N Touch

Witnesses absent, murder accused freed

A MAN charged with murder was freed yesterday when two State witnesses failed to show in court to testify.

Aldwyn Reno, 49, who was charged with murdering  Marcel Ash, on February 3, 2001, at Nelson Street, Port-of-Spain, was ordered free by Justice Herbert Volney. The two witnesses who had failed to show in the Port-of-Spain First Criminal Court, were Sharon De Peza, girlfriend of the deceased, and Delano Williams. Last week a warrant was issued for De Peza but she could not be found, and three subpoenas were issued to Williams but he too, failed to attend court.

In the circumstances, State prosecutor Althea Alexis, told the Court yesterday she was not offering any further evidence in the matter. After ordering the jury to return a not guilty verdict in favour of Reno, Justice Volney asked defence attorneys Joan Charles and Ryan Cameron, and  prosecutor Alexis, whether anything could be done about the witnesses who refused to come to court, even though the matter was  concluded. Attorneys were of the view that nothing could be done in the circumstances. Ash, a fisherman of Las Cuevas, died after a fight with Reno. It was alleged that Reno hit Ash on the head with a piece of wood.There was also evidence that De Peza, who was beating Reno with a piece of wood during the fight, also hit the deceased.

Time for EU/Caribbean talks – Harborne

BRITISH High Commissioner Peter Harborne said yesterday the region needs to place as much emphasis on Europe as it is doing with the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).

Harborne was speaking at the Ambassadors Forum held by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce at its headquarters. “You’re up and running with FTAA, you’re up and running with WTO. It’s about time you get up and running on economic partnership agreements with the European Union,” Harborne said. The Cotonou Agreement, which governs the relationship between the Caribbean and Europe, still has to be negotiated. The agreement covers trade as well as development assistance, while FTAA and WTO deal only with trade. Harborne said the region could gain a lot from the agreement but needs to double its efforts. US Ambassador Roy Austin also said trade negotiations were a concern for the US, which will be implementing a capacity building programme for negotiations in the region. “A tough negotiation partner is much better than none at all,” Austin said.

Austin said the business relationship between the US and Trinidad and Tobago is “excellent” and the relationship probably played in a part in this country’s credit rating upgrade last week. Austin said there are a few concerns. The US Government is “bothered” about statements on local content and work permits for expatriates, but added, “These are the sort of disagreements for which reasonable friends come to a mutual understanding.” Local content issues arise mainly in the energy sector and over the past few months Government has expressed its own concern about the level of local content in the sector.

Ministry seeks investors for tertiary education

GOVERNMENT’S plan to increase tertiary level enrolment from eight percent to 20 percent was the focus of a Stakeholders’ Forum on Investment in Tertiary Education at the Trinidad Hilton yesterday.

The forum was aimed at generating ideas and solutions on expansion and provision of relevant and responsive tertiary education and determining how best the private sector can invest in this development. The University of the West Indies, other tertiary education institutions and various corporate bodies were represented at the forum. Danny Montano, Minister of Science Technology and Tertiary Education, expressed his ministry’s wish to have “a university graduate in every home by 2020”. The Minister referred to Chile, citing the level and quality of education as the reason for that country’s success compared to other countries in the region. The reference was a direct appeal to private sector investors to recognise the benefit of investment in the tertiary education sector.

Montano suggested that firms directly assist students and reminded them of the provision in the tax law that allows companies to sponsor students at tertiary level and claim a full tax deduction. He also highlighted the need to increase the number of persons accessing tertiary education and  ensure the relevance of programmes to the country’s employment needs. “Clearly, our educational system is missing the mark,” Montano said. Calls were made by numerous stakeholders for closer collaboration between educators and the private sector. It was suggested that venture capital be invested in the University of the West Indies to produce future employees for local firms.

