(Trinidad Express) Farmers, irate over the bulldozed farmlands and crops, as well as the “arrogance” of Housing Minister Dr Roodal Moonilal, created a mob scene outside the Port of Spain offices of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) yesterday, calling on the Prime Minister to intervene in their situation.
Though the farmers are scheduled to meet with Moonilal later today, they booed as Moonilal got into the Prime Minister’s waiting vehicle.
Even as the Prime Minister went to the group and spoke briefly with a young protester, the crowd surged forward, triggering the security detail to encircle her and move her swiftly back to the protection of her vehicle.
While she was being guided away, Persad-Bissessar confirmed the two line ministers—Moonilal and Food Production Minister Vasant Bharath—will be attending today’s meeting.
Several farmers then attempted to get closer to the vehicle, but were held back by police. One farmer described his colleagues as a “bunch of soft men” for letting Moonilal “get away” and rushed forward, only to be restrained by a police officer.
“Who feeding the nation?” they chanted, “Farmers,” was their response, as the group blocked the convoy of vehicles which tried to leave the George Street exit of the HDC.
Trade union leaders Vincent Cabrera, of the Banking, Insurance and General Workers’ Union, and Ancel Roget, of the Oilfields Workers’ Trade Union, joined the protest and pledged their support in the bid to remove Moonilal.
They described Moonilal’s actions as political suicide, saying he would never get into another elected office.
“He done,” Roget said. Roget likened Moonilal’s behaviour to that of former prime minister Patrick Manning.
“You (Moonilal) feel you could do what you want because you feel you have the traditional support of the farmers,” he said. “The land belongs to the people who plant the land,” he said.
He also noted that the call to remove Bharath by members of the Opposition was “nasty politics”.
“Fitzgerald Hinds, Dr Keith Rowley, they have no moral authority to speak on any issue with regards to the farmers,” he said. “If they feel that this is an opportunity to once again to ride the backs of the farmers into power, think again,” he said.
“Their policy and Moonilal’s policy is one and the same,” he said.
While Moonilal was condemned for his attitude, Bharath was praised for his. “If they feel they could get rid of Vasant, they lie,” the farmers said.
The group marched back to Woodford Square after the Prime Minister left.
Shiraz Khan, president of the Sheep and Goat Farmers Association, said “his Prime Minister disrespected the farmers”.
“It hurt me to know, after so much years, I am now out here and I am being disrespected so much,” he said.
In response to the mob scene yesterday, Moonilal condemned the lack of respect directed toward the Prime Minister.
“I am condemning them for hounding the Prime Minister on this matter. I am calling on the president of the Sheep and Goat Farmers and the president of the Agricultural Society (Dhanoo Sookoo) to apologise to the PM,” he said.
He said he took note that the farmers said the time to apologise has passed.
“I can’t apologise now, the time has passed,” he said yesterday. He said it was “appalling” that farmers acted “that way” when they knew they had a meeting tabled for today. “That shows bad faith,” he said.
Moonilal said it was his duty to deliver the results of last week’s meeting to the Cabinet and until then he would not be saying anything more in the public domain.
He said his lack of apology was not an issue of arrogance.
“There was no breach in the law. The Prime Minister already expressed her regret over the issue. It will not happen again. The issue of land use is a more serious issue,” he said.
