UNC signals support for Chief Sec: Stand your ground

THE Opposition UNC is supporting the position taken by Tobago House of Assembly (THA) Chief Secretary Farley Augustine about high-ranking government and police officials along with others being involved in an alleged conspiracy to undermine his administration.

Chaguanas West MP Dinesh Rambally expressed the UNC's support for Augustine at a news conference at the Opposition Leader's office in Port of Spain on Friday.

Augustine made his allegations during a special sitting of the assembly in Scarborough on Wednesday.

At a news conference at the Diplomatic Centre, St Ann's, on Thursday, Dr Rowley rejected Augustine's claims.

He instructed Attorney General Reginald Armour, SC, to get legal advice on whether or not Augustine breached the law when he made his allegations against him in the assembly.

Rowley said the court would determine "what is right and what is wrong" as he planned to take any legal action available.

He said the man named by Augustine, Akil Abdullah, who appeared in a video shown in the assembly on Wednesday, was a witness co-operating closely with the police in the THA audio recording investigation.

This probe involves a controversial audio clip first shared on social media in May. In the clip, people believed to be high-ranking government officials can be heard planning to use THA resources to fund a political propaganda campaign.

Rowley said, "The chief secretary in the THA has put himself above the law, and has taken steps to ensure that he doesn’t only think he is above the law, but that he acts to put himself above the law."

Harewood-Christopher has also rejected Augustine's allegations.

Rambally said, while Augustine was neither a personal nor political ally of the UNC, "We respect the position taken by the Chief Secretary Farley Augustine of the THA."

Rambally claimed Rowley was attacking Augustine in a "vindictive manner" because the PNM no longer controlled the THA.

He said the UNC had a message for Augustine and his team.

"To Farley Augustine, chief secretary, and the other members of that THA: stand your ground!"

Rambally told them, "You have been elected democratically by the people of Tobago. You have to do your job and we respect that."

He added that the Opposition UNC "stands in defence of the people of Tobago, as well as people of Trinidad."

Rambally claimed there was no evidence of the commission of an offence or the potential commission of an offence in the THA audio-recording investigation.

But he claimed that Augustine's statements "pointed to the commission or the potential commission of egregious criminal offences."

Rambally said Augustine was right to use the assembly as the forum to make his statements.

"The THA is sovereign in terms of their own practice and procedures in that house (assembly)."

Rambally disagreed with Rowley that members of the THA had lesser privileges and immunities than members of the House of Representatives.

"It is illogical. It is plainly wrong."

He reiterated that the THA "can govern their own procedures."

Rambally urged Rowley not to involve Armour and hire his own attorneys.

He called on Harewood-Christopher to ensure there was an independent investigation into Augustine's claims.

Rambally supported Naparima MP Rodney Charles' view that the situation happened because of certain political perceptions about Harewood-Christopher.

He also said the UNC objected to Newsday's editorial on Friday which called for a legally binding code to ban politicians from scandalising the police through public utterances.

"It is Orwellian."

Rambally said the UNC had never done that in any of its public comments about the police.

He added that the party's criticism of the editorial was not an attack on Newsday's credibility as a media organisation.