00:00Leader of government business in the House, Barry Pederoff, says his decision to photograph a parliamentary staff member during last
00:07Friday's microphone muting incident was not an attempt to intimidate anyone.
00:13Instead, he says the image was taken to help identify those involved when a complaint is brought before the Parliament's
00:20Broadcasting Committee.
00:21The only way that we can identify them, because we don't know the staff of the Parliament, so it was
00:25never meant to be any sort of intimidation tactic.
00:28It was meant just to identify where the possible challenges are, so when we go to the Broadcasting Committee, we
00:34can say, well, these are the technicians, these are the persons who were muting the mics at that point in
00:40time.
00:40So it had nothing to do with intimidation.
00:42The opposition has since called for a criminal investigation into Pederoff's actions, but he fired back, suggesting scrutiny should be
00:51directed elsewhere.
00:52Pederoff, I want to suggest that a criminal probe be brought against one Karim Marcel, because we have to raise
00:58the issue of whether or not those comments were seditious.
01:01So I have no intention of being a scapegoat or destruction for the PNM and their machinations.
01:07Pederoff dismissed questions about his conduct as a parliamentarian.
01:11Politics is not a Tea Party. The war is on, and the UNC will not roll over and play dead.
01:17We have endured this for far too long, and we are drawing attention to what has been happening inside and
01:23outside of Parliament and the biasness that continues to occur.
01:26Meanwhile, from the opposition bench, Stuart Young rejected decisions that Porter Spain West MP Karim Marcel's comments were seditious, but
01:35had this warning for Pederoff.
01:37Is it a war against public servants? Is it a war against independent parliamentary staff?
01:43That's the question that needs to be asked. He is full of a lot of rhetoric and hot air.
01:48We completely reject, and we on this occasion is all civic-minded and right-thinking citizens of Trinidad and Tobago,
01:56any attacks on public servants.
01:59Arvashi Tawwari Rupnarain, TV6 News.
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