THE Government cannot dismiss allegations of monitoring citizens’ telephone calls, social media messages, and emails. 

It was the PNM administration of 2007 to 2010 that spied on hundreds of nationals, from then-President Max Richards to Opposition politicians, trade unionists, journalists, entertainers, commentators, sports personalities, and many more. 

The PNM had then invested in modern spyware, just as the current Rowley regime has done with state-of-the-art Pegasus Israeli equipment. 

The Government claims that surveillance is being carried out only on criminals, but there has been no decrease in the crime rate. 

The Rowley Government has a dreadful spying track record, and its proposed Cybercrime Bill would permit currently unlawful monitoring of citizens’ private digital communications. 

Spying on law-abiding citizens is a tool used by repressive and authoritarian governments. 

Citizens must take note of the PNM Government’s increasingly dictatorial tendencies.