Letter: Express story on SIA "alarmist"

Re: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/news/NO_CONTROL_OVER_SIA-111501979.html

The Trinidad Express of Wednesday December 8th 2010, under the rubric "No Control Over SIA", has reported:

"Regarding the [Security Intelligence Agency] SIA and the recent investigations into this unit, the Office of the Prime Minister wishes to point out that the Commissioner of Police had and continues to have sole and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the SIA and all matters concerning investigations into its recent operations fall exclusively under the ambit and purview of the Commissioner of Police."

Questioned by the Express...on Monday night, Gibbs said he maintained his previous statements that he has no control over the agency. Because of my well-known habit of reading between the lines, it is clear that, again, the Express newspaper is up to its tricks, for the expressions "jurisdiction" and "control over", while ordinarily going hand-in-hand, refer to two distinct, separate things altogether:

• "jurisdiction": the territorial extent of someone's right to exercise control over a thing or person.
• "control over": the actual powers, resources and abilities to dominate, manage or direct a thing or person.In other words, one may exercise control over a thing or person over which one has no jurisdiction. Or, vice versa.

Regarding the SIA, it is the second of such scenarios that the very recent decisive actions of the Honourable Prime Minister, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, have addressed, since it was she who warned the populace of the horrible things the SIA had been doing, then took the speedy and decisive steps required to right those roguish torts.

The galvanic actions of the Honourable Prime Minister resulted in the Interception of Communications Bill 2010, as amended, [ICB 2010] being unanimously approved in Parliament.

ICB 2010 gives the Commissioner control over the what the SIA does. It is a control which he shares alongside the Chief of Defence Staff and the Director of the Strategic Services Agency. Sections 5 (1) and 8(1) of ICB 2010 clearly or impliedly say that!

[See: http://ttparliament.org/legislations/b2010h22-1rH.pdf or, the copy of the Bill that's hereto attached.]

However, as at the date of this writing, the Bill is yet to be assented by the President of Trinidad and Tobago. So while the ICB 2010 awaits His Excellency's seal of approval, the Commissioner of Police is quite in order to say he has no control over the SIA...even though the Parliament has already indicated that so he has.

Conclusion:
No worries, Mr. Express Editor! No worries!

Recommendation:
Please desist from alarming this nation with your jousting at windmills, especially when so many gigantic social issues that need ventilating.

Richard Wm. Thomas,
www.kid5rivers.com