Chief Whip accuses Govt of wire-taps

The PNM administration has Police Commissioners doing the “hip hop dance,” UNC MP Ganga Singh charged yesterday. Speaking on the Terrorism Bill in the House of Representatives, Singh said since Prime Minister Patrick Manning gave the last Police Commissioner his letter of appointment, there had been subversion and corruption of the Police Service. Alluding to the affidavit filed by Assistant Police Commissioner Dennis Graham, Singh said it seemed as though the Police Commissioner was “doing a hip-hop dance” trying his best not to rock the boat as he prepared for retirement. Saying that the Terrorism Bill aimed at undermining fundamental freedoms, Singh said he could not understand what was compelling Government to pass this legislation now, adding that Hinds piloted the Bill like it was “a fast food piece of legislation.”

“Is it because there is an (OAS) Terrorism conference taking place (in Trinidad and Tobago) and that like willing Uncle Toms we must now fulfil an agenda that is not in the national interest and which jeopardises civil liberties? Is it an American bandstand that I am hearing?” he asked. Singh stated that because of this Bill, organisations such as Greenpeace, Gary Aboud and his group Fishermen and Friends of the Sea, and Molly Gaskin could be regarded as terrorists. Singh said in fledging democracies it was the state which was the purveyor of terrorism and cited the murder of Walter Rodney in the Burnham era in Guyana.

Singh said because the Bill was tailored to suit the US agenda, it was blind to the fact that there were many potentially explosive and poisonous gases available in abundance in this country. He cited ammonia — an explosive gas, and methanol — a potent nerve poison, of which millions of tonnes are produced annually. He said citizens were very vulnerable to attacks in Point Lisas because of this fact. Singh also said Government had 11 intelligence/spy agendas available to it.

He named each of them, citing their potential. Many of them had the capacity to tap land and cellular phones, he noted; and added that in fact the phones of all Opposition members and some members of the Government were tapped. He said despite the wire-tapping capacity of the Government’s “spy” agencies, Government still could not solve the kidnapping problem. Singh said unlike what applied in many countries of the world, these agencies were not subject to parliamentary oversight. He said having this kind of spy network along with the powers given to the Executive under the Bill meant the Prime Minister would have more power to terrorise ordinary citizens.