- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 25/Jul 05:47

Rowley: Interpol tip-off can be done secretly

FORMER Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley has suggested that just because TT officials could find no record of him having been red-flagged to Interpol, it did not mean that it did not occur, in a statement posted to his Facebook page on July 24. Rowley was commenting on two delays he recently experienced at the airport in Antigua and Barbuda on grounds of him reportedly being on an Interpol watch-list, but which the TT government and TT police service had each said they could find no record of his name being placed upon. Rowley cited a recent comment by former police inspector Wayne Hayde, known as calypsonian Watchman. He said, "It makes the clear plausible point that it is possible to invoke surveillance on persons through the existence of day-to-day contact/relationships without anything being put 'on the record.' "So when something like this happens 'on the record' is never a certain final word. Persons with hidden agendas will not want a record of the actions or existence of their agenda." He said one certain fact was that a TT diplomatic passport (his) was undermined for closer scrutiny because something flagged it "on the record!" Rowley said some people would believe his recollection of events at the Antiguan airport immigration desk, but others would disbelieve it. He said the "real kernel" of the issue was that his request for easy passage into Antigua had been "undermined by a recorded caveat." That had resulted in extraordinary actions of scrutiny and delay at that port where he sought entry. "How the caveat got there and who put it there remains a mystery that should mystify all of us but, unfortunately, there are those who actually think and express that 'worse should have happened to him' and forget about the motives, agendas and, of course, the passport." Political activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj in a recent statement raised the issue of Rowley still having a diplomatic passport – despite demitting office – and reckoned his use of that document now cast doubt on his claim to have been on Interpol's watch list. A reliable source told Newsday it was the norm for post-holders to retain their diplomatic passports even after they left office. This was also hinted at by the Caricom document, Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the Caribbean Community. This says a representative of a Caricom member state who is "on the business of the community" shall enjoy immunity from arrest and detention and also from immigration restrictions. The document then referred to an immunity for such an official's words or acts done in the course of his/her official duties It crucially added, "This immunity shall continue although the person concerned has ceased to be a representative." The post Rowley: Interpol tip-off can be done secretly appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.