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From a Jack to a Joker
Posted On 01 Aug 2015
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Dear Editor:
Yesterday, Thursday 30th July 2015, the High Court handed down a ruling against Jack Warner in a defamation case involving Senior Counsel Anand Ramlogan. The lawsuit was filed against Mr. Warner for his statements in October 2013, when he claimed that the then Attorney General was “the owner of more than 51 properties which he could not have acquired based on his (then) salary”. But this is only the latest in a long line of erroneous and egregious claims being made by Mr. Warner, which have been proven to be false, but yet the media treats every new accusation he makes as the gospel truth.
Just a few weeks ago, Mr. Warner went as far as to sign an affidavits to certify his testimony against the Prime Minister in a case involving a packaged substance discovered on her residential compound. While that matter is still currently under investigation however, it was later revealed that both details contained in the affidavits and the “police diary entry” which he produced as evidence contained incorrect information, as the discovery of the substance was actually made a week later than he was claiming. Mr. Warner then attempted to spin this into a larger conspiracy by claiming the PM was actually out of the country at the time he had divulged, in an attempt to regain credibility in his story, but when this too was debunked, he instead opted to suggest that there were two discoveries instead of just one.
He then goes on to suggest even more grandiose conspiracy theories implicating the alleged “cabal” within the government, but either neglects or is blinded to the obvious contradiction in his ever increasing web of deceit and mischief. Each of these tales follow the same formula, more or less, in which he bore witness to corrupt activities taking place while he was still a government minister, although, he himself was innocent in these dealings, as his involvement was limited to a mere spectator. BUT if this “cabal” was as mistrusting of him as we would have us believe, and if they had been plotting his termination for months prior, why would they invite him to be present at these meetings in the first place, other than to create a witness who would no doubt reveal this information after he was cast aside, as they were planning to do.
In handing down his ruling yesterday, Justice Robin Mohammed stated:
“Such objective of political gain ought not to have been pursued at the costs of lowering the claimant’s reputation in the estimation of right-thinking members of the public, discrediting the claimant in his Office of the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago and exposing the claimant and his family to ridicule and contempt, particularly in circumstances where the defendant showed no evidence or belief in the truth of the defamatory statements.”
And yet, I am certain that the media will be more than delighted to highlight Mr. Warner’s continuing cavalcade of derogatory and vindictive claims against this government, without asking for one ounce of hard proof, other than his own testimony. Because like Mr. Warner, our distinguished journalists do not need to consider the consequences of their actions, as there will be no adverse effects to them directly. Because the relief that Mr. Ramlogan felt yesterday can easily be turned into bittersweet if he were to find out that the money awarded to him came from relief funds meant for people suffering in Haiti. Just as if the people of South Africa were to discover that their money was being used to finance the defense of Mr. Warner in his upcoming corruption trials in the USA.
Ravi Maharaj
via email