National Security Minister John Sandy yesterday denied that the assassination plot against Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and three members of her Cabinet was a ploy to extend the state of emergency (SoE). Sandy was responding to questions from reporters after attending a church service at the Poona Miracle Centre in Williamsville. When asked whether the state of emergency, which is due to end on December 5, will be extended because of the assassination plot, Sandy said: "Certainly not! This will not be used to extend the state of emergency. "In fact the Prime Minister at her press conference said the same thing when the question was asked. She said it has always been looked at and reviewed. That possibility is not on the cards."
Sandy said it was up to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to decide whether she should curtail some of her public engagements due to the threat. He noted that Persad-Bissessar's security arrangements have been beefed up and law enforcement personnel, including the army, are