answer to all the woes that beset us in TT.

To my knowledge, the enactment of any reform requires a two-thirds majority for passage in Parliament. Where will the support, to pass such a Bill derive from? Certainly not the UNC. This is just another of Panday’s ploys, to filibuster another Bill destined to set the country forward. In my pursuit of being impartial, it should be noted that Basdeo Panday is not the only politician who treats the public with utter contempt and disdain. Minister of Health, Colm Imbert made a spectacle of himself, during the Presidential election, with his echoing of every vote cast during the entire event, much to the annoyance of the TV viewing public and authorised invitees to the ceremony. Sessions in our Parliament are usually in disarray. On both sides of government, the behaviour of legislators borders on reprehensible conduct, unbefitting of those in such high office. Our Parliament is now a “free for all”. This exhibited irreverence for the august seats of our government and display of total disregard for the citizenry of TT, are deserving of some form of admonition.

We should desist from the devil may care attitude that has become a way of life in TT and demand that our politicians do like wise. We lack the courage to confront our politicians with a mandate for accountability and integrity while we remain ambivalent to the power of the masses to affect change in our society. It is time we say no more to the ramblings of Basdeo Panday and his hollow rhetoric, no more filibustering or grand standing: What we need at present is something tangible that will benefit all the people of TT.

ULRIC GUY
Point Fortin

Law lords’ absurdity

THE notorious Pratt and Morgan judgment of November 1993 indicated clearly that the Privy Council’s law lords were determined to impose their abolitionist views on our sovereign country. Largely because of this ruling, the death penalty which our laws make mandatory for convicted murderers has been virtually suspended. Killers, many of them guilty of the most horrendous slaughter, have managed to escape the hangman by resorting to a variety of delaying tactics, including appeals to international human rights bodies, which carry the date of their execution beyond the five-year deadline set by Pratt and Morgan.

As if that was not enough, the law lords have since then delivered judgments in murder appeals which carry their anti-capital punishment crusade to a ridiculous and unacceptable level. The most recent of such rulings was Tuesday’s decision by the law lords to reduce to a manslaughter conviction the death penalty imposed on Bimal Roy Paria who beat to death his former common-law wife Asha Arjoon, her mother Sita and her sister Anna in January 1998. Amazingly enough, the reason given by the law lords for commuting Paria’s death sentence was the fact that the trial judge failed to put to the jury the evidence of Paria’s good character! This pretext, in our view, is unbelievble and can only be explained by the law lords’ repugnance for the death penalty and their determination to impose their personal abolitionist views upon us.

A man brutalises to death not only his ex-wife but also her mother and her sister and is convicted for their murder by a jury acting on the basis of abundant evidence. The law demands, without equivocation, that he be hanged by his neck until dead. This is the penalty that our society, by its statutes, imposes on convicted murderers. Now up come the law lords declaring that failure of the trial judge to take into account evidence of the killer’s good character constituted such a grave prejudice against him that it requires a commutation of his sentence! Could you believe that? This decision by the Privy Council is nothing but an act of contempt for our country, our courts, our laws and our sense of justice. A man slaughters three women by beating them to death and the law lords are concerned not so much  with the evidence by which he was convicted but more about what he and his friends have to say about his “good character”. The implications of this judgment are appalling. It now opens the way for brutal killers to produce evidence of their good character — evidence which the court would apparently have no choice but to accept — and then claim, “look, I’m a cool and peaceable fella, and therefore I must have lost control of myself to have committed such barbaric acts.” And this pleading, it seems, should be enough to reduce the murder charge against them to manslaughter.

This absurd decision by the law lords should illustrate the urgency of abolishing murder appeals to the Privy Council and the need to get the Caribbean Court of Appeal in operation as soon as possible. The unbearable contumely of the law lords was aggravated on Monday by well known British Queen’s Counsel Geoffrey Robertson who said at a function in Australia that the Caribbean Court was being established to make it easier to carry out the death penalty. The remark provoked the justified ire of West Indian Chief Justices attending the Commonwealth Law Conference, with Barbados CJ Sir David Simmons condemning it as “offensive, cheap and an affront to those involved in setting up the court”. However well it might have served us in the past, our link with the Privy Council is now an embarrassing anachronism, a derogation on our sovereignty. Its insults now make the severing of this link an urgent necessity.

Ordeal at Licensing, 1979


With mobs of motorists who should have had their  cars inspected at most four years, 51 weeks and a day or two after they took delivery of a shiny-brand new car besieging Licensing, one wonders — has anything changed down on Wrightson Road since I wrote this in 1979?

