Christlyn Moore Fired From Peoples Partnership Cabinet

Fired Justice Minister, Christlyn Moore

Just after she was fired yesterday, former justice minister Christlyn Moore thanked Prime Minister Kam­la Persad-Bissessar for giving her the opportunity to serve the country.

One year ago, Persad-Bissessar appointed Moore as justice minister to replace Herbert Volney, whom she had fired following the Section 34 debacle.

In announcing the changes to her Ca­binet yesterday, Persad-Bissessar said Moore’s appointment was revoked and Emmanuel George would be the new Justice Minister. George had held the post of national security minister, which has now been given to Gary Griffith.

Reporter Fired for Racial Facebook Statment

World Indian Network (WIN) Communications yesterday fired freelance reporter Darryl Heeralal over statements he made on Facebook regarding protest action in Sea Lots, Port of Spain, which were viewed as being racist.

After Heeralal was fired, the station's general manager, Sunil Ramdeen, called on journalists to reconsider their use of social media in their capacities as private citizens.

Heeralal, who was a freelance reporter with WIN TV on Sunday posted as his Facebook 'status' a remark that used a derogatory term for people of African origin and also incited violence against such people, as he criticised the Sea Lots community that has for the past two days staged protests and blocked the westbound lane of the Beetham Highway.

Many members of the community are outraged over the deaths Sunday of Hady Paul, 28, and her daughters, Akasha, eight and Shakira, seven, who were killed when a car, driven by an off-duty policeman, crashed into them while they were on the pavement.

Heeralal's statement quickly went 'viral' and a swell of disagreement ensued, including a war of words between political groups on the forum.

Individuals and activist groups demanded that Heeralal be disciplined and he was fired yesterday.

Heeralal issued an apology via the same forum later in the afternoon, saying:

"My statements can only be described as racist, insensitive, unfortunate, uncaring and crass. And for it I apologise, unreservedly, firstly to the people of Sea Lots, Beetham Gardens, Laventille, Maloney and also too all those who I offended by my racist and inappropriate statements."

In a telephone interview, Ramdeen said the station was "saddened" by Heeralal's actions and the event demonstrated the need for a review of the use of social media by workers in a field such as journalism. 

"This is a serious issue," Ramdeen said.

"We (journalists) don't have the luxury of disassociating ourselves from ourselves as journalists. To make a statement on social or any media, you have to know what the repercussions will be."

Ramdeen said social fora such as Facebook must be regarded as "the animal it has become" and speaking arbitrarily on such soundboards must be approached with caution.

In a statement earlier, Ramdeen said the company was shocked by Heeralal's statements, which it viewed as "a serious lack of judgment".

Ramdeen described the media's responsibility as a sacred one, moreso in an ethnically diverse country like Trinidad and Tobago.

"We believe in equality of representation by the media for all our citizens, wherever they may be, from Cedros to the Beetham, and we reaffirm ourself to those beliefs," Ramdeen stated.

"It is an affront to every employee in this company, as it is to the country as a whole, to make statements that seek to divide or condemn along lines of race. Even worse in a way that seems to incite violence against any particular race."

In his apology, Heeralal also apologised to his friends and relatives of African heritage and said his comments were meant to draw attention to "crime, urban poverty and fear in the society".

"My statements were particularly unfortunate especially coming in the midst of the sorrow, hurt and pain caused by the accident and the plight of the people of Sea Lots," Heeralal said. "I take full responsibility and accept the full consequences of my actions and again apologise to all those who have been impacted by my lack of judgment and humanity."

Commenting on Heeralal's post, Express reporter Renuka Singh wrote on Facebook on Sunday: Darryl Heeralal isn't known for diplomacy, but in this case I grudgingly agree..madness.  

Singh yesterday said in hindsight she should have been more specific in her statement as she would never condone racism and or any call for violence against any person or group of persons. She said she was sorry, adding that she was surprised that the "racist" label was applied to her.

"I should have been more specific in my comment about what I was agreeing to. My agreement was solely on the fact that, as he had said, hardworking, law abiding Africans and Indians would continue to be held ransom by rioters who will now be placated and appeased by politicians.

"While I can understand why my name and my comments are being highlighted in this situation, I can only promise to be more vigilant and responsible in my public comments in the future," she said.

The Express position regarding the professional conduct of its journalists is clearly stated in the OCM (One Caribbean Media - parent company of the Express and TV6) Statement of Editorial Principles and Operational guidelines:

"Whether on or off the job, OCM journalists are required to maintain  the standards of behaviour associated with responsible journalism including fairness and respect for all, including themselves."

The management of the Express is currently addressing the issue of Singh's Facebook post.

Source: ExpressTrinidad

VOLNEY FIRED: Was He the Scapegoat?

FIRED: Former Minister of Justice
Herbert Volney

The fiasco of Section 34 sparked widespread calls for the heads of the Attorney General and the Justice Minister. Last night in a 26 minute address to the nation, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar offered up one, that of Justice Minister Herbert Volney.

In her address immediately following an extended Cabinet regular meeting yesterday, the Prime Minister informed the nation that she had advised Acting President Timothy Hamel-Smith to revoke Volney's appointment. The Prime Minister announced the appointment Attorney Christlyn Moore, a lawyer in the Office of the Attorney General as the new Justice Minister and Senator. 