Stakeholders also raised their concern that the issues faced in tertiary education were born at the primary and secondary levels. Montano said this was not his direct concern, but assured the gathering that Minister of Education Hazel Manning was doing  “nothing less than revolutionary work to improve the education system”.

bpTT rebuilds Clifton Hill seawall

bpTT has begun to replace the seawall at Clifton Hill Beach, Point Fortin, following the issuing of a Certificate of Environmental Clearance and a community meeting at which certain concerns were raised.

The move was welcomed by the Point Fortin Foundation, the group selected to interact with bpTT on behalf of the community said “now that bpTT is moving to replace the wall, it seems more feasible to provide beach facilities at Guapo”. The group’s President Mayon Murray said “if a world-class facility is proposed for Guapo, Atlantic LNG and all stakeholders would readily buy in”. In 1998, in preparation for Train 1 of Atlantic LNG, a tanker channel and turning basin was dredged. A 36-inch pipeline was built and operated by bpTT to deliver natural gas to the Atlantic LNG Train 1. However, the coastline began to deteriorate and several remedial measures were implemented to fortify the shoreline. One was an attempt to install artificial kelp on the seabed to buffer the impact of the waves.

When it was clear that none of the approaches were successful, bpTT undertook to build a wall in the affected area. The wall was severely damaged by Hurricane Lenny and was never completely restored. bpTT and Atlantic LNG commissioned the Point Fortin Coastal Study Han-Padron which collected data over 16 months to assess the activity over dry, wet and hurricane seasons, as well as wind, water and wave action and landslide activity. The results of the study would have been used by bpTT and Atlantic LNG  to ensure long-term sustainability of their interests in the area. A 40-year study of aerial photos has shown that parts of the Western coastline in this area are slowly falling into the sea.

bpTT has always expressed an interest in the area and has invested an estimated $1.2 million on initial plans to erect a recreation facility which would include refurbishment of the beach facility, construction of a gazebo, paved and resanded areas, and a conference facility. Through the initiative of Point Fortin Mayor Francis Bertrand, the Clifton Hill area already houses a hotel and conference facility with restaurant and bar, venue of the annual Sea-a-Thon which crowns the Borough Celebrations. Murray said the Foundation is seeking the cooperation of bpTT, Atlantic LNG and others in long term plans for Point Fortin.

Health Ministry denies any case of SARS

The Ministry of Health yesterday sought to assure the general public that “there is not and was not any person suffering from SARS at the Port-of-Spain General Hospital” as claimed by the front-page report carried in one of the daily newspapers.

Worldwide, SARS has so far infected 2700 people and caused over 100 deaths. Addressing the media at the Health Ministry Ag Chief Medical Officer, Dr Rampersad Parasram said there are sufficient stocks of drugs to treat people who may contract the mystery pneumonia. Health institutions are already equipped with masks and gloves as these are used regularly. Parasram said all primary health care facilities, Accident and Emergency Departments and other health screening agencies will be given guidelines on how to screen and diagnose SARS and where to transfer patients. The Emergency Health Service will arrange transfers between institutions.

Port-of-Spain General Hospital, Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex and San Fernando General Hospital will have designated isolation areas to accommodate persons with SARS. Dr Parasram said Caura will not be used (at present) as it cannot provide the level of care necessary for persons with SARS who require a ventilator. As this equipment is located in Intensive Care Units, he said extra caution will have to be exercised to prevent contact with other patients. Parasram said “increased surveillance” is fundamental to the response to SARS. The Health Ministry has met with the Airports Authority and Port Authority to ensure that any possible cases entering TT are detected. Health Declaration Forms will be given to passengers arriving from countries where SARS was detected.

The Medical Chief of Staff at Scarborough Hospital Dr Dillion Remy and Chief Medical Officer for Tobago Dr Mentor Melville have been updated about diagnosis and transfer arrangements. Parasram said the Ministry of National Security will have to be involved in transporting patients from Tobago. He expressed confidence that local doctors can handle any SARS cases and said international guidelines will be followed. The Health Ministry will be in touch with international agencies if necessary. In a release yesterday, Public Relations Officer Keith Sancho said that thorough investigations had been conducted and that as “of April 14, there are no reported cases of SARS in TT.”

