Panday: Opposition can’t be blamed any longer

"They used that as propaganda to cover up their own inefficiency," Panday stated yesterday. He was speaking on the Bail Amendment Bill in the House of Representatives. The Bill was passed on a unanimous vote. All 30 members presented voted in favour.

Panday said he believed the Government was very disappointed that the Opposition has taken this stand. "It is almost as if we called their bluff. They have nobody to blame now. For years they saying that the Opposition is the cause of crime. They can’t do that any more. I believe that the Government will now be exposed because they now have the law — and I pray to God of course that the crime will cease — but I know it will not unless there is a change in management and the administration," he added.

Panday stressed the Bail Bill will have no meaning if the problems in the courts were not addressed.

Noting that the bill required the accused to be brought to trial within 60 days of the charge, failing which a bail application could be made, he said the bill will be of no use if Government did not address the problems in the administration of justice. He said there were currently 465,000 cases pending in the Magistrates’ Court.

Panday added that he hoped that Government understood that when the bill stated that the accused had to be "brought to trial" (within 60 days), it did not mean setting a trial date and then postponing the trial over and over.

Panday also stated that he hoped the Parliament understood that the bill could still be struck down by the courts as unconstitutional, even though it was passed by the required majority in both Houses of Parliament. He cited that part of the Constitution which stated that the court could strike down legislation if it believed that it was not reasonably justified in a society that had respect for individual rights. Panday said the Opposition wrestled with two main issues as it grappled with the legislation. On one hand, there was the public outcry for draconian legislation, he said, and on the other, there was the need to protect innocent citizens against the abuse of power. He said the latter requirement was even more necessary in the particular circumstance of Trinidad and Tobago.

In this regard, Panday cited the "prosecution and persecution of Dr Vijay Naraynsingh," the "persecution" of the Chief Justice and the refusal of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute certain Government ministers and others involved in the perversion of justice.

Addressing the question of constitutional reform, Panday said the Opposition did not issue a precondition for its support of the Bail Bill.

Saying that both sides agreed to run constitutional reform "on a parallel track," Panday said only time would tell whether Government is sincere in its stated commitment to constitutional reform.

"Some people are saying that we were conned, that Government got us to support the Bill, but constitutional reform will not come," he said. But, Panday stated, if this happened the Government would have conned the entire nation. He said he also hoped that the equal opportunities legislation would be put on the front burner.