Speaker Trotman’s dress code and his barricades

Jan 29, 2013 Features / Columnists, Freddie Kissoon

On Friday afternoon, while at the Kaieteur News offices, I received a call from the current chairman of the People’s Parliament, Leonard Craig, that he was being prevented from entering the National Assembly to observe the proceedings. He said that security complained about the clothes he was wearing.
This was strange because just minutes earlier we had lunch with some friends so I knew what Craig was wearing – a white shirt with blue jeans.
I journeyed down to the House where I enquired about the treatment of Craig. It turned out that the enforcer was not the security officials but a telephone operator. She said that she knows the dress code drafted by the Speaker and it excludes blue jeans, not jeans in general but blue jeans (I was wearing black jeans at the time which is what I testified with in court earlier in the day in my Jagdeo libel trial.)
There were three security personnel at the entrance, two of whom said that they were only there because Parliament was in session. The other gentleman was a permanent security official employed by the National Assembly. His outfit was exactly what the bellboy wore in the Italian hotel Jack Lemmon stayed at in the film “Avanti!” It was sartorial incongruity.
All three security personnel deferred to the telephone operator. I rejected the presence of the telephone operator on the basis that she was not authorized in any way to enforce the dress code and that the House had other employees who were more familiar with that aspect of the administration of Parliament.
Craig and I demanded to see a copy of the dress code. The four persons at the entrance of Parliament Building bluntly told us that copies of the clothes requirement were in print.
A stand-off ensued because Craig and I were not moving until we saw the printed document. Unknown to us, the telephone operator summoned the superintendent of police in charge of total security for the parliamentary estate including buildings and lawns. He pleaded ignorance of the dress code but said he will accept the telephone operator’s edict. He then told Craig he cannot enter until Parliament takes a recess and that he will summon the Sergeant at Arms.
Lady Luck appeared. We saw Khemraj Ramjattan on the balcony and told him what they did to Craig. Ramjattan said they cannot stop Craig because there are persons sitting right at the moment in Parliament who were wearing blue jeans.
Now brace yourself for a strange piece of human misbehaviour. The superintendent drew me aside and told me not to relay to Ramjattan that it is him that was preventing Craig from entering. I went right up to his face and said; “I will tell Ramjattan it is you because it is you who are stopping the guy from entering.” The superintendent said to Craig, “Come, come; come go in.”
Brace yourself for more nonsense. As Craig and the superintendent stepped onto the entrance, the telephone operator took over again and literally talked down to the man in charge of parliamentary security. Throughout Craig’s ordeal the woman was quoting the Speaker all the time making one believe that Speaker Trotman had empowered this woman.
I herby direct a question to Speaker Trotman; “Does this woman have the authority she arrogates to herself?” Craig and I will pen a joint letter requesting to see Trotman’s dress code. I don’t know if Trotman has a dress code but if he has and it prevents blue jeans wearers from entering Parliament, then he is wrong.
The behaviour in the House is so unbecoming that it would not be insulting to say such a dog kennel should not have a dress code.
Leonard Craig was so amused by the absurdity he was caught in that he was no longer interested in observing Parliament in action. We stepped across to DEMICO to enjoy some Malta. DEMICO was ringed by barricades one of which a policeman had to move to let us in.
We witnessed a worker leaving DEMICO but the policeman told him he cannot take his cycle with him because no one can ride a cycle when Parliament is in session. He told the policeman he would push it but was still refused. The bottom line was that he had to leave without his cycle. Craig and I would have none of it.
We demanded he let the man push his bicycle. The poor policeman pointed to Inspector Wilson who was giving the orders. We let the man take his bicycle through the barricades and we went over to Wilson to explain how wrong his instructions were.

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Speaker Trotman’s dress code and his barricades

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