The ministry has also stated that it intended to investigate every suspected case of SARS which may be reported to the authorities. Sancho concluded by requesting that the media check its sources with respect to SARS since inaccurate information on this virus could lead to unnecessary anxiety among the public.

Should interns sickout?

WERE the interns at the San Fernando General Hospital, who called in sick last week and tacitly joined the current doctors’ sickout pressured to take action in an industrial issue in which they are not directly involved? And if so, by whom?

Interns, while they are graduate doctors are in the process of receiving practical training, and although they receive a stipend, cannot be regarded as a class of workers directly concerned in the ongoing industrial action taken by House Officers et cetera to force Government to grant them salary increases. No one, for example, should have attempted to coerce any of the interns into “withholding their services” from the health institutions in which, under a carefully structured programme, they receive practical, as opposed to the largely theoretical training afforded them at medical school. To have done so would have been immoral, particularly if it had been a case of the proverbial Sword of Damocles.

If the interns acted wholly on their own, independent of any outside pressures, but rather in a show of solidarity with the doctors who reported sick, and with the idea that whatever gains the House Officers won would one day be theirs also, this is still open to question. We wish to stress that the interns can not plead that they were seeking their economic interests. In turn, they cannot claim that they were and are entitled to give more than mere moral support to the industrial action, for this is like the graduate doctors “taking bush tea for another man’s fever”. Already, the Communications Director of the South West Regional Health Authority, Zenobia Nanan, has pointed out the grave concern of the San Fernando General Hospital’s Administration at this clearly unexpected, if not undesired turn of events. Admittedly, only a few of the hospital’s interns have been reported as calling in sick. But it is the principle of interns taking this action that concerns us.

Meanwhile, Minister of Health, Colm Imbert’s announcement on Thursday, that the first batch of Cuban medical personnel — 37 doctors and 45 nurses — would arrive within the next month must encourage a sense of relief in the general community. Inferred by the Minister’s statement is that there are yet more Cuban doctors and nurses to be contracted to take up duty in Trinidad and Tobago. Government’s action is not one of “strike breaking”, as put forward by some persons when the matter of bringing in Cuban doctors was first broached some time ago. The Cuban doctors and nurses have been recruited to fill existing vacancies, and persons seeking medical attention at the various public health institutions, who have been affected by the current doctors’ sickout, are certain to welcome the arrival of the Cubans.

‘The architect of the Turtle Conservation Laws’

By Ian Lambie
former Honorary Secretary of
the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club 1961 to 1980



Sea Turtles are included among the Endangered Species of Wildlife of the World by the IUCN.
We are pleased to note that in recent years, there has been an increasing awareness in the plight of sea turtles and a number of community groups have emerged and are engaged in efforts to protect nesting sea turtles on the beaches in Trinidad and Tobago.
But when did this interest in the Conservation of Sea Turtles in Trinidad and Tobago begin?
I am requesting that you accept the attached article about Peter Bacon whom I consider to be the Architect of our Turtle Conservation Laws, for publication in your newspaper.
 Professor Bacon has passed away at the age of 64 after a long illness.


I first met Peter Bacon in 1964 when he became a member of the then Trinidad Field Naturalists’ Club. Peter had arrived in Trinidad in August 1963 accompanied by his Trinidad-born wife Tyra, whom he had married in England in July 1962.

He soon made his presence felt in the Club and he was elected to the post of Honorary Assistant Secretary in 1965. He served in the post of Vice-President from 1966 to 1968 and was elected President of the Club in 1969, a position which he held for three consecutive years. From 1972 to 1980, he was a member of the Club’s Editorial Committee and continued to serve the Club until his departure for the University of Calabar in Nigeria. In 1963, the Club had received a report that during the annual nesting season large numbers of Leatherback turtles were being slaughtered on the beach at Matura. In addition, once slaughtered the carcass was pushed out to sea by a different group of persons, not being the poachers, and at first light the many sharks which were attracted to the carcass, were shot.

