Ganga Singh: Rowley must apologise to Muslim community
Chaguanas West MP, Ganga Singh, is demanding that the Prime Minister apologise to the Muslim community over his condemnation of the Masjid-ul-Muttaqeen Mosque in Cunupia.
According to the MP: “Dr Rowley seems to be impervious to the sensitivities of the issues confronting the Muslim population in Trinidad and Tobago where a brush of terror was recently used to tarnish the integrity and reputation of an entire community which has been peaceful, law-abiding, hard-working and generous citizens who have helped to build this nation and continue to contribute to the growth and development of the national economy.
At a political meeting in Barataria on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: “Today, one of the very mosques we had to raid at Carnival time, on credible information that the security services had, we have found within that place of worship lethal weapons, arms and ammunition.”
However, the former senior Cabinet Minister said that Dr Rowley has perniciously used this sensitive religious issue on a political platform to justify his own questionable actions and low popularity in the country.
Without credible and reliable evidence that can stand up in a Court of Law, he is casting doubts in the minds of citizens which will only serve to damage and/or destroy the social cohesion and fabric of the society.
“What the nation must also know is that the weapons in question were not found in a raid, they were found during routine maintenance and it was the Mosque officials themselves who called in the police; they were not hiding anything.”0
“In fact, in a statement issued by the Mosque, they were very clear that they were the ones to call in the Chaguanas Police. They also requested the police officers to conduct a thorough search of the entire compound to ensure that no other guns, ammunition or other illegal items were secretly on the premises. Nothing was found.”
Singh added: “I know these people and can personally vouch for their integrity, their community spirit and their generosity in working with the under-privileged. I interact with them on a daily basis and know the good people they are, and the good work they do.”
The MP said that the Prime Minister’s attempt to manipulate the facts of the issue to justify his lack of leadership and impaired judgment was made worse by the fact that he chose the holy month of Ramadan to launch his latest senseless tirade on the Muslim community.
Now that the FBI has been called in to ascertain the origins of these weapons one cannot help but ask how did these weapons enter the country in the first place. Is a stage being set to create a so-called terrorist network in Trinidad and Tobago and blame the Muslim Community?
MP Singh is calling on Prime Minister Rowley “to apologise for this insult to the Muslim community, he must not be allowed to arrogantly deflect and make his usual weak attempts to justify his failure to govern equitably for all in Trinidad and Tobago. We are heading down a slippery slope rapidly where fundamental rights and freedoms are being impinged upon and the sovereignty of our nation is at risk.”
GANGA SINGH
MP CHAGUANAS WEST