Not to be out done by Dr. Tim Goopeesingh and his claim of ‘ethnic cleansing’ against doctors of East Indian descent who make up 80% of the doctors in our fragile health sector, Mr. Manning in true classical envious style noticeable in most ten year old boys unceremoniously grabs the lime light from the Dr. with his dubious claims of attempts against his life. The first thing that is highly suspicious about the Prime Minister’s revelation is the fact that he made this disclosure on the exact same day four years prior.
Now it is a clear cut case that who so ever hired these would be assassins made a fatal error in judgement by not outsourcing the job! How else can one explain the procrastination of these would be assassins to not even ‘make an attempt’ on the Prime Minister’s life after four years of their last threat? If these were foreign assassins I’m sure the job would have been done already but it seems that in an attempt to cut cost due to the turbulent global financial crisis, Mr. Manning’s enemies hired local assassins ‘CEPEP style’, that could be the only logical explanation one could deduce from their procrastination with regard to not even making an attempt at the job. These local would be assassins seem quite content with issuing threats that is so typical of a Trini, all mouth and no action.
The mere fact that Mr. Manning’s would be assassins have not even made an attempt to kill him is not the most startling of this scenario, what is startling and alarming is the manner in which Mr. Manning disclosed these threats and his subsequent explanations of why he didn’t report it when they were actually made. First of all one must understand that Mr. Manning’s security detail is nothing like Obama’s. For instance when Obama is in town (in the US that is) areas are cordoned off with the possibility of several blocks being closed. When Obama’s detail passes by they use electronic devices to jam electronic signals, so for instance mobile phones, walkie-talkies, wireless routers etc would be quite useless. Scouts are sent out before Mr. Obama’s security detail arrives at the destination and he has a decoy limo.
I am not aware of Mr. Manning having a decoy Mercedes Benz. I’m not aware of scouts being sent ahead for Mr. Manning and his detail and I’m not aware of Mr. Manning’s detail using electronic jamming devices. For instance while on Frederick Street, if Mr. Manning’s detail passes I can still text my girlfriend and tell her what a bamcee I think our Prime Minister is and she will receive it and have a humungous smile on her face before his shiny ride makes the corner. Mr. Manning is currently attending open village educational meetings with none of the hi-tech security detail Mr. Obama has, he walks through crowds that have not been scouted prior to his arrival and he speaks at podiums without any bullet proof glass. Mr. Manning is basically a slow moving target, yet still after four years these would be assassins are unable to get the job done. I’m certain by now there is a cost over run on this hit placed on Mr. Manning’s big, yuh can’t miss it head!
The other issue I have with Mr. Manning’s assassination revelation is the fact that he did not report it to the Police at the time, because the Police Commissioner from all reports was unaware of this threat that was made against Mr. Manning’s life hence he only appointed a senior officer a couple days ago to begin an investigation into the matter. Now I’m not sure if citizens understand the seriousness in this issue you see, this is a man who is the head of the Caricom Security Council, yet he seems totally void of any knowledge with regards to the procedures to be followed when a head of government receives a death threat. How can Mr. Manning make any valid contribution to the Caricom Security Council when he does not report a threat against his own life to the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service? How much more is he going to make us the laughing stock of the Caribbean community with this type of folly? Imagine this is a Prime Minister who along with his Minister of National Insecurity boasts about illegal institutions created by themselves namely SAUTT, they boast about the BLIMP and defend the millions spent on acquiring it, they pride themselves in talking about Crime Stoppers yet the Prime Minister of this country does not use these resources to establish who is making threats against his life? Why then should we be surprised that crime continues unabated in this country?
In the United States a sitting President receives hundreds of hate mail letters on a daily basis and every single one every single threat is investigated by the CIA. You can create a blog and be racist about Obama, you can talk about how big you think his head is you can say what you like, but dare say you are going to kill him and the CIA will be knocking at your door within the time it takes you to shut down your computer. Your computer will be confiscated, your house raided, you will be detained for how long they see it fit to investigate you along with your family. Someone walks into the Minister of Local Government’s office as if they are a girl scout selling brownies to tell Hazel Manning that someone is plotting to kill the Prime Minister her husband and they both do not report it to our protective services. The person who delivered the news is not questioned or detained and attempts made to trace the source of the threat. And now I’m wondering if Mr. Manning’s handling of threats made against his life is not a reflection of his attitude toward citizen’s cries for a solution to the rampant crime.
What peeved me most is Mr. Manning’s claim that if he reported the threat at the time certain people would have been killed and there would have been bloodshed. Now granted Mr. Manning’s comments were outside the walls of Parliament they reek of the same putrid smell of insincerity and untruth as Dr. Goopeesingh’s claims of ethnic cleansing. Trinidad and Tobago is probably the world’s most noted country for having politicians who bring the name of their own country into disrepute on the international scene by the irresponsible claims they make. Mr. Manning is the Prime Minister of this country therefore whatever comes out of his mouth is reported beyond our shores. By Mr. Manning claiming there would have been bloodshed had he reported the threat against his life he in effect told the international community that Trinibagonians are a violent irrational people. Thanks a mil Patrick! At least we will not have to pay anything over your death similar to how we will ‘pay in blood’ if we do not involve ourselves in your dubious economic union with Caribbean countries that have some of the weakest economies in the region, at least if your death occurs the blood will be free!
Such is the magnitude of Mr. Manning’s self importance that he is deluded into thinking someone would not only ‘waste’ their time to kill a third world non entity politician like himself, he actually believes that the citizens of this country would give a hoot to the point that we will go on a violent rampage over his death. I have heard of self professed Christians but self professed martyrs are a bit too much for me to digest. Mr. Manning has followed in the footsteps of Dr. Goopeesingh by degrading and embarrassing our country. I raised this issue of Dr. Goopeesingh’s claims of ethnic cleansing and I will raise it again with Mr. Manning’s dubious claims of assassination threats, as a people it is time we reel in our politicians because by their actions and words they are clearly out of control.
As of now I don’t know which is doing this country more harm, the rampant crime or the insensitive stupid remarks by our politicians. These are the people who when they speak the international community forms an opinion, an opinion not about them as individuals but an opinion of us as a nation. It is blatantly clear that Mr. Manning’s claim of death threats is nothing but a red herring to detract from those calling for an investigation into the 1990 coup. Being accustomed to putting his foot in his mouth what Mr. Manning does not realise is if after 19 years since the attempted coup he is still receiving death threats as our head of government it means the issues of 1990 have not been resolved and there are many unanswered questions. If Mr. Manning is really concerned about his legacy he should be concerned about not leaving a legacy of unanswered questions for the future generations to come and concerned about not leaving a tarnished image of our country by making irresponsible claims. Such behaviour simply does not convert to political currency! ©