Her live address to the nation definitively cleared the Attorney General Anand Ramlogan of any culpability or involvement in the scandal of the (Administration of Justice) Indictable Offences Act) and she placed the blame for the Section 34 debacle squarely at Volney's feet, stating that he misled the Cabinet. Persad-Bissessar further said that during her investigation, she learnt that neither Archie nor Gaspard had consented to the proclamation, which has allowed more than 20 criminal defendants, including UNC financiers Ishwar Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson to petition the High Court to be freed based on Section 34, which allows a judge to dismiss a case against a person and find the person not guilty if ten years or more has elapsed since the commission of the offence and the trial had not begun.

It was Volney who piloted the final version of Section 34 in the Senate ("which, the Prime Minister noted, was not the version approved by the Legislative Review Committee (LRC) and thereafter by the Cabinet"). She also pointed that it was his Cabinet note which called for early proclamation, citing consultations with Chief Justice and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She recalled that when Volney brought the note on August 9 to the Cabinet to proclaim Section 34 she specifically asked him whether the Chief Justice and the DPP had been consulted. She said Volney drew her attention to paragraph five of the Note which started that the Chief Justice had been consulted on the proclamation. "He then confirmed to the Cabinet that he had the support and approval of both the Chief Justice and the DPP on this matter," the Prime Minister stated.

"Early proclamation should never have occurred," the Prime Minister concluded.

"The approval of the Cabinet for this piecemeal proclamation was therefore predicated and based on the assurance and understanding that the Judiciary and the DPP were adequately consulted and fully supported the early implementation of this measure (Section 34) as a precursor to the rest of the act that would come into force in January 2013," the Prime Minister said.

But the Prime Minister said during her investigations that she spoke with the Chief Justice and "humbly requested" a report. The Chief Justice who provided a written report as well as the notes taken at a July 24 meeting with a specially appointed inter-ministerial committee, she said. She added that she also met with the Chief Justice and the DPP on Wednesday on the issue. "I am now satisfied that there was no prior adequate or proper consultation with either office-holder on the early proclamation of Section 34," she said.

She added that she was also satisfied that there was a "legitimate expectation" on the part of both officeholders that there would be no partial proclamation of this Act as this assurance had been given by Volney at the July 24 meeting.

The Prime Minister said all ministers had a "sacred duty and responsibility to the Cabinet in seeking to persuade the Cabinet to approve his or her note, present his case objectively, accurately in the knowledge that the Cabinet would act on his or her assurances and representations," she said.

"The Minister of Justice had a duty to faithfully and accurately represent the position and views of the Honourable Chief Justice and the DPP. He failed so to do and the Cabinet relied and acted on his assurances in good faith," the Prime Minister said.

"His failure to do so is a serious misrepresentation and amounts to material non-disclosure of relevant facts to the Cabinet which effectively prevented the Cabinet from making an informed decision," the Prime Minister said.

Persad-Bissessar noted that even after the concerns were first raised by the DPP, Volney told the Cabinet that both the CJ and DPP had agreed to the early proclamation.

The Prime Minister apologised to the President, the Chief Justice, the Parliament, the DPP and the country.

This was the seventh minister which Persad-Bissessar has axed in her relatively short two-and-a-half-year tenure as PM. She said, "tough decisions on integrity and performance were being made all the time". The Prime Minister said she had spoken with Volney yesterday and he admitted he made an error.

The Prime Minister however stressed that it was Parliament in its collective wisdom which "gave birth to Section 34".

She emphasised too there was no "nefarious intent" and that the amendment "targeted no particular persons, nor was it designed to protect any sectoral interests". The outcry was created because the bill would have provided an avenue for UNC financiers Ish Galbaransingh and Steve Ferguson and others in the Piarco fraud cases to escape prosecution. Section 34 was repealed last week,

The Prime Minister noted that "it was on the floor of the Senate without oversight by the LRC or the Cabinet," that the final version of Section 34, which changed the statutory limitation from ten years from the start of criminal proceedings to ten years from the date of the offence, was created.

The Prime Minister appeared to praise the public protest over Section 34, saying that she "embraced the debate and demonstration and welcomed those who feel so passionately about the nation".

Volney's termination is the eighth to be ordered by Persad-Bissessar since the People’s Partnership assumed power in May 2010.

She also revoked the ministerial appointments of Minister in the National Security Minister Collin Partap, Minister of Planning, Restructuring and Gender Affairs Mary King, Health Minister Therese Baptiste-Cornelis, Public Administration Minister Rudrawatee Nan Gosine-Ramgoolam, Minister in the National Security Ministry Subhas Panday, National Security Minister John Sandy, and Gender Affairs Minister Verna St Rose-Greaves.

BREAKING NEWS Herbert Volney Fired Over Section 34 Fiasco.

Herbert Volney Fired as
 Minister of Justice

In a lengthy address to the nation tonight, Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar broke her silence about early proclamation of Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act.

She indicated to the nation that the bill was first passed in the House without the infamous clause 34 and then amended and passed in the Senate with the support of the Independent members as well as the Opposition members.

"As a Cabinet, we must take collective responsibility" she said, however, every Minister must correctly and accurately informed the members of cabinet so that informed decisions can be made. She further noted that Volney had erred in this regard to accurately inform the members of the Cabinet, thus failing in his ministerial responsibility in presenting the note which gained the approval for the proclamation of Section 34. As such,  she has advise the Acting President Timothy Hamel-Smith that his appointment be revoked. 

Volney is to be replaced by Tobagonian Attorney at Law Christlyn Moore, who would take the position as a Senator and as the Minister of Justice.

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