“If you want to spend three days doing absolutely nothing and need a good reason for so doing, there is no better place to do it than while waiting to take a driving test at Licensing on Wrightson Road.” To get the most out of this change of scene and ideal opportunity for meeting new people, it’s best to take the test for a permit to ride a motor cycle or scooter.

Take the case of my daughter, Penny, who, after two bouts with the briefing officer to get a learner’s permit, and two more with the regulations test, played her third return match with the authorities a couple of weeks ago. She thought she was wise in the ways of Wrightson Road, that she’d get through in half a day — but she thought wrong. Having polished her helmet, freshened her “L” plates with lipstick and patched the tattered remains of her learner’s permit with Scotch tape she set off bright and early for Licensing, arriving there at 7.30 am determined to be first in the queue for her appointment at 8 am sharp.

A fair sized crowd had collected by the time the official doors creaked open. Previous experience taught Penny that to be 5′ 2” and not a bad-looking young chick would help her to the front of the queue. Forty-five minutes later she left the office to join the crowds milling around the World War II shacks where she was told to wait for her name to be called. Two more hopeful young motor-cyclists joined her. The examiners appeared, called out the names of . . . motorists — and vanished with their victims. “When are you going to test us?” asked one motor-cyclist. “Just now, I’m coming,” replied the examiner — who was never to be seen again.

Penny sat and waited while she alternately sheltered from the showers and improved her tan and her acquaintance with the fellow female candidates, comparing notes on scooters and the best hairstyles for wearing helmets. When the examiners departed for their lunch break, Penny was far too nervous to eat the sandwiches she’d brought for lunch (as she thought) at work. Testing resumed at 1 pm. More motorists came and went. By the time the examiners had passed — or failed — the last motorist, Penny had learned another of life’s more important lessons…  how to give a false, yet believable name and address to the hopeful young (and not-so-young) men hanging around the Licensing compound.

At 3.30 pm an examiner turned his attention to the motor-cyclists who now numbered eight. With strict impartiality, he passed four and failed four. “Never mind, try again tomorrow morning at eight,” he said, handing Penny her tattered learner’s permit. Disappointed, she rode home, all the while wondering why those who had passed the test seemed even more upset than those who had failed: She was soon to learn why. And so began a next day of liming at Licensing, from 7.15 am to 3.40, made new friends — but failed to influence the examiners. At 3.50 pm, the time when all good public servants head for home, Penny passed her motor-scooter driving test.

“No, no,” said the examiner, “you can’t have your learner’s permit back. You’re not a learner any longer.” “There’s no time to issue your driving permit now,” snapped the clerk inside the office, “come back tomorrow.” Which left Penny and the other successful candidates with a very tricky decision — should they leave their lovely, fairly new motor-cycles or scooters in Licensing’s Compound to join the scramble for route taxis, or break the law by riding their bikes home where they might expect to see them in the morning?

One true-true Trini lad who lived out beyond Sangre Grande decided to risk being stopped by police, hopped on his bike and rode away. Being a law-abiding young lady with a touching faith in the security of property left on official government compounds, Penny decided to walk five miles home through the rain. (2003 note — this was in the days before cell phones or even phone cards and the fact that, in any case, she had to walk to Park Street to get a Cascade taxi to our home in Knightsbridge). She was wet through and through when she reached the corner of French Street and Tragarete Road where a passing Customs Officer stopped to offer her a drop home. I still think it is no thanks to the Attorney General that that Customs officer was a decent, kindly man who drove her straight  home . . .

That night John and I spent some time explaining to Penny that on certain, special occasions — such as that same afternoon — it’s better, and far safer to break the law. Penny’s third day at Wrightson Road was spent in various queues, starting from 8 am to 9.30 packed like sardines in the World War II shacks, continuing until 1.30 pm in the front office and ending outside the raw-timber and galvanise, squatter-style hut, where, at 3 pm she finally got her driving licence. It wasn’t the most comfortable way to spend three days but she had made some new friends, had three days off work and — much to the surprise and relief of her parents, her scooter was safe and sound. And she had learned her last licensing lesson well. Which is that if the law says all drivers must walk with their permits and the Licensing Office doesn’t have any temporary permits to issue between one permit and the next, then Short pants is quite right, “The law is an ass.”

Well-grassed wicket for 2nd Test

West Indies captain Brian Lara took a keen interest in the batting of his fast bowlers as the West Indies team practised at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain yesterday. But the visiting Australians have some concern about how the Oval pitch would play in the Second test, which gets underway on Saturday.

