Lead Editor-Politics
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has dismissed public concerns that State security agencies are monitoring citizens’ private phone conversations, saying the only people worried about surveillance are criminals and those “suffering from derangement and paranoia.”
Responding to questions from Guardian Media about growing public unease over alleged State interception of communications, Persad-Bissessar said, “All law-abiding citizens are very supportive of the protective services’ efforts to combat crime,” she said.
“The only persons who are worried are those who are involved in criminal activity and those suffering from derangement and paranoia.
“In fact, I have not met a single stinking c****e who is concerned about using their phone. The State security agencies treat everyone equally. An infraction of the law by the fake elite Escobar and Epstein classes will be treated no different to an infraction of the law by a c****e from Siparia.”
The Prime Minister was responding to questions from Guardian Media amid heightened public debate over privacy and State surveillance, following a series of high-profile Preventive Detention Orders (PDOs), a leaked audio recording from the State’s case against the Hadeeds and repeated Government assurances that interception powers are being lawfully exercised.
The issue has intensified in recent weeks, after the circulation of an audio recording purporting to capture a telephone conversation between businesswoman Star Sabga and relative Genevieve Hadeed, the wife of businessman Dominic Hadeed.
Police Commissioner Allister Guevarro has since ordered an investigation into the leaked audio to determine how it entered the public domain and whether any laws were broken in its recording or dissemination.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, Attorney General John Jeremie sought to reassure the public that the leaked recording should not automatically be taken as evidence that local authorities unlawfully intercepted the conversation. He cautioned that, with modern technology, communications can also be intercepted by external actors and urged the public not to jump to conclusions about the source of the recording. Jeremie also stressed that “all members of an ethnic group can never be the subject of a lawful intercept. It can never be proper,” while maintaining that, “no phone in T&T is tapped without strictly following the provisions of the law.” He did not, however, directly answer Guardian Media’s questions about the legal basis for the alleged interception in the Sabga matter, including which court authorised any interception warrant or who applied for it.
Earlier this month, Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander defended the State’s interception capabilities, insisting that such powers exist in democracies worldwide and are exercised only within the confines of the law and under judicial oversight. He maintained that law-abiding citizens have nothing to fear from lawful surveillance conducted as part of criminal investigations.
Persad-Bissessar’s repeated use of the ethnic slur “c****e” in recent public statements also comes in the context of the leaked recording. In that audio, Sabga is alleged to have repeatedly used the same derogatory term while referring to Indo-Trinidadians. The recording sparked widespread public debate over race relations and inflammatory political rhetoric, with the Prime Minister repeatedly referencing the word in subsequent speeches as she condemned what she described as racist attacks.
PNM condemns latest remarks
Opposition People’s National Movement chairman Marvin Gonzales yesterday condemned the Prime Minister’s latest comments, accusing her of dismissing legitimate public concerns over privacy while further inflaming racial tensions.
In a statement issued yesterday, Gonzales said Persad-Bissessar’s conduct was “disgraceful, uncouth, and unbecoming of the office that she occupies.”
“She will not admit or acknowledge the real fears that have gripped the society on the issue of State monitoring of confidential phone conversation of citizens,” Gonzales said.
“The privacy of our citizens have been destroyed as the political witch hunt of the UNC has reached destructive and alarming levels by the weaponisation of the State’s resources.”
He argued that the Prime Minister had failed to reassure citizens who remain concerned about whether their communications are being monitored.
Gonzales also criticised Persad-Bissessar’s repeated use of racially charged language, saying it was inconsistent with the standards expected of a national leader.
“Her constant usage and resort to racial and nasty slurs and descriptions is disgusting, shameful and sick,” he said.
“The Prime Minister has now turned her office into a symbol of hatred and divisiveness, but the resilience of our beautiful people will survive her diatribe and putrid attacks against our national unity.”
Gonzales lamented that the Prime Minister was given an opportunity to clarify the air on a critical national issue and assuage the legitimate concerns of citizens but chose to respond by launching vicious attacks and her “usual” divisive rhetoric.
Government ministers have consistently defended the expanded use of security powers during the State of Emergency, arguing that extraordinary measures are necessary to dismantle organised criminal networks. Opposition members, however, have questioned whether those powers are being exercised proportionately and have repeatedly called for greater transparency surrounding the State’s interception capabilities and the legal basis for recent preventive detention orders.
