Based on numerous requests, I reproduce as my article today, the address I gave at the recent press conference at the Mariott, held by Mrs Jacqueline Cheesman, Mr Kenneth Parker and myself. Mr Khan was absent and indicated subsequently that he was ill and could not make it, hence the reference in the speech to "three".Citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, ours is not a happy task today (April 4), as it concerns circumstances which have been unfolding and unravelling around the career of someone who has served Trinidad and Tobago in high public office and someone whom we continue to treat with respect and dignity.
We have maintained our silence over the last few days as this drama, debate and discussion has unfolded, quickly descending as Minshall would say, from the sacred to the profane. We have observed with increasing disquiet, statements made and things done in manners which did not, in our assessment, amount to appropriate actions for people in public office.We have hesitated to say anything before now, as we hold the Office of the President in the highest regard and did not condone or approve of some of the comments from our former chairman in relation to the Office of the President. We are convinced that no matter what someone's point of view may be, we must always respect the constitutionally established offices and office holders in this country and there is none higher than the Office of the President.
We observed comments on these current issues from the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, several government ministers and parliamentarians, former president of the Law Association, the current president of the Law Association, former independent senators, former head of the Public Service, president of the UTT, a professor and leading criminologist, political scientists and analysts, chairmen and leaders of political parties, newspaper editors, media houses, talk show hosts and most importantly, we have heard the views of you, the members of the public and it is you we wish to speak with today.
The handling of this matter carries with it national and regional consequences, as the world is watching our developing nation to see how we treat with this issue, and our concern at this point is not with recriminations and digging up the past, but with moving forward for the benefit of Trinidad and Tobago. We three hold as sacred and inviolable the duty and responsibility which you the members of the public have entrusted to us to carry out on your behalf. We three have been unanimously voted on and approved by both political parties in the House of Parliament and appointed by the President. We stand with you, shoulder to shoulder, brother to brother, citizen to citizen as we strive to make Trinidad and Tobago a better place for us all through more effective monitoring of the management and performance of the commissioner and deputy commissioners in their handling of the Police Service.We yearn to make a change to transform this land to a place where the ordinary citizens can live in peace and harmony, without fear and without being caged behind walls and gates and locked in their homes like jails.
We are committed to trying to hold the Commissioner of Police and Deputy Commissioners of Police accountable for transforming the Police Service, so that citizens can feel free to come out at nights; to enjoy a movie, take in a play, have dinner at a restaurant or simply a stroll around the Savannah, or even just to have doubles and coconut water on Independence Square at night without fear or trepidation. We want that to be our Trinidad and Tobago, we want that to be your Trinidad and Tobago, but there have been challenges along the way.We three are humbled and deeply moved by the expressions of support which we have received from all sectors of the society and we assure you to have no fear, as we are aware that this is public service and that with service to the public there will be challenges. We three are well able to meet and treat with same and in doing so we remain ever vigilant and watchful to serve as the vanguard of the public's interest, as we continue the work that the Police Service Commission should be doing on behalf of the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
This is a time of healing and reconciliation for the nation and we need not and shall not go back into the tawdry history of events leading up to today's press conference, as these have been played over again and again in the national media, ad infinitum, ad nauseaum. While we have been disturbed by things done and said against ourselves, we have taken the high road in this regard and have not descended into any mud-slinging with anyone as we think to do so would have been most unseemly and inappropriate behaviour for people holding high public office.What we are concerned about however, and will robustly and vigilantly and fearlessly defend are the rights of the people of Trinidad and Tobago, the people whom we are called upon to serve in our roles and capacities as commissioners of the Police Service Commission.
In this regard, our concerns are heightened by the fact that our former chairman has, over the last few days, been indicating that he was going to the PSC's office and that he had work to do there. We observed, some days ago, a private letter which we had sent to the chairman, mysteriously turned up in the press and this was followed by certain allegations against us.Today, we see skewed statistics and confidential information of the Police Service Commission including distorted attendance records appearing mysteriously in the media, again, all designed to create a certain impression. Now, none of us three has been to the PSC's office since March 25, 2011.
However, we note that at the PSC's office there are letterheads, official stamps, official documents, records, files, data and information, all of a highly sensitive and confidential nature and this selective and surreptitious releasing of the PSC's confidential information is a source of tremendous concern to us all. In that regard and in light of immediate events we would want to ensure the safety and security of the Commission's documents, items, stamps, seals and accoutrements.On a humanistic and personal level, we have continued to extend an olive branch of peace, friendship and harmony to our former chairman and do so still and we wish only the very best for him in his future endeavours. We think that going forward, the PSC has to be ever vigilant to ensure that we treat all sectors and interest groups in the nation with respect and dignity and sensitivity.
Rather than rely on raw, unsupported figures in isolation, which lead us into the debacle and conundrum from which we are now emerging, we prefer to take our cue from the teachings of the Koran which refers to the brotherhood of all men, the teachings of Christianity which refer to love and care for your neighbour and the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita which at Chapter 11 speaks of the universality of beings, and in particular it mentions when Lord Krishna manifested himself in various forms. We take this opportunity to wish a Happy New Year to the Hindu community and to affirm our position and stance against these types of counting exercises in isolation, because there would be no end to it, as every group or sector in the society can always find something to count and complain about.
We prefer to count us all as Trinbagonians and in the words of Young King Benjai, we say "I is a Trini" and we believe the words of King David Rudder when he describes us all as, "Trini to D Bone". We therefore wish to stick strictly to our constitutional mandate and remit. We wish to focus on the number one issue of better policing and crime reduction and the task of making Trinidad and Tobago a safer place for us all, as one people, one place and one space, united under God and the Constitution, where every creed and race find an equal place.And may God Bless our Nation.