The People's national Movement (PNM) is taking the Volney back one step further in its attempt to get the Justice Minister of Trinidad and Tobago fired for controversial remarks made in Parliament.
The party has created a facebook page titled "In Support of the Immediate Dismissal of Justice Minister Volney", which it is circulating on the Internet and inviting people to join.
During the budget debate last month Justice Minister Herbert Volney made remarks about the Chief Justice suggesting that Ivor Archie made a sweetheart deal with the previous government through which he was able to get an "opulent" mansion which is costing the taxpayer nearly $60,000 a month.
The remarks brought condemnation from the opposition, the Judiciary, lawyers and even Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who called them "unfortunate and unnecessary". Last week Volney offered an apology in which he stated that he meant no disrespect for anyone and stated that he is committed to the independence of the Judiciary.
Read the story: Volney makes "sincere and unreserved" apology
Opposition Leader Keith Rowley and the PNM have refused to accept the apology and have called for the minister's dismissal.
Diego Martin West MP Dr Amery Browne told the Trinidad Guardian the apology was not genuine. “I was present both when Volney uttered the controversial remarks and when he gave that poor excuse for an apology," he said.
Browne added, “Pompous tones, foreign accents and fancy word-play will never be an acceptable substitute for genuine contrition. The PM should fire him right after she herself apologises to the pensioners of our beloved nation.”
However, Volney's cabinet colleague Jack Warner disagrees. He told reporters Sunday that he found the minister's apology to be genuine and accused the Opposition of politicising the issue.
“I do believe that Justice Volney’s apology is genuine...(and) quite appropriate." He also suggested that the PNM has double standards.
"I find it rather strange, however, that when his (Rowley's) prime minister at the time was ravaging chief justice Satnarine Sharma in the worst possible way that I did not hear so much as a squeak from Dr Keith Rowley,” he said. “I guess it’s different strokes for different folks.”
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