Dear Editor,
I listened to President Bharrat Jagdeo at the Lusignan Rally on Sunday, October 23. The President was not speaking. He was shouting at the top of his voice bragging about the way he ‘cussed out’ the media and called them “vultures and carrion crows,” and then he turned on Nigel Hughes. I wonder what he will say about Moses Nagamootoo, who is now at the forefront of the AFC campaign.
Our President cannot endure the thought of a viable opposition force tackling him and his government. He should stop the character assassination and get on to real issues like money laundering and corruption and cronyism.
To say that Nigel Hughes will never be made an SC while he is president and that it will not happen during the presidency of Donald Ramotar, if he is elected president, was a statement that speaks volumes. I will say this: this President does not understand the most fundamental rule of a criminal trial, ie, a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Nigel Hughes was, as a defence attorney, not defending any criminal. He defended an innocent man or some innocent men; until a man is convicted he is not a criminal. All criminal defence attorneys do the same.
Some of the most successful criminal lawyers, Rex McKay, Doodnauth Singh, Sir Lionel Luckhoo, to name a few, would have defended persons charged with murder, robbery, possession for the purpose of trafficking, rape and many other heinous crimes. What sanctions was the President planning to impose against these men and the other criminal lawyers—Anil Nandlall included.
I am guessing that this sanction is not an across-the-board sanction. It is merely for lawyers who are on the AFC and APNU slates. The way I see this is as a slap in the face for all lawyers who are deemed “criminal lawyers”, and the Bar Associations should seriously look to address the declaration made against Nigel Hughes, by President Jagdeo. Not only has he declared war against all lawyers who belong to opposition, at the same time he has shown that he can make decisions which Donald Ramotar will follow if he becomes president. This is not history in the making. It reeks of autocratic high-handedness. The way the PPP/C is now is similar to that of the PNC in the Burnham days. Does the President feel that he can harm Nigel Hughes or his practice? Nigel Hughes will get more clients now because of the publicity. What is the President getting by doing this? Adverse publicity. He is seen as the ‘cussing president.’
The only thing that he has that is giving him the impetus to abuse, slander and cuss out persons is executive power – his immunity from prosecution. That immunity is almost at its end. I wonder how he is going to cuss people then and what will he hide behind?
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
