ATTORNEY GENERAL John Jeremie has defended his comments in the Parliament on the country’s ‘1%’, denying he had threatened any community or brought ‘race’ into the House.
Jeremie addressed the issue in his wind-up on the state of emergency (SoE) extension bill late Wednesday night, having made remarks about the ‘1%’ in moving the bill earlier that evening.
The AG said he had not referred to any race, and had used the language which members of a community had used in describing itself.
Jeremie said the matter of race had been introduced by Port of Spain South MP Keith Scotland, who was among Opposition speakers to criticise the AG’s remarks.
Jeremie expressed ‘disappointment’ in Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles’ interpretation of his remarks.
He said he was talking about the 1%, ‘that is all’, and had outlined facts. He still agreed with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar that no one was above the rule of law.
The AG said it was also wrong for the Opposition to have used the term ‘governance by SoE’.
Jeremie recalled that he spoke about a person named ‘Aboud’ on the television speaking about losing his United States visa.
He said he was very careful in speaking, and that he had said a number of persons and their friends and allies have been trooping into the Office of the AG ‘to tell me they have lost their visas’.
Jeremie said he knew nothing about it and had not spoken with the US.
Denying that he or the Government threatens anyone, Jeremie again emphasised that if any member of the 1% were to break the law, they would ‘excite’ Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander to write preventative detention orders.
He denied Opposition claims that he was a coward, stating, ‘I eh ‘fraid nobody except the Prime Minister. I am terrified of this lady right here.’ The Prime Minister was seated next to him.
Jeremie said all must respect the law, including funders of the People’s National Movement (PNM) and Balisier House. He then said this applied to a black man from the Beetham or ‘if you happen go live in Bayshore and are stealing Government land and property’.
The AG said he was just saying that if someone happened to call the Office of the AG at midnight on (April) 28, when general election results were coming in, to say ‘get that lease fixed up for me now’, such persons would be put in Teteron by Alexander, ‘and you deserve no less because every single member of society is governed by one law’.
According to Jeremie, the ‘1%’ group believed different rules applied to them.
He recalled a lawsuit that had been brought against criminologist based at The University of the West Indies Daurius Figueira over saying some ‘heinous’ things, including dangerous drugs.
Jeremie again defended the Government’s bid to extend the SoE by a further three months, which was approved in the Lower House.
