It is imperative that the police proceed with full speed on their investigation into one of the most potentially damaging episodes in T&T's political history.Of course I am speaking about the current controversy being generated by the disclosure in the Parliament on Monday, by Opposition Leader Keith Rowley, alleging some serious misdeeds emanating from the upper reaches of governance in the country.
I am in no way attempting to pass judgment on the veracity or authenticity of a series of e-mails obtained by Rowley which he used as the basis of his no-confidence motion in Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and her People's Partnership administration.These cyber-documents contain the most dangerous and scandalous allegations of plots bordering on criminality by political functionaries to get back at their opponents for the bruising they got in the Section 34 episode.
Rowley presented a spirited attack on the government to support his case that the regime was attacking institutions such as the Judiciary, the media and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.Dr Rowley, member for Diego Martin West, dramatically churned out the information obtained by a secret whistleblower, which is normally the case in these circumstances.
But the government members in equally robust manner immediately brought out the big guns that put holes in the matters contained in the e-mails. The government members made them out to be fabricated and bogus.What struck me, though, was the amateurish manner in which these serious charges were made from, of all things, something like e-mails, which we all know can be easily manipulated for good or evil.But as I said, I am not the one to pass judgment and in the fullness of time the truth must come out.
We have never had to physically stage wars with our political foes as obtained in many other countries such as our Caricom cousin, Jamaica, which saw more than 700 of its citizens being killed in a general election campaign.Sure, our political parties have their back-room boys who would come up with their respective strategies in the prosecution of electoral battles.
I am told that one of the weapons used is the telling of tall tales (lies) on opponents, and mind you, not just any ordinary lies, on the campaign trail. The idea is that these untruths must be framed in such a way so to make them sound plausible to the undiscerning ears.And during election races who really wants to listen to reason as long as you can get away with some juicy falsehoods in the heat of the moment?
One of the slickest pieces of untruths ever told in an election was "The Baptist Letter," during the 1981 hustings in which the Organization for National Reconstruction was accused, in a one-page document, of planning to ban the religion if the ONR had won the polls.At that time the ONR was giving other parties a good run for their money, as they say.
However, Baptists came out on the streets day and night. I would never forget their candlelight demonstrations around Woodford Square, then the favourite stomping ground of the PNM, protesting the alleged ONR's demonic plan to get rid of them.Fully cognisant of their terrible history of survival in this country particularly during the colonial era, the Baptists rallied against the ONR.
No doubt the bogus letter worked and the party, although receiving 90,000 votes, did not win a "damn seat"' as predicted by then Prime Minister George Chambers.I am appealing to the "professional" talk-show callers to please do not allow the debate to degenerate to pedestrian level. We are known for conducting our political battles in an adversarial manner but not with violence, by and large. We may have a few hotheads in the respective parties who may lose it after imbibing a few shots of "dotish water" (alcohol).
This goes also for so-called political analysts, not the objective ones, because at the end of the day, no matter whoever is in power we all have to live here as one people as only we know to do it.If the government should be found culpable, then a general election must be called before 2015 and if the loyal opposition is found guilty of perpetuating a patent political mischief on T&T, then they too must demit office.
