?I think he knows I would have been elected in the last general elections if it weren?t for my party?s lack of funds and the MMM?s abundance of it?, says Rama Valayden, Attorney General (AG). He also thinks the MMM knows that ?next elections in 2010 in constituency number 19- Stanley- Rose Hill will be a completely different ball game altogether because despite his relentless campaign against me, I have gained in credibility in the eyes of the people who now see me as a hard worker and somebody that can be trusted?, says Rama Valayden.

The AG?s interpretation of Bérenger?s dislike for Valayden is interesting. But he seems surprisingly calm in the face of the onslaught of the opposition. ?It?s because I know he is lying and I don?t have anything to hide?, replies Valayden. He further points out that ?if I really wanted to interfere, I would have taken Jacob Zuma?s call when he tried to get in touch with me about his case; I wouldn?t have decided not to be involved in the Teeren Appasamy case; I would have gotten involved in the Hamuth case. Or I would simply have waited for all the cases to reach the DPP?s office instead of calling the police. Surely that would have been easier??

The MMM has accused Rama Valayden of interference in several police cases; they mentioned the arrest of Bertrand Joly, a close collaborator of Sada Curpen, believed to be the brain in a huge subutex traffic and they accused Valayden of being ?close? to Curpen. To which Valayden replies that he doesn?t know Curpen and that he didn?t interfere in the police enquiry but ?only called the police after Joly?s father came to see me to check whether he was being beaten up by the police?.

To the allegation made on Tuesday that he called the police when another subutex trafficker Deonesh Bucktowar was arrested, Valayden says, ?I did not call, I didn?t interfere and the guy was arrested, bailed out and taken to court and sentenced as per procedures.?

<B>Arrested for many crimes</B>

Bérenger mentioned a third case- probably the most damning one. A man named Marcelin Humbert was arrested after he was involved in a car accident in Terre Rouge and he physically assaulted a police officer. The police say Humbert made a phone call and said ?Boss, it?s me, I am in trouble, boss.? Then Humbert told the police that he was on the phone to the Attorney General. ?Valayden denies that this has ever taken place and says Humbert was lying. ?He never called me. It is possible that he made that call to somebody else and wanted the police to believe it was me thinking that would get him out of trouble. After all many people close to politicians are known to do resort to this tactic.?

What did happen on the other hand- and the police version and the Valayden version corroborate on this one- was that Valayden had called a police station to say that there had been a road accident in Terre Rouge and that the people involved in the accident would report to the Line Barracks. ?I made that call because Humbert?s parents came to see me to tell me that there had been a road accident and the police in Terre Rouge would not take a statement from the people involved. I didn?t know then about the assault?, he tells us.

The trouble is Humbert who has been arrested for many crimes including manslaughter and rape is a member of Rama Valayden?s party the Republican Movement (MR). ?Many members of the MR have been convicted at some point in time; that?s just the way things are because most of them have been my clients in the past. I am a criminal lawyer after all, aren?t I?? says the AG.

What complicates matters however is that Humbert was released on parole the same day. There is however no evidence to show that Humbert was released on the AG?s intervention. Bérenger tabled a copy of the report of the Sergeants and Caporals Committee during which the police officers discussed ?what should be done in other similar cases; whether sergeants, Caporals and In Charge Shifts are allowed to release on parole such offender.?

It is those words that make Bérenger suggest that Valayden has been interfering in the police case and has caused Humbert to be released as a result. An accusation vehemently denied by Valayden; ?I have never called the police to tell them to release Humbert. However I am not surprised that they released Humbert on parole. After all it was Christmas and that?s sometimes the practice when the police are satisfied that the suspect won?t jump bail.?

So Valayden has an explanation for every allegation put forward by Bérenger. And he says he has the support of the Prime minister. The two men spoke on Tuesday and according to Valayden, all is well.

Support from other members of government is prevalent, adds Valayden. Even though it is not as vocal as it could have been.

Could this be why Rama Valayden has decided to take matters to court? ?I want Bérenger to repeat his allegations under oath in a court of law. We?ll see then who?s telling the truth?, says the AG.

Amen to that.