President George Maxwell Richards yesterday acted decisively in the matter which has embroiled the nation over the past ten days in race talk, sometimes spawning acrimonious race debate. At 11.22 a.m, the media received Richards's brief statement that he had revoked the appointment of Nizam Mohammed as chairman and a member of the Police Service Commission.

In a nutshell, the President indicated that Mohammed was removed for two reasons: a) he failed to perform his duties in a responsible or timely manner and b) he demonstrated a lack of competence to perform his duties. The release from the President's Office said His Excellency had exercised the power vested in him by Section 122 A (1) (d) and (f) of the Constitution (as amended).

Mohammed yesterday blamed "racist journalists" for his plight.

It was Mohammed who on March 25 raised the issue of an ethnic imbalance in the Police Service, pledging as chairman of the PSC to address the matter with the help of Parliament. Mohammed also suggested that the imbalance had made it difficult for East Indians, whom he said constituted 50 per cent of the population, to support the Police Service.

With the exception of a few persons, Mohammed's statements to the Joint Select Committee of Parliament, were universally condemned.

In an immediate response yesterday, acting Prime Minister Jack Warner said, "His Excellency's carefully deliberated action is a clear indication that as a nation we are not prepared to countenance any statement that threatens the unity of our national state."

Stating that this had been an extremely difficult moment for the President, Warner said the population can be "absolutely assured" that the Head of State and the Government would always put the well-being of all its citizens first before sectoral interests, "which interests can easily divide us".

"Regardless of how painful such action may be, as a Government elected by the people of Trinidad and Tobago, we will always strive to do what is right," Warner said.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, currently on assignment in the United States, said the President had acted according to the Constitution "and I respect the decision of the President".

Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley said yesterday the President had also acted properly. The actions and statements of Mohammed warranted an intervention by the President, an intervention called for by the office of the Leader of the Opposition and many citizens who were outraged by Mohammed's conduct and statement, Rowley said, adding that the office of the presidency was used to bring order in the governance of Trinidad and Tobago.

Rowley stressed that it was not a question of Mohammed chronicling who was in office at the executive level of the Police Service.

"It was Mr Mohammed's attempt to create the scenario of how they got there by virtue of racial preference, and then setting himself the assignment of fixing it to create a balance, the nature of which was questionable against his statistics and his understanding or misunderstanding of the situation," Rowley said.

He added that in seeking to "fix" the situation, Mohammed was giving himself an authority which he did not have under the law.

Rowley said "most offensive" was Mohammed statement, in seeking to explain the national crime wave, that because of the racial complexion of the executive of the Police Service, citizens (East Indians) were not co-operating with the police.

"That is offensive and demoralising to the Police Service, especially the executive officers who are charged with the responsibility of fighting crime in this country," he said.

Rowley added that on closer examination, the evidence did not bear out what Mohammed sought to portray to the country and the world.

He said despite Mohammed's dismissal, he had filed a motion in the Parliament, because some members of the Government had provided public support for Mohammed. Rowley said he wanted all MPs to state their position and whether they agreed with the stance taken by the Prime Minister.

Mohammed's tenure as chairman has been controversial from the inception. It began with strong objection from Rowley to the appointment of a "serial politician" to an independent commission.

On December 2, Mohammed was involved in a traffic confrontation with two police officers, Sean Batson and Marlene Gittens, at the corner of Independent Square and Henry Street in Port of Spain.

The officers claimed that he failed to obey a lawful instruction, but Mohammed counterclaimed that they were rude to him.

This incident sparked a campaign by Fixin T&T calling for his removal. Mohammed complained about the advertisements put out by the organisation and the Special Branch was sent to interview the directors of the organisation.

His statements to the Joint Select Committee, however, seemed to be the last straw.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar labelled his remarks as "reckless, ... divisive and senseless".

Warner, Rowley and the very party to which Mohammed belongs, the Congress of the People, crticised him and his own colleagues on the commission distanced themselves from his stance.