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Former Prosecutor Jailed For 17 Years

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A former police prosecutor has been jailed for 17 years with hard labour after he was found guilty of raping a then 17-year-old girl who had gone to the police station to make a report 16 years ago.

Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor, sitting in the San Fernando Second Criminal Court on Wednesday, said aggravating factors in the case against Harry Ramlochan were that the accused was a person of trust being a police prosecutor and acting sergeant and there was a level of vulnerability as the girl and her mother had gone to make a report about domestic violence.

The judge said she considered the convict’s age and child’s age at the time of the attack, and the fact that it was her first sexual encounter.

Prosecutor Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal had told the court the attack had severely scarred the victim for the rest of her life, saying she hoped that through her resilience, the victim will be able to overcome the effects of the incident.

Jurors took 90 minutes to find Ramlochan, who was 50 years old at the time of the crime, guilty of the offence after a month-long trial.

The woman told the court that on Saturday May 5, 2001 she went with her mother to the San Fernando police station to make a report that her mother had been beaten by a relative.

Ramlochan took the mother inside to make the report and then said he wanted to take a statement from her daughter Read more

Former National Security Minister Gravely Ill

NASSAU, Bahamas – Former Minister of National Security Dr Bernard Nottage is in a “very troubling and grave state” in the Intensive Care Unit at Doctors Hospital, according to Progressive Liberal Party chairman Bradley Roberts.

In the latest update provided by Roberts, he indicated that doctors were working hard to aid the veteran politician.

Roberts said he remained in contact with the family of Dr Nottage throughout the day Wednesday, but did not say what the 71-year-old was being treated for in hospital.

In a statement to the press earlier in the day, the family of Dr Nottage confirmed that he had been admitted to hospital and asked the public to respect their privacy.

The short statement read in full: “We wish to advise that Dr B J Nottage has been admitted to hospital Read more

One Killed, Another Injured In Shooting Incident

KINGSTOWN, St Vincent – A Green Hill man died in hospital Friday afternoon shortly after being shot in Kingstown, while another man has been hospitalized with gunshot wounds.

The shooting occurred on McCoy Street in the capital.

A source close to his family said the dead man is Kemel Peters.

Peters survived a shooting incident just under a year ago.

Police are yet to disclose the identity of the other man who was injured in Friday’s shooting Read more

Why We Need To Save Our Ocean Now – Not Later

UNITED NATIONS – What if the blue fades away as seawaters become brown, coral reefs become white as marine grasslands wither and life below water vanishes?

This is already happening at a staggering rate. It’s a lose-lose: for all people and for the planet.

Fish stocks are declining. Around 80 percent of fishing is either collapsing or just fully exploited. The ocean is also being polluted at an alarming rate Read more

Panos Caribbean Disappointed By Us Move To Exit Paris Agreement

KINGSTON, Jamaica – PANOS Caribbean has expressed deep disappointment at news that the United States is to turn its back on the historic Paris Agreement.

“There is no question that Panos Caribbean — an organisation that has worked tirelessly in the interest of advancing public education on climate change and enabling communities to have an informed response to the phenomena — is deeply disappointed at the U.S Read more

Us Embassy Revokes Government Minister’S Visa

BELMOPAN, Belize – The US Embassy here has cancelled the diplomatic and tourist visas of Transport Minister Edmond Castro.

But Prime Minister Dean Barrow has brushed aside calls for him to dismiss Castro over the cancellation.

Barrow told reporters that he had seen a letter sent to the minister by the US Embassy and that “there is no indication of any reason for the revocation of the visas, except that the minister declined to come in when invited to do so to discuss the whole Read more

Canada Considers Donation To Un Fund For Victims Of Sex Abuse By Peacekeepers

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada is in talks with the United Nations about donating money to a special trust fund set up for victims of sexual abuse by peacekeepers, a senior UN official revealed on Wednesday.

Atul Khare, the under-secretary-general for peacekeeping field support, wouldn’t say how much Canada is looking to provide for the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.

He described it as a “very major contribution” that would be spread out over two years and help provide support and services to those who have been abused.

Khare revealed the talks during a news conference at UN headquarters in New York with Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan and Jean-Pierre Lacroix, under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations.

The three were commemorating the International Day of the UN Peacekeeper, which is held every year in honour of the more than 3,500 blue helmets who have been killed since 1948.

The news that Canada could contribute to the trust fund comes as the UN struggles with revelations that peacekeepers either abused or exploited the very people they were to protect in a number of countries.

Even some Canadians have been implicated; UN figures show that three Canadian police officers deployed to Haiti have been accused of sexual abuse or exploitation since 2015.

The most recent was this last March, which the UN is currently investigating, while one of the others from 2015 was sent home for what the UN termed “administrative action.”

The third incident is also from 2015 and still under investigation.

The UN does not publicly identify alleged perpetrators.

Sajjan emphasized the need to reform and modernize peacekeeping during his news conference with Khare and Lacroix, as well as during an earlier speech to the International Peacekeeping Institute (IPI).

That includes increasing the role of women when it comes to planning and implementing peacekeeping operations, a message that Liberal ministers have also made at NATO.

“We in Canada feel strongly about the integration of women at all levels and in all roles in the promotion of peace and security,” Sajjan said in prepared remarks to the IPI.

“We know that local conflicts and crises often affect women and girls differently and more severely than they affect other demographic groups.”

But Sajjan did not specifically address the issue of sexual abuse or exploitation by peacekeepers, or whether Canada would become the sixth country to contribute to the special trust fund.

The fund currently has only about $436,000, according to the UN, with contributions from Bhutan, Cyprus, India, Japan and Norway.

The money is not given directly to the victims, a UN spokesman said, but goes to pay for services and support such as community outreach and education.

Sajjan’s visit to the UN on Wednesday was largely intended to set the stage for Canada hosting a major peacekeeping summit in Vancouver in November.

It was also expected to produce some awkward questions over the Liberal government’s failure, at least to this point, to make good on its promise to provide up to 600 Canadian troops for peacekeeping.

But both Khare and Lacroix kept any misgivings well hidden, as both thanked Canada for its commitment to peacekeeping, while Sajjan showed no sign the government was rethinking its earlier promise of troops.

Canadians “recognize the role peace operations play in protecting our collective security Read more