Attorneys representing the two men charged with the July 17 kidnapping of 18-year-olds Yves Ayoung Chee and Benedict Barrette yesterday made applications for bail to Port-of-Spain Magistrate Ejenny Espinet. Reginald Gibson, 34, former Special Reserve Police officer (SRP), of Phase Four Beetham Gardens and Kenny Bonnett, 24, businessman, of Eastern Main Road, Laventille, were arrested on July 28 and charged with two counts of kidnapping and two counts of false imprisonment. The charges were laid by Sgt Lynch of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad. Defence attorney Ravi Rajcoomar stated that his client, Bonnett, was a TSTT employee and owner of Quick Wash Car Wash. He declared that his client has a “clean criminal record” and if granted bail, he would not attempt to abscond. Attorney Patrick Godson-Phillips made an application for bail on Gibson’s behalf saying that his client had never had a brush with the law and that he was presently employed as a supervisor with the NHA. He added that he was an SRP up to late January and had no desire to leave the jurisdiction if granted bail.

The police prosecutor however indicated that Gibson had refused to give his fingerprints to the police and as a result, no tracing had been done on the accused. Godson-Phillips alleged that his client was not approached by the police on the matter of fingerprints. Espinet informed the attorney, “I have no information on your client. He will not be granted bail and will be remanded pending results of tracing.” Bonnett was then granted bail in the sum of $200,000. The matter was adjourned to Monday.

HIGH Court judge Nolan Bereaux is convinced that there was a grab for land by squatters at Tarouba Village at the beginning of this year. In dismissing a case last week, filed by the squatters against the National Housing Authority’s (NHA) evicting them, Justice Bereaux stated in a 26-page judgment that indeed there was a “land grab” with squatters recently arriving on the lands in large numbers. The judge expressed the view that the NHA, in carrying out Government’s housing policy, must fullfil its obligations in providing 31,000 people with homes. In fact, the judge added, the interest of those who have applied to the NHA for housing cannot be held to be “subservient to the applicants (squatters)”. Team Unity political leader and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC recently took up the plight of some 85 squatters when earlier this year, NHA served eviction notices on several of the squatters. Justice Prakash Moosai granted an injunction restraining the NHA pending hearing and determination of an application for the High Court’s review of the NHA’s decision to evict.

Two Wednesdays ago, Justice Bereaux dismissed the squatters’ case and ordered them to pay the NHA’s legal cost. Justice Bereaux agreed with NHA’s contention’s that there was a dramatic increase in the number of houses earlier this year. The NHA records, according to the judgment, showed that there were 12 houses on the lands but in 2003, the number increased to 100. Quoting the NHA’s chief executive officer’s affidavit, Justice Bereaux stated that Tarouba North was earmarked for construction of 200 houses this year and another 200 next year. Even after the High Court injunction earlier this year, he added, persons apparently invaded the lands. The squatters were represented by Maharaj, Sunil Gopaul Gosine, instructed by Garnet Mungalsingh. Defending the action against the NHA was Russell Martineau SC instructed by attorney Deborah Peake. In fact, Justice Bereaux stated, there were also houses with absentee owners living elsewhere who permitted friends and relatives to live in them. One such person the judge described, was as an emissary of the Member of Parliament for the area (Pointe-a-Pierre) who claimed to have occupied a house on the lands. Justice Bereaux stated that such inaccuracies created an impression of an action filed in haste with little regard for truth and accuracy. He stated, “Litigants who move the court for ex-parte relief must be careful to ensure, notwithstanding the need for speed or, the urgency of the matter, that those facts as are put forward, are true and within their own knowledge.”

Justice Bereaux dismissed the squatters claim that an NHA letter to one of the squatters, amounted to a legitimate expectation to be given possession of the land. The letter was addressed to one squatter and not all or even some, Justice Bereaux stated. “It made no specific promise, undertaking or guarantee of regularisation of his or their status, or of granting him or to them, lots at Tarouba,” Justice Bereaux stated in his judgement. Justice Bereaux then went on to state, “but the evidence as a whole is sufficiently compelling to have driven me to conclude that there was indeed a ‘land grab’ by these applicants. The photos of the respondents (NHA) and indeed those of the applicants (squatters) indicate that with few exceptions, these applicants have only recently arrived in Tarouba and in large numbers. In addition, the judge said, the sudden disappearance of 16 persons also lends considerable credibility to the land grab allegation. Justice Bereaux stated that however sympathetic one might be for the plight of squatters, the law recognises the right of the lawful owner to evict them.

NATIONAL Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) Political Leader Lennox Sankersingh yesterday declined comment on the resignation of the party’s acting campaign manager Dennis Singh. In a resignation letter dated August 1, Singh said he was resigning in protest of the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) reneging on its agreement with the NAR to appoint at least one NAR alderman to every corporation it won in last month’s Local Government Elections. Sankersingh (who was appointed deputy chairman of the Couva/ Tabaquite/Talparo Corporation) was the only one of five NAR nominees who was elected in accordance with that agreement.

Former NAR members Suruj Rambachan and Dr Allen Sammy were elected as aldermen and heads of the Chaguanas Borough and Penal/Debe Regional Corporations respectively. In his letter, Singh accused Sankersingh of selling out the NAR to the UNC. Singh slammed Sankersingh for trying to align the NAR with the UNC, describing the latter as “a failed party because it has too many rogues.” When contacted, Sankersingh told Newsday he had not studied Singh’s letter in detail and would prefer not to comment until he did. Prior to last month’s polls in which the UNC and NAR were defeated by the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM), Sankersingh was under fire from the NAR’s Tobago arm for renewing ties with the UNC. The NAR leader said he would meet with Tobago NAR chairman Christo Gift following the July 14 elections but has not done so to date.

