Citizens are free to express their views once they are not in breach of the law. So said Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar in response to questions from reporters on advertisements in the newspapers in support of the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the Solomon Hochoy Highway extension. She was questioned by reporters after yesterday’s ceremony to present house keys to T&T’s second Olympic gold medallist Keshorn Walcott, at East Grove, Valsayn. The issue of the advertisements, placed by a group calling itself “Citizens 4D Highway,” first arose two weeks ago when one ad described hunger-striker Dr Wayne Kublalsingh as a human lizard.
The PM said she had read the first advertisement “and I think they are free as any other citizen to express their views, in the same way that others have expressed their views.” There was no problem, she said, “as long as they act within the law and as long as they do not defame anyone.” Kublalsingh is protesting the Debe to Mon Desir segment of the $7.5 billion Solomon Hochoy Highway extension from San Fernando to Point Fortin. His Highway Re-route Movement has raised questions about who was really behind the ads and who was funding them. It claims the Government was behind the ads. Asked if the Government was linked to the ads being placed in the media on the Kublalsingh issue, Communications Minister Vasant Bharath said yesterday he had no knowledge of them but had noted they carried the tag “Citizens 4D Highway.” Subsequent ads have attacked the print media for refusing to carry further advertisements calling for “freedom from the press” and criticising those newspapers that have refused to publish any of the related ads.
Walcott Grateful
Receiving the keys to his converted $2.7 million Housing Development Corporation home, Walcott said he was thankful for it. Two houses were converted for him after he said he wanted to live in the east instead of Federation Park, Port-of-Spain, where he was originally given a condominium. He said he preferred the Valsayn area and choosing East Grove was “a great decision.”
Walcott, the javelin gold medallist at the 2012 Olympics, said he intended to plant some mango trees in his backyard so he could continue practising. He reportedly acquired some of his javelin-throwing talent by pelting mangoes as a boy. He also signed the deed for a parcel of land in his hometown of Toco yesterday, explaining that the land was his gift to his parents who still liveds in Toco. “I am just glad that they have something up there to call their own,” he told reporters.
PM: Other things more important
On another issue involving Kublalsingh—his call for her to ask in writing for his medical records after his stay at St Clair Medical Centre earlier this month — Persad-Bissessar said she had more important matters of state to deal with than to respond to Kublalsingh. Health Minister Dr Fuad Khan said then that after more than three weeks of his hunger strike, the leader of the Highway Re-Route Movement looked strong after collapsing at Maracas beach.
Khan denied he had access to Kublalsingh’s medical records, as Kublalsingh’s family claimed. The PM said: “Those matters are not important to me. I have a country to run.” Asked if she was no longer concerned with the issue, she responded: “Those matters are being dealt with by the relevant line minister and Nidco president Dr Carson Charles.” She said she would have no further involvement. “Not at this time, no,” she added.
Persad-Bissessar declined to respond to comments by masman Peter Minshall, who supports Kublalsingh and who said the PM was the “mama of mamaguy.” The PM said she had not heard his comments but added: “He is a great man and we are also very proud of Peter Minshall and the work he has done in our country.” Attorney General Anand Ramlogan yesterday also skirted comment on statements by Minshall about the Government, saying he did not want to comment on Minshall’s comments as he had not seen them. Minshall’s statement on the issues raised by the Point Fortin Highway extension and the protest led by Kublalsingh appeared in yesterday’s T&T Guardian. Ramlogan said Minshall had contributed to culture and Carnival and he would “continue to enjoy Tan Tan and Saga Boy and their creator.”