The recent allegations by Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley of plots to kill members of the PNM government could be a stretch of the imagination meant to “take down opposition members.”
That’s the fear of St Augustine MP Prakash Ramadhar who, in a press conference yesterday, said this phenomenon is “a threat to democracy”.
On Friday at a political meeting in Belmont, Dr Rowley alleged he received threats to his life when he was opposition leader in 2014 and that recently, threats to the life of Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi were made.
Minister of National Security Stuart Young also previously alleged that high ranking members of the opposition were involved and associated with gang leaders.
But this narrative, according to Ramadhar, is planting seeds in the minds of the public for something in the future.
“The insinuation is clear and unavoidable. Is this population being primed to expect that certain things will happen soon and when they do - in terms of the prosecutorial arms of the state - that the country would say thank god that you’ve acted upon it,” he said.
Ramadhar drew on incidents from his 30-years of experience as a criminal defence attorney where witnesses fabricated accounts.
He indicated that it wouldn’t be a stretch to imagine that the same could happen to take down members of the opposition.
“We now have plea bargaining and I warned the nation - it is a very good thing if it is properly used. But plea bargaining is also an extraordinarily dangerous weapon in the hands of criminals and those in authority who allow themselves to be used.”
He added, “I imagine for a moment that someone sitting in the prisons or elsewhere with a criminal history or background or pending matters would avail himself to plea bargaining, as an example, to come and give evidence against a sitting MP or a member of a political party,” he said.
He also raised several questions surrounding the revelation by Prime Minister Rowley.
This is why he called on the Commissioner of Police, Gary Griffith, to put his best investigators on the case to shine some light on the matter to get to the “truth”.