On the Club’s first visit to Matura, on a night in mid-1964, having not previously reconnoitered the area in daylight, we were unable to locate the turn-off to the beach from Orosco Road and most of our party, including a large number of UWI students who had been invited by Peter, left in frustration. However some of us stragglers met a villager who directed us to the northern end of the beach now popularly called Rincon where we saw our first Leatherback turtle on the beach. Additional trips were made to the Matura Beach during the later months of 1964. Then in 1965, the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club commenced a Turtle-watching project with Peter Bacon as the coordinator. At that time the exact nesting period for sea turtles in Trinidad and Tobago was unknown to the Club and there were many “folktales and myths” to contend with. Beach patrols were made not only at Matura but also at Las Cuevas where Mr Eric LaForest often accompanied by Ms Luis Zuniaga and other friends visited regularly.

During the next five years, turtle catch information was obtained from the Fisheries Division for turtles landed at the Toco and Mayaro Fishing Depots and offered for sale at various market places, and by 1969 a reasonably accurate nesting pattern was also discerned from the information collected by the Club during its five years of beach patrolling. Also in 1969, Peter became the first PhD graduate in Zoology from the St Augustine Campus of the University of the West Indies. During the Turtle nesting season of 1970 the Club began a Turtle-tagging project using equipment supplied by the University of Florida, and by 1980, 330 Leatherback turtles had been tagged. The information on each turtle was recorded on information sheets designed by Peter. Beaches visited included Matura, Fishing Pond, Las Cuevas, Big Bay at Toco, Grand Riviere, Tacarib and Grafton and Turtle Beach in Tobago.

In 1973, Peter, on behalf of the Field Naturalists’ Club, prepared a document containing recommendations for the amendment to the existing Turtle Conservation Laws. These recommendations were submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Fisheries and follow-up meetings were held with the then Minister, the Honourable Lionel Robinson and with other Government Officials. At these meetings, the Club was represented by Mr G E L LaForest, its President, Dr Peter R Bacon and Mr Ian Lambie, the Honorary Secretary. Articles and photographs depicting the slaughter of turtles on the Matura beach together with letters to the editors of the daily newspapers, calling for the amendments to the existing laws, in order to better protect the nesting turtles on our beaches, were regularly published and resulted in the issue of the Turtle and Turtle Eggs Regulations of 1975. (Act 23 of 1975 issued as Government Notice No 119 of September 8 1975) which included all the recommendations submitted by the Club. A memorable victory had been achieved by the Club.

Today we will like to believe that the early conservation work by the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club under the guidance of Peter Bacon has resulted in a general awareness of the plight of sea turtles and the need for sound management of this very valuable natural resource. We like to believe also that this early work has resulted in the birth of organisations such as Nature Seekers in Matura and other Turtle Conservation groups in Grande Riviere, Fishing Pond and in other parts of Trinidad and Tobago.

Peter served as a member of the Board of Management of the Asa Wright Nature Centre from 1971 to 1973. He has made a significant contribution not only to academia but also to Environmental and Wildlife Conserva-tion in Trinidad and Tobago, for which we are very grateful. On Monday February 24, 2003, Professor Peter Robin Bacon passed away at the age of 64 years after a long period of illness. The Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists’ Club, the University of the West Indies and the country are all the poorer and we all mourn his passing. May he rest in peace.

Weekend of death

A SATURDAY evening river lime at Caura ended in tragedy when two men, neighbours and best friends, died instantly when the car they were in ran off the Churchill Roosevelt High-way, Valsayn and crashed into another vehicle on Saturday night.

This weekend was a particularly bloody one in which five persons were killed in accidents in Mayaro, Freeport and Valsayn and one man was murdered in Laventille. The two latest road fatalities have been identified as Kris “Ras” Babwah, 21, and Pedro “Kanky” Mitchell, 25, both of Parray Lane, El Socorro Extension, San Juan. According to police reports, at around 7.20 pm, Babwah was driving a Nissan Sunny along the west-bound lane of the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Mitchell was seated in the front while three other men sat in the back seat. Following closely behind in two other vehicles, were relatives and friends of Babwah and Mitchell.

