The Telecommunications Authority of T&T (Tatt) has issued warnings to five radio stations “to refrain from airing programs which were less than palatable.” Tatt is warning stations that it will revoke their licences and close them down.

Indian radio stations have been complaining about political interference through the instrument of Tatt for quite sometime now. The intimidation and threats are becoming more intense and they feel they are being unfairly targeted.

Tatt's executive Director John Prince cited as an example a radio talk show that was highlighting the fact that kidnappers were targeting mostly Indians and “encouraging” kidnappers to be a little more racially diverse in terms of their victims. Tatt feels that these programmes are taking us down the road of Rwanda and Burundi. (If Prince compares the reaction to Sabga’s kidnapping to that of Indian businessmen perhaps the point beneath the sarcastic call might reveal itself.)

Tatt’s Board is a politically appointed one and it is clear that it is being used as part of the political process to do its bit to “frighten” and quell the discontent and malaise presently experienced by the Indian community over the terrifying spate of kidnappings.

After the Maha Sabha won its discrimination case over the unfair denial of a radio licence, John Prince was quick to appear on Louis Lee Sing’s I95.5 FM to do damage control, incorrectly pointing out that the Cabinet could not award any licence to the Maha Sabha because this is the job of Tatt. He voiced this opinion on no other station. I doubt whether Tatt would ever dare to interfere with Lee Sing’s station.

When Indians marched to protest crime Manning’s response was to ominously declare in his budget presentation that the Government will not tolerate “civil disobedience” and announce the strengthening of the Riot Squad to deal with them. Forget about the right to freedom of assembly. They can’t march and now they cant talk. His initial reaction to kidnappings was that they looked “suspicious” and it was perhaps part of a political plot by opposition forces. He has never even visited the family of a kidnap victim but takes his entire cabinet to lunch at the breakfast shed.

With an Afro-Trinidadian chairman and executive director at the helm of Tatt apparently no one even cares about “keeping up appearances” anymore. I wonder if Prince or Henry has even bothered to visit the family of a kidnap victim, march or join Dr Rambachan’s candle light vigil to protest the horrible spate of kidnappings? Somehow, I think not.

The Indian community no longer feels neglected, alienated and marginalised. It feels abandoned. The weak and belated response of the Government speaks volumes. Rightly or wrongly, people feel that the reaction from the Government would have been a lot different if the victims were from Westmoorings or Bayshore.

The entire community is traumatised because they seem to be especially vulnerable and targeted. To try and clamp down on their right to freedom of expression in the face of this is like denying a widow the right to cry at her husband’s funeral. The right to freedom of expression was not inserted into the supreme law of our land because it sounded cute; it is there because it is essential to the dignity of the human person in a free and fair society.

These talk shows have become an important social “weep hole.” They are an important political tool in our democracy. People want to hear what the average man in the street thinks. They commiserate and console with their brethren; they chuckle when his passion, hurt, pain and exuberance manifest itself in robust contributions because they identify with and relate to what he says. People make their voices heard and let the politicians know how they feel.

If these talk shows carry on “racial talk” is this not but a reflection of our sad social and political reality? Do we not have racial politics? Why should we demand that the masses suppress and hide their feelings so that others can pretend that the ugliness of racial and political division doesn’t exist? Denying people the right to say how they feel is not going to make the feeling disappear.