Lara was at the outdoor nets with Vasbert Drakes, Pedro Collins and Mervyn Dillon helping them with their batting techniques. The Caribbean cricketers held an intensive fielding session under coach Gus Logie on the outfield at the Oval. The batsmen then left the venue for the nearby Queen’s Royal College cricket ground where they indulged in batting practice. Australia lead the four-Test series 1-0 after their crushing nine-wicket victory in Guyana. WI team manager Ricky Skerrit said yesterday the team had settled down and are looking forward to squaring the series this weekend. “The boys are all ready for the battle at hand and are looking to get a good result here in Trinidad,” Skerrit said.

The home team has been plagued by injuries with wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs ruled out of the Test, as well as Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson who is ill with with chicken pox. Lawson has been replaced with Tino Best of Barbados. Best was expected to arrive in Trinidad last night from Barbados. Carlton Baugh is expected to take the place of Jacobs behind the timbers. The teenager was given a torrid work out by Logie yesterday and will be looking to make an auspicious good start to his Test career. Skerrit added that the players’ morale is still high despite the opening loss. “The boys are believing in themselves, that they can come back in the series. They just need to be positive and with their talent, they should perform well,” he said. His Australian counterpart Steve Bernard, as expected, is very confident his team will remain on top after this Test. “We played good cricket in the First Test and we are looking to continue in the same vein on Saturday. “Skipper Steve Waugh is fit after injuring his hand and our strike bowler Jason Guillespie came through the first match very well. So all in the all the boys are fit and the important thing on our mind now is the state of the Queen’s Park pitch,” said Bernard.

Head groundsman at the Oval, Curtis Roberts, said the pitch is a very good one for cricket. “There is something there for everybody. Anyone who works hard will get runs and take wickets here,” he said. “This is just the third time that we are using this strip and so far in the two matches, it has held up well,” Roberts added. The pitch was well grassed yesterday which Roberts said would remain until the opening day on Saturday. Meanwhile tickets sales were steady at the Oval yesterday and a good crowd is expected on Saturday. Tickets for the first One-Day International have been sold out and only a few remain for the second match on May 24 and 25 respectively.

Hot weather hampering Gold Cup ‘prep’

THE INCESSANT heat is proving to be a bugbear as the Trinidad and Tobago football team continues their preparations for next week’s CONCACAF Gold Cup qualifiers in Martinique.

Making this disclosure was interim team coach Zoran Vranes at the team’s base, Dr Joao Havelange Centre of Excellence, Macoya, Tunapuna yesterday. “Sometimes, with the hard field due to the dry season, it is difficult to work on (the outfield at the recently named Marvin Lee Stadium),” noted the Yugoslav-born Vranes. But he was grateful to the management of the Joe Public Football Club for allowing the team to have their daily practice sessions at their venue.

Concerning the readiness of the team ahead of the three-team playoff, involving Honduras and hosts Martinique, Vranes said, “We’re training on mornings and evenings to make them physically and mentally ready, and I’m pleased to say that things are going okay.” “The players are doing well except for a few (niggling) injuries sustained from training on the hard field. But I’m glad that they are doing their best,” he said. San Juan Jabloteh defender Ian Gray twisted an ankle during Wednesday’s 3-1 victory in the team’s warm up clash against Arima Fire at the Marvin Lee Stadium, but Vranes expects the burly defender to be available for selection in the final 18. The squad will be named following today’s practice encounter against Starworld Strikers at the Manny Ramjohn Stadium, Marabella from 6 pm.

Match of the season stalemate

LONDON: Ryan Giggs’ second-half equaliser rallied Manchester United to a 2-2 draw at Arsenal, leaving the Premier League football title chase wide open with less than a month to play.

Thierry Henry scored two second-half goals to give Arsenal a 2-1 lead — overcoming Ruud Van Nistelrooy’s first-half strike — and set the stage for Giggs’ 63rd-minute header. A match billed as the biggest of the season in England left nothing decided, with both sides failing to hold leads that would have meant victory and a strong grip on claiming the Premier League championship. Manchester United leads with 71 points and have four to play. Arsenal have 68 but five matches remaining. The Gunners also hold a narrow one-goal advantage in goal difference.

Defending champion Arsenal played the last few minutes with only 10 men after defender Sol Campbell was sent off for throwing an right elbow into the side of the head of United’s Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Van Nistelrooy gave United the lead when he beat Arsenal defenders Campbell and Martin Keown down the left side and chipped home from eight metres (yards) in the 24th as United completely dominated the first half. Henry equalised in the 51st on a lucky goal. Standing in the box, Ashley Cole’s close-in shot struck Henry and then went in under a startled Barthez. Eleven minutes later Henry scored again on a play that a TV replay showed to be offside. The lead lasted only 66 seconds as Giggs scored the tying goal on header off sloppy Arsenal defending.

Darrel Brown joins Carifta team

REIGNING 100 metres champion Darrel Brown has joined the Trinidad and Tobago team ahead of the Carifta Track and Field Championships, scheduled from Saturday to Monday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo.