On reaching the vicinity of Valpark Shopping Plaza, the car started to skid and Babwah applied brakes. However, he lost control of the vehicle which ran off the right lane of the highway. The out-of-control car crashed head on into a Space Wagon van, driven by Shairoon Mohammed, which was proceeding along the east-bound lane of the highway. Mitchell and Babwah died instantly while the other occupants of the car, plus Mohammed and a woman who was a passenger in his van, all received serious injuries and had to be taken to hospital. Relatives and friends of the dead men ran to the crash scene. Babwah’s common-law wife Betty Ramlal was inconsolable. “Oh God Kris why yuh have to leave me and dead so,” Ramlal screamed while being restrained by relatives.

Basdeo Babwah, sat at the side of the highway and lovingly caressed the bloodied and battered face of his dead son, who lay alongside Mitchell’s body. A friend was heard muttering that it was fitting the two good friends, who grew up together, died together. At the Babwah and Mitchell houses, relatives were busy preparing tents for a wake yesterday. “He was a real nice man and did not deserve to die the way he did,” Ramlal told Newsday as she looked at photos of her dead husband. Mitchell’s sister, Stacy Yorke described him as  a hard working person who also put aside time to lime with his family and friends. While the Babwah family have already planned to hold his funeral on Tuesday, the Mitchell family said they would wait until Mitchell’s wife Maureen, who is on vacation out of the country, returns home today.

Visiting the scene of the fatal accident were Sgt Smith, PCS Nirmal Ramjattan, Spencer and Springer. Autopsies done yesterday at the Port-of-Spain Mortuary revealed that Babwah died of massive head and neck injuries while Mitchell died of internal bleeding and damage to major internal organs. St Joseph police are continuing investigations. Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Deochand Gosine said he was very concerned about the carnage and loss of life on the nation’s roads. “People need to be more vigilant and exercise greater care when they are driving,” ACP Gosine said. The weekend road carnage has sent the road fatality figure for the year to 64.

Palm Sunday prayers for Iraq

PRAYERS WERE offered for the people of war-torn Iraq during Palm Sunday services at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in San Fernando.

Parish priest Fr Clyde Harvey told worshippers Palm Sunday was an occasion to remember children and the children of Iraq who were facing war, especially those injured, should be remembered by every Catholic. Those who suffer the loss of their parents, he added, but especially those who were at the various hospitals nursing injuries.  Fr Harvey also called on the congregation to remember the injured soldiers of the coalition forces. He singled out the United States, England and Australia as having suffered many casualities.

DPP transfers Dhanraj case to POS

DHANRAJ SINGH will now have to face trial for murder in the Port of Spain Assize Court.

Director of Public Prosecutions Geoffrey Henderson has transferred Singh’s case from the San Fernando Assizes. Singh, 42, a former Local Government Minister, who is charged with the murder of former chairman of the Rio Claro/Mayaro Regional Corporation, went on trial last month in the First Assize Court, San Fernando, but halfway through that hearing, trial judge Justice Melville Baird aborted the case. DPP Henderson has given no reason for the transfer except to state that the ends of justice require him to do so. A copy of the letter has been sent to Singh’s attorney Karl Hudson-Phillips.

In a notice filed in the Registry of the Hall of Justice, Port of Spain, on April 9, Henderson stated that pursuant to the Criminal Procedure Act, Section Three, “I now therefore consider that the ends of justice so require and I do hereby transfer for trial from San Fernando to the Port of Spain Assizes.” The DPP has the power to transfer any case for hearing from any court. Hearing of Singh’s case comes up on the Cause List tomorrow in the San Fernando Supreme Court. At this hearing, the judge is likely to refer the case to the Cause List hearing in the Hall of Justice.

Neither Hudson-Phillips nor his juniors were available yesterday when Newsday sought to enquire whether the move to transfer the case would be challenged. Legal sources told Newsday yesterday that while the DPP has the power to so do, he must show reasons.