THE South Trinidad Chamber of Industry and Commerce viewed yesterday’s energy talks between Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez as crucial to Trinidad and Tobago’s long-term socio-economic interests. Addressing a post-Cabinet news conference on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: “Principally our agenda is an energy agenda.” Among the topics Manning listed for discussion with Chavez at yesterday’s working dinner were the development of Venezuelan natural gas reserves located in close proximity to TT’s maritime border with Venezuela, utilisation of Venezuelan natural gas in TT and an arrangement where TT and Venezuela will supply petroleum products to Caricom. Chamber president Wayne Moze told Newsday these talks were “vitally important to our long-term interests”. Moze recalled that “for years” the South Chamber has been urging closer cooperation between TT and Venezuela in the energy sector and the topics listed by Manning were achievable objectives. He said if  TT was looking at interpreting its natural gas reserves and the question of importing gas, Venezuela with its superior gas reserves offered tremendous possibilities.

Moze added that closer TT-Venezuelan energy ties should be “kept on the front burner” and it was not inconceivable that a cross-border gas pipeline between the two countries could be constructed. The Chamber president dismissed a newspaper report which claimed he was insisting that Manning and Chavez make border security their top priority for discussion. Moze said given the scheduling of yesterday’s talks, he was not disappointed that border security may not be discussed in any great depth. However Moze was optimistic that both countries would continue to combine their efforts to clamp down on the flow of illegal drugs and guns between them.

Calypso King of the world The Mighty Sparrow will be back home this weekend to launch a new compact disc entitled Redemption. The Birdie has ventured into a new realm with a 13 track CD of Gospel music. He teamed up with veteran musician/arranger Frankie McIntosh and several other top musicians based in New York to put together a “work of art.” The song and music on the CD has cast Sparrow in a new light. Rest assured his adoring fans will be all over him when he starts to perform the tracks on Redemption.

There are too many youths without jobs in the Barrackpore area and while the government is providing temporary employment for many in other areas through CEPEP, the youths of southern communities are left without jobs. So says Akash Ragoonanan, president of the Barrackpore Youth Action Innovators (BYAI). Ragoonanan was at the time addressing members of BYAI at the Barrackpore Community Complex last Thursday evening. “One just have to drive through the Lower Barrackpore areas and see how many youths are ‘liming’ into the wee hours of the morning. And it was during the lead to the last local government elections that the politicians vowed to provide employment for everyone in the country. I want to know if Barrackpore is not on the map of Trinidad and Tobago,” an angry Ragoonanan said. Residents of Manohar Street complained about the loud noise in the streets as many of the youths party with heavy music on a nightly basis. Speaking on behalf of the residents, Ragoonanan is calling on the authorities to do something about the unemployment problem now. Members of BYAI have been involved in doing many community projects, including the Prime Minister’s Best Village Trophy competition, Academics courses in Maths, Physic and English Literature free of charge to the youths of the area.

Ragoonanan complimented the PenalDebe Regional Corporation for curbing the flooding situation in Barrackpore. He noted that it was after Newsday’s report on the floods that work started on the low-lying areas. A student who is now home on summer vacation, Shezida Ali, 16, blames the lack of attention the youths have gotten from the leaders of the village. The doors of the Community Complex remain closed most of the time. We cannot gain access to the basket ball court or anything else,” she added. The BYAI has since written to the Ministry of Community Development requesting educational trade classes, such as cooking classes, sewing, and welding.

TRINIDAD AND Tobago and Nigeria are engaged in the same struggle for constitutional reform. This was the opinion of Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday following a courtesy call at his Port-of-Spain  office yesterday by Prince Chibudom Nwuche of Nigeria. Asked about the nature of the talks between himself and the Nigerian Prince, Panday replied: “ What we did discussed is that in both our societies, there were ethnic and racial problems. There is always a constant struggle to find a constitution that will promote harmony in such  societies. So we spoke about constitutional reform and the need to develop indigenous constitutions to deal with the specific problems of any given society.” Panday said while Nwuche (a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives) did not offer any suggestions for constitutional reform in TT, he (Nwuche) did speak about how the Nigerian Parliament has been trying to find ways to deal with ethnic problems in Nigeria.

The United National Congress (UNC) has been clamouring for the Government to initiate constitutional reform in TT before it lends its support to pieces of legislation which require a special majority for passage in Parliament. Among them the Police Reform Bills and legislation to which allows the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) to replace the Privy Council as the final court of appeal in the region. Panday said the CCJ did not come up for discussion. St Joseph MP Gerald Yetming said the UNC needs to revisit its position of total opposition to the CCJ and he was uncertain what his position would be when legislation to implement the Court comes to Parliament next month. Prime Minister Patrick Manning indicated last week that he intends to canvass Opposition MPs individually in order to obtain their support for the legislation. Government requires the support of at least four UNC MPs to pass the CCJ legislation.

FOUR Laventille-based community organisations are commending the Ad Hoc Committee for the Eradication of Crime in Laventille for organising and hosting a seminar/workshop, scheduled for Monday, on the issue of crime in Laventille. The workshop, a four-day affair, will get underway at the HiltonTrinidad and has been dubbed a major initiative in Laventille’s fight against crime. The four groups supporting the workshop are the Beetham Gardens Community Development Organisation, The Morvant Laventille Improve-ment Organisation (MLIO), The Leasehold Village Council and the Displaced and Homeless Children Organsiation.