(Trinidad Express) In an unprecedented move, the Office of the President has joined with the wife of the President, Reema Carmona, in threatening legal action against comedienne and talk-show host Rachel Price for “offensive” utterances made about Mrs Carmona’s attire. A release issued by the Office of the President confirmed yesterday that a pre-action protocol letter was sent last Friday to Price by attorneys acting “on behalf of Her Excellency Reema Carmona and the Office of the President in respect of certain defamatory statements”.
It is the first time the Office of the President has attached itself to potential legal proceedings being threatened on behalf of the President’s wife.
The complaint arises out of Mrs Carmona’s dress, which came into sharp focus after a picture of her, with her mid-section exposed, standing alongside the conservatively-dressed Mrs Ban Ki-Moon at a United Nations function for first ladies in New York, USA.
The picture, which was given front-page coverage by the Express, provoked widespread comment, much of it adverse.
The President stressed yesterday he would defend Mrs Carmona’s reputation as well as the dignity of his office.
“Unwarranted attacks which cross the line into defamation and which seek to bring members of the family of His Excellency the President, and by extension the Office of the President into disrepute, will not be tolerated.
“The Office of the President will be vigilant to protect the dignity of Office of the President and ensure that the citizens of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago continue to maintain respect for the Office,” the release stated.
The release added, “The Office of the President respects and values the constitutional right of every individual to freedom of expression and the principles of fair comments. Freedom of the press remains sacrosanct. Freedom of expression is not, however a licence to defame. The pre-action protocol letter issued on the advice of senior counsel was in respect of defamatory statements only.”
The release did not identify exactly what comments Price had made to warrant the legal threat from the Office of the President and Mrs Carmona.
Price has however made reference to Reema Carmona in an advertisement for her show at NAPA. The ad was played repeatedly on radio.
In the ad, a male voice asks: “Price, whey is dat yuh have on dey?”
Price responds: “Is a priceless outfit.”
Male voice: “Priceless outfit? That is very inappropriate.”
Price: “You could talk to me about inappropriate? Why yuh doh go and talk to Carmona wife? I on radio, nobody seeing my belly, you know.”
Price, speaking on her morning programme on RED 96.7 FM yesterday, was undaunted and defiant as she spoke on the matter.
“Mrs Reema Carmona, I afraid of yuh pre-action? … Let me let all yuh know in Trinidad and Tobago, I will fight to the death to disagree with you. This is a democracy! I don’t live in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe or Idi Amin’s Uganda…This is a democracy and if I can’t talk about the President’s wife belly that was in meh eye, then something very wrong….Yuh damn right, I doh know meh place. But I know meh citizenship. I mightn’t know meh place but yuh know meh home. This is Trinidad and Tobago. Carmona, send yuh letter and when you coming, come strong. Come hard. Come at me like a convict that now come out.”
Legal sources expressed alarm yesterday and questioned whether it was an abuse for the Office of the President to attach itself as a potential complainant to action, based on statements made about Mrs Carmona.
“Mrs Carmona, like any individual, can take legal action but the Office of the President cannot be defamed. You can only defame a legal personality recognised by law. The Office of the President is not a legal personality. There is no President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Incorporated. So it is quite wrong for the Office of the President to lend its authority to the cause of someone, albeit that it is a person to whom the President as a individual is connected,” one lawyer noted.
Though the release from the President stated the pre-action protocol letter was sent to a radio talk show host, the e-mail was tagged “Press release PreAction letter Rachel Price”.
The release said the Office of the President had sought and obtained the advice of senior counsel regarding certain offensive statements recently made by a radio talk show host. The release did not identify the senior counsel.
“Consistent with that advice, a pre-action protocol letter in accordance with the Civil Proceedings Rules 1998 was sent by attorneys-at-law on behalf of Her Excellency Reema Carmona and the Office of the President on Friday 17 October, 2014 in respect of certain defamatory statements,” the release said.
Up to press time yesterday, Price stated she had not yet received the pre-action protocol letter.
News of the matter lit up social media, as Facebook and Twitter were littered with comments from members of the public who also expressed their views on the radio talk shows.
Most people expressed solidarity with Price, though some persons were supportive of the President and Mrs Carmona.