According to team manager Jim Clarke, the 18-year-old Brown, the current World Youth 100m prince, arrived home from Auburn University, USA on Monday night and, following a workout with his Phoenix clubmates at the Larry Gomes Stadium, Malabar, Arima, is expected to join the team. The 70-member team will stay at the Games Village — the Crowne Plaza Hotel — from today, upon the arrival of the US-based trio of 400m hurdler Josanne Lucas, fellow Auburn University teammate, high-jumper Danille Prime and pentathlete Charisse Bacchus from the University of Alabama.

“All the selectees are under the supervision of their respective coaches while those in Tobago are under assistant coach Gerald Franklin,” noted Clarke, who added that the Trinidad-based competitors are fine-tuning their skills at their respective clubs. Among the leading gold medal candidates in the national squad are 2002 Under-17 high jump champ Cory Gibbs, reigning U-20 800m champ Simeon Bovell, sprinters Kelliann Baptiste, Wanda Hutson, Dion Rodriguez, Jamal James, Jamil James and Joel Pile.

Make room for Sarwan at the Oval

There is good news for West Indies fans, ahead of the Second Test to be played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port-of-Spain against Australia next week, following the withdrawal through injury of current West Indies wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.

West Indies vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan is fit and available for the Second Test, so it means that the West Indies selectors will have to make a very tough decision ahead of this match. “Sarwan is okay, he is now just exercising his hand. It is his left hand and he will be ready for the Second Test. He is eager to return to the West Indies team,” President of the Guyana Cricket Board of Control, Chetram Singh said from Guyana.

“The doctors just told him to relax a little and all is well now and he has informed the West Indies Cricket Board that he is available. There is no doubt that he will return to the team and space will have to be made for him,” he added. “He has been practising a lot and putting in time to keep himself very fit and certainly he does not seem to have been affected by the blow he received against Sri Lanka. He has a strong mental attitude.” “He is missing the game a lot and believes he can contribute positively to the success of the West Indies team and knows as well he is being groom for the captaincy and wants to work alongside Brian Lara as much as possible,” stated the West Indies Cricket Board executive member.

With Chris Gayle out of the reckoning, it appears that newcomer Devon Smith will keep his position and the toss-up is between Darren Ganga and Marlon Samuels when Sarwan returns to the team. “It is clear that the West Indies need Sarwan and there is no doubt of his class and it may mean some hard decisions have to be made in light of this, as some of the players who may be left out may feel hard done,” he noted. The Second Test starts on Saturday at the Queen’s Park Oval.

Gambhir leads India into final

DHAKA: Gautam Gambhir hit a superb 71 to lead India to a four-wicket win over Bangladesh in a triangular one-day series cricket match yesterday.

India stormed into the final of the series also involving South Africa with the victory and consigned Bangladesh to their 35th successive One-Day International without a win. The left-hander, who won the “Man-of-the-Match” award, faced 89 balls and hit nine fours as India cruised to their target of 208 with more than seven overs to spare. Gambhir, playing just his third ODI, completed his half century in 58 balls and shared a 69-run partnership with stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, who scored 43 in 44 balls before he was caught in the deep by Tareq Aziz.

Gambhir and wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel then combined for a 48-run partnership before Patel was trapped leg before wicket by Alok Kapali leaving India comfortably placed at 117 for two after 25 overs. The Indians then suffered some jitters and slipped to 178 for five in the 38th over after Mohammad Kaif was run out for 20, Sanjay Bangar was leg before wicket to Mohammad Rafique and Gambhir was caught behind by wicketkeeper Khaled Mashud off Kapali. Debutant Abhijit Kale (10) and Dinesh Mongia (16 not out) then saw India to within sight of their target before Kale was caught by Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud in the covers off Mohammad Ashraful with the score on 204.

Ajit Agarkar then ended the match with a four through cover. Rafique and Kapali finished with two wickets each. Earlier, Habibul Bashar scored his seventh One-Day International half century to help Bangladesh reach 207 all out in 49.4 overs. Bashar was ably supported by former Bangladesh skipper Akram Khan, who added 35. Despite India not fielding two of their regular bowlers, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh, Bangladesh struggled to get any partnerships going. Agarkar was the pick of the Indian bowlers with three for 36, while Sarandeep Singh grabbed two for 34. Bangladesh were aided by some sloppy fielding from the Indians. Mongia dropped opener Mehrab Hossain twice, but Hossain failed to make the most of the let-offs and he was caught by Bangar for 30. Bashar, who faced another 24 balls after reaching his 50 but failed to add another run, was caught by Kaif at extra cover off Agarkar.