Mr Mark’s startling statement

Leader of the Opposition Business in the Senate, Senator Wade Mark made some very strong allegations in the Upper House on Tuesday and it is to be hoped that he can defend these allegations and provide the country with the evidence, if such evidence exists. He stated that there were  police and other death squads operating in the country. He stated that the Prime Minister and another Government Minister, Senator Joan Yuille-Williams were consorting with the outlawed Muslimeen and in fact, Mark went so far as to state that Prime Minister Manning has regular meetings with the leader of the Muslimeen and that after one such meeting, a former Muslimeen man was murdered at Movie Towne.

 Not surprisingly, both Mr Manning and Yuille-Williams have denied these stories and so had the police about the existence of death squads. It is not good enough for Mr Mark to make these statements under cover of privilege in the Senate and leave it there. They are far too serious and startling to be left alone. Not so long ago, another UNC member, Mr Kelvin Ramnath, made a scene in the House of Representatives, defying the Speaker in his anger against a member of the government who made a statement about him that he considered untrue. Now we have Mr Mark making even more serious allegations than those that were made against Mr Ramnath. Nevertheless, the country must sit up and take notice of what Mr Mark said for according to our lead story today, 29 people have been shot and killed in the first six months of this year in what has been described as gang warfare. As far as we are aware, few arrests have been made and we really do not know exactly what is behind these killings — mainly centered in Laventille — other than what the police have told us about gang-warfare.

We are not suggesting for one moment that the police have a hit-sqaud “taking out” people considered to be criminal. But we do wonder whether there might not be something going on in the shadows about which the public is unaware. We believe that this issue must be carefully examined if only to assure the public that we really are not in the grip of any “Mongoose Gang” as suggested by Mr Mark. This is a country that is governed by the rule of law and we are well aware of the criminals in our midst who may indeed be killing one another. But we have to insist that the law be observed and that there is no group in the country taking the law into its hands and acting as prosecutor, judge, jury and executioner. We now expect Mr Mark to give the public all the information in his possession.