Saturday, November 14 2009

The Privileges Committee, which has a majority membership of Government MPs, yesterday initiated moves to have Newsday’s investigative and political reporter, Andre Bagoo, banned from Parliament for the premature publication of details of a report on the Urban Development Corporation (Udecott).

The action has been strongly condemned by the Opposition members of the Committee who warned that the recommendation to ban Bagoo would be viewed by the country, and internationally, as an attack on freedom of the press.

Bagoo, who has been investigating and exposing serious issues in the country, risks being barred from the rest of the parliamentary session which ends January 8, 2010.

This is the first time in recent parliamentary history that an attempt has been made to have a journalist banned from the Parliament.

The matter stemmed from an article written by Bagoo, headlined “Udecott apologises to House Speaker”, which was published on Sunday, June 28, 2009. It related to a contempt of Parliament charge against Udecott which was under review by the Privileges Committee.

Udecott had been referred to the Privileges Committee for statements it published as advertisements in the press in response to comments made by UNC Caroni East MP, Dr Tim Gopeesingh, in the House of Representatives on Friday, March 13, 2009.

In the Sunday Newsday article of June 28, Bagoo reported that Udecott had taken a decision to apologise for its statements.

Newsday and Bagoo were subsequently referred to the same Privileges Committee for the premature publication of proceedings in relation to Udecott before the Committee had laid its report in Parliament.

Newsday, in evidence provided to the Committee, agreed that the details of the Committee’s proceedings on Udecott should not have been published before a report was presented to the House, said it was sorry if it had unwittingly broken any rule of Parliament, and accepted responsibility for its actions.

However, in the Third Report of the Committee of Privileges, which was laid in the House yesterday, Newsday and Bagoo were found guilty of contempt.

The unsigned report noted the majority of the members of the Committee, who are Government MPs, recommended that Newsday publish an apology, and that Bagoo be banned from the media gallery for the rest of the parliamentary session.

The members of the Committee are chairman House Speaker Barry Sinanan, Deputy Speaker Pennelope Beckles, Local Government Minister Colm Imbert, Tertiary Education Minister Christine Kangaloo, PNM Tobago West MP Stanford Callender, UNC Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal, UNC Caroni East MP Dr Tim Gopeesingh and UNC Siparia MP Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

In a separate minority report signed by Moonilal, Gopeesingh and Persad-Bissessar, and laid with the Third Report, the three Opposition MPs said they strongly disagreed with the Committee’s recommendation to ban Bagoo and feared it would appear to be “authoritarian, dictatorial and contrary to the expressed commitment of Trinidad and Tobago to the fundamental right of freedom of the press as enshrined in the Constitution.”

Although the Opposition MPs accepted the position that Newsday’s publication was a violation of the rules of the House, they warned that “the punitive measure” to ban Bagoo may lead to “regional and international condemnation of Parliament, and the nation”.

“This can bring the Parliament into disrepute and ridicule and undermine public confidence in the Parliament,” said the Opposition MPs.

They also noted that the Committee did indeed accept an apology from Udecott after finding the State company guilty of contempt.

“It was decided that the company need not apologise to the Member offended (Gopeesingh), but to the Parliament. In this instant case, an apology was tendered, yet the Committee feels the need to go beyond this and ban the journalist.”

The Opposition MPs said they did not support a ban, and asked the members of the House to either reject the report of the Committee, or amend the report by withdrawing the recommendation to ban Bagoo.

The Third Report is to be subject to a motion for approval by the House.

Newsday yesterday accepted the recommendation of an apology, but noted the Committee’s recommendation to ban Bagoo was “extremely punitive and draconian”.

Bagoo, a graduate from King’s College, London and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium with a first class degree in law, has written in-depth, investigative articles on Udecott, exposing the $7 million purchase of a luxury condo in Florida by chairman Calder Hart and his wife Sherrine Hart and Udecott’s award of a $300 million contract to Sunway Construction Caribbean Ltd, a company linked to Mrs Hart’s relatives.

Another media house CCN-TV6 was recently referred to the same Committee for a report on a ruling by the House Speaker on comments made by the Attorney General on Justice Rajendra Narine.

The Media Association (MATT) yesterday supported the Opposition’s call for the House to reject the Third Report, or to withdraw the recommendation to ban Bagoo, which it found to be “unjustifiably harsh and highly unusual punishment”.

Also referring to the case against TV6, MATT noted with “grave concern that a pattern may be emerging of attempted intimidation by way of the Privileges Committee of journalists whose reporting may have embarrassed, or offended the Government.”