THE day after the Prime Minister told the country law-abiding citizens were not being spied on, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar is reiterating that the State is invading ctizens' privacy.
In a media release on Wednesday Persad-Bissessar said Minister of Local Government Faris Al-Rawi is a victim, as he is being spied on and his WhatsApp messages monitored.
On Monday night she claimed, for the second time in 12 years, that the government was secretly spying on selected people in politics, media, the judiciary and business.
At a public meeting on Tuesday Dr Rowley denied the allegations, saying it was "all a lie." Earlier that day, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds said it was just an attempt by Persad-Bissessar to remain relevant.
Rowley said on Tuesday night he must respond as chairman of the National Security Council of Trinidad and Tobago.
He said of Persad-Bissessar that she "goes behind a screen and tells the world that the government of TT, which I lead, is spying on the entire population...All of a sudden TT is North Korea! What are you doing that you are afraid the government would know? If you are a legal, law-abiding citizen you would not have that paranoia. Only criminals have that concern."
In response, Persad-Bissessar said: “Rowley’s 'if you have nothing to hide' defence of illegal spying on citizens is most commonly used by paranoid dictators who violate their citizens’ privacy rights for personal political gain.”
Persad-Bissessar said she learned of the alleged invasion of privacy from a whistleblower, and called on Hinds to answer what relationship he has with a PC Clement in the interception of communications and whether or not Hinds is pressuring acting Police Commissioner Mc Donald Jacob to facilitate the purported illegal spying.
She added: “I advise all citizens to be cautious with their private communications as there may be law-abiding persons under illegal state surveillance whose names were not provided to me. I will continue to fight for the rights and freedoms of all citizens of TT. I will not allow Keith Rowley’s dictatorship to take hold in our country.”
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