Browne: SoE has collapsed

Member of Parliament for Diego Martin Central Dr Amery Browne is demanding that Government immediately lift the state of emergency. Browne, in a statement yesterday, charged that the SoE was not “justified” and that citizens must no longer have their civic rights subjugated. Saying there was “terrible economic loss” which resulted from the SoE Browne claimed that some businesses were reporting lost earnings of between 20 per cent to 40 per cent. “This Government has failed to respond to calls over the last two months to justify the unfortunate use of a number of draconian regulations in this SoE,” Browne said.

He claimed the regulations were copied from the Emergency Orders used during the civil unrest of 1970 and were irrelevant to the present circumstances. He was also critical of the Police Service saying the organisation seemed “clueless as ever before” regarding the proper implementation of the measures which “they themselves have imposed on the citizens.” “It has now emerged that citizens have lost the rights to their properties, and that during curfew hours all persons are “expected” to be not just in their yards but in their houses. “Such measures at this stage can only be the product of infirm thinking and poor planning, and our hard working service members are definitely not being provided with the right guidance in managing the SoE,” Browne added. 

Saying the Government continued to demonstrate a lack of regard for democracy and the rights of citizens Browne noted that Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar also continued to be “conspicuously absent during these trying times.” “The Attorney General and the Minister of National Security have also faded into the background and have virtually abandoned the Police Service during a period of great challenge for all service members. “The State of Emergency has collapsed, and its continuation is impossible to justify. The Police Service must be empowered, motivated and supported to conduct their duties in a sustainable manner.”