Moonilal on the warpath; opposition wants apology for search of Saudi diplomat

Oropouche East MP Roodal Moonilal told the House of Representatives Friday the Manning administration is putting citizens under too much stress and warned that the situation is reaching breaking point.

He cited several issues that he said are "straining this country" and the said the "elasticity and patience of this population could burst at any time".

Among the issues he raised were:

• the police raid on a visiting Saudi Arabian diplomat at the Hyatt hotel
• the death of three people on the Bailey Bridge on the Churchil Roosevelt highway
• the new concert hall at the PM's residence
• the $2M 'monster flag' in Port of Spain

He was particulary angry about the diplomatic incident involving the diplomat who had come to Trinidad for help nationals obtain visas and prepare for the annual Haj pilgrimage in Mecca.

He noted that the diplomat was allowed to enter the airport, was met by government officials but then later searched at the hotel. Police have apologized for the incident, saying they acted on "intelligence information".

But Moonilal isn't accepting that. He demnaded that the government apologize to the Muslim community for the incident. Opposition leader Basdeo Panday has also called on the government to apologize.

"I call on the Prime Minister to issue an apology to the Saudi Arabian government, Mr Rahaman Alshubaili and to the people of this country who have been hurt by the actions of top ranking persons of the National Security Ministry

"Clearly their intelligence should have indicated who the diplomat was,’ Panday stated in a news release.

In a media release Saturday, Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner also demanded an apology from the government and urged the state to ensure that there is better coordination between its various agencies responsible for immigration matters to prevent a similar incidence from happening again.

He said the incident "points to a miserable lack of protocol coordination between the Immigration Department and our local police," and asked, "How can the State offer protection to foreign emissaries if they are unaware of their very presence?"

Commenting on the tragic accident on the Bailey bridge, Moonilal noted that it happened because of the delay in building a proper bridge and slammed the works minister for what he called his "audacity and insensitivity" to be demanding compensation from the dead.

"For two years, you cannot put a proper bridge there, which would lead to the loss of life," he said and wanted to know how Works Minister Colm Imbert knew immediately that it would cost half a million to repair the bridge but "he was not sure how much the concert hall at the prime minister’s official residence would cost."

He also called on Government to investigate the $1 billion cost overrun for a development project at the state-owned Petrotrin energy company. And he wanted to know why that same company refused to pay the salary of Trinidad and Tobago cricket captain Darren Ganga for six weeks.

Moonilal accused Sports Minister Gary Hunt of hiding that fact. And he had more to say about Hunt and the $2M flag erected at the national stadium in Port of Spain as a "symbol of national pride".

Moonilal suggsted that the government should fly the flag at half mast "as a permanent symbol of the waste and corruption".

He called it "obscene" that government spent $2 million on a flag while complaining that it did not have money to provide basic services like water.

"You know of the straw that broke the camel’s back, well this is a flag pole that would break the camel’s back," he said.

COP SLAMS FLAG

Congress of the People deputy leader Prakash Ramadhar also offered his views of the flag, calling it a "national shame".

Speaking at a news conference in Port of Spain, Ramadhar said it is "sad and disgusting...to drape corruption in our flag and then call it national pride".

He said, "You can’t tell me about national pride when you allow children to die from lack of government support.’’

COP leader Winston Dookeran said Hunt's announcement that there will be at least two other 'monster flag' adds insult to the intelligence of the people of Trinidad and Tobago and demanded that people "put a stop to it."