PM refutes PNM persecution claims in Piarco cases: 'It is all just lies'

THE Prime Minister on Thursday refuted claims by the Opposition Leader that former prime minister Basdeo Panday, his wife Oma, a former UNC minister and a financier, formerly accused in a now discontinued corruption case surrounding the Piarco Airport, were persecuted by the PNM.

“She has the gall to talk about good news and say that PNM was behind people being charged and it is persecuting people. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, yuh lie,” Dr Rowley said on Thursday night.

Rowley, speaking during a PNM public meeting in Barataria, said Persad-Bissessar “knew what she was doing” when on Monday at a political forum, she said the PNM was behind the arrests and charges.

He warned that believing her could not only lead to more corruption but could affect similar court cases with the same people, currently ongoing abroad.

“When they can get up and tell the world that the complaints of the state are political prosecution and persons should not be held accountable, I am asking the country to reject it. It creates the environment to breed more corruption especially when there is a tinge of racism.

“When police hold a person, people could say it is because I am a UNC or I am an Indian. If you could raise that as a defence, where does the corruption end?”

At the Opposition meeting, Persad-Bissessar said the collapsed case was a part of the PNM’s playbook to hold on to political power by tarnishing the image of the UNC and its members.

Panday, his wife, former minister Carlos John and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh were the accused for 18 years in one of four corruption cases related to the Piarco Airport project. The case against them was discontinued by DPP Roger Gaspard, who said it was not likely that it could be successfully tried.

Rowley said the UNC had a bad habit of holding close, people with skeletons in their closet. Rowley brought up questions being put to him about the US Department of State’s rating of TT and placing the country on a tier 2 watch list. The watch list indicated that government officials, may be complicit in human trafficking, thus slowing the prosecution process and resulting in TT having no convictions in human trafficking matters.

In Parliament, last Friday, when asked about the matter by Opposition MP Rodney Charles, Rowley said no PNM MP was involved implying that Opposition MPs were. At the meeting he referred to two former UNC ministers – Devant Maharaj and Vasant Bharath’s public statements that the claims were true.

Rowley raised how the PNM dealt with corruption issues, going as far back as the Dansam Dansook case which led to two then sitting PNM ministers – Eric Williams and the late Franklin Khan – having to resign, and the Marlene Mc Donald case where she too had to give up ministerial posts because of charges of corruption.

He said people in court cases or suspected of being involved of illegal activities had no place in the PNM, unlike the UNC reminding the crowd of section 34, the then attorney general Anand Ramlogan’s involvement in the reversal of the extradition of several Piarco accused, e-mailgate, and the LifeSport scandals.

“If I were leading that party no one like that would be a dog-catcher much less a parliamentarian,” he said. “We operate to a different standard. You think anyone could be on a million-dollar bail and sit in Parliament behind me?” This was a reference to Pointe-a-Pierre MP David Lee, who is on a tax-evasion charge.

“I was in the Parliament when they contrived section 34 and the single purpose of it being proclaimed was to give the opportunity for people well known to Kamla Persad-Bissessar not appear in court.”

“Tobagonians went and embarrassed themselves and voted for (PDP leader Watson) Duke and the UNC started jumping up and down. We grow up knowing about foot in mouth, Duke have foot all about.”

“Notice the embrace,” he added. “The more despicable you are the tighter you are hugged by Kamla Persad-Bissessar – but again we learn in school that birds of a feather flock together.”