Rowley to march against section 34; wants removal of PM, AG and Justice Minister

Keith Rowley: "Meet me outside the Red House".

Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley has planned a march from the Red House to President's House Tuesday to protest government's action with respect to Section 34 of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act. And he has invited  all churches, trade unions and the people of Trinidad and Tobago to join him.

The Opposition Leader plans to deliver a petition to President Max Richards outlining his views on the matter regarding Section 34 and demands for the removal of the Prime Minister, Attorney General and Justice Minister.

"If Trinidad and Tobago ever needed you is now, all those who believe that they can do what they want in this country and that the people are impotent and can be pushed back, I think they have crossed the line!" Rowley said.

"Today I want to call on every right-thinking citizen to push back on this Government of Trinidad and Tobago and come Tuesday at 1 o'clock if you believe that this Government need to be responded to, meet me outside the Red House!" Rowley said.

The controversial bill was passed in Parliament with unanimous approval from the government and the opposition. And last week the legislature repealed it. Rolwey has refused to take his share of responsibility for supporting and passing the bill.

He said the Opposition supported the legislation because the government gave assurances that the Act would not be proclaimed until criminal procedure rules were brought to the Parliament and approved and relevant infrastructure put in place. 

He claimed that Section 34 was "secretly" proclaimed. "This is a betrayal of the Parliament," he said. 

He attacked all three - Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Justice Minister Herbert Volney and Attorney General Anand Ramlogan.

The leader of the People's National Movement got personal in his criticism of the Prime Minister, suggesting that she lacked the character to lead the country. He said as "captain of the ship'' she presided over an act to undermine the good order of the country.

"All those who felt that by electing a woman...I am sure by now you understand that it's more than a man and it's more than a woman, character matters," he said. 

Rowley accused Volney of deliberately trying to deceive and mislead and demanded his resignation.

He saved most of his venom for Ramlogan. He said the AG must go because there is a conflict of interest since the Attorney General is part of the Cabinet.

"Because now we know certainly that there will be legal challenges, multi-million-dollar lawsuits involving ten of millions of dollars in taxpayers money. It is the Attorney General who will choose the lawyers and brief them to argue for the State," said Rowley.