The government has denied interfering with the judiciary, saying
that Sharma had acted in an unethical fashion by personally intervening
in a case. Sharma recently said he was stepping down as Chief Justice
until the courts rule on his case and Justice Roger Hamel-Smith
was appointed acting Chief Justice.
They also demanded that the United Nations and other international
agencies take measures to remedy the situation.
The protest was co-sponsored by the GOPIO New York Chapter, the
Queen’s Caribbean Bar Association (QCBA), Trinidad and Tobago
Civil Rights Association (TTCRA), the Indo-Caribbean Council (ICC)
and several other local, regional and global organisations.
The protesters carried a large banner which read: “PROTEST
AGAINST VIOLATION OF RULE OF LAW IN TRINIDAD”, their banners
also read: “JUSTICE”, “RULE OF LAW”, “DEMOCRACY”,
“JUDICIAL PROCESS”, “HUMAN RIGHTS.”
The rally demanded prompt action to correct what they termed the
“present threats to stability in Trinidad and Tobago that
would have implications in the Caribbean region as well as globally
if left unchecked.”
They also carried a coffin which bore the slogan: “RAPE OF
DEMOCRACY.”
GOPIO New York’s President Lal Motwani asked the protestors
to “stand together in pursuit of justice.”
GOPIO Secretary General Ashook Ramsaran said “the rule of
law is the cornerstone to any democracy and a progressive society”.
Others attending included GOPIO chairman Dr. Thomas Abraham, who
reminded the crowd that GOPIO has been speaking out against the
violation of the human rights of people of Indian origin.
Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, Chairman of the TnT Civil Rights Association
(TTCRA) and a former Attorney General of TnT, told the audience
that his mission “in accepting an invitation to attend the
rally, as president of the TnT Civil Rights Association, was to
make the international community more aware of the serious breaches
of the rule of law in TnT, especially as it relates to the violation
of the constitution in removing the CJ from office.”
Maharaj charged that the government violated High Court and Privy
Council orders on the Chief Justice issue.
“Whenever a government disobeys orders of the High Court and
interferes with the independence of the justice system, the government
is no longer a democratic government,” he added.
“Dictatorship and tyranny then become the order of the day.”
Maharaj said he regards TnT as a dictatorship and a police state
under the guise of constitutionalism.
“The government’s handling of the Chief Justice issue
has fully established the dictatorship of the government because
the government has openly decided not to follow the constitution
of the country and to openly defy the orders of the Supreme Court,”
Maharaj said.
“The judges have been terrorised by the government’s
action in the Chief Justice issue,” he added.
“It sends a signal to them that the government can use the
coercive powers of the state to effectively remove them from office
without the government following the procedures established by the
constitution for their removal.”
Maharaj called upon the Caribbean people “to stand up for
democracy in TnT”.
“This rally is the first of a series with international exposure,
which will be repeated in Trinidad and elsewhere,” he said.
Lawyer Kawal Totaram, chairman of the Queens Caribbean Bar Association
(QCBA) and lawyer Albert Baldeo also addressed the rally.
Dr. Parveen Chopra, Commissioner of Nassau County Human Rights Department,
called for “all civil measures to seek remedy of the current
situation in TnT”.
Dr. Ashford Maharaj insisted on “the respect for and observance
of the judicial process in TnT”.
He asked the rally participants to sign a petition to be sent to
UN Secretary General Kofi Annan and Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba,
President of the UN Human Rights Council.
Guyanese East Indian Civic Association director Prakash Singh reminded
the crowd “of their obligations to be supportive of efforts
such as this protest rally that defend your rights”.
The rally planners further said that a formal report on the abuse
of law in Trinidad and a petition will be filed with the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights, the Secretary General of the
UN, and the Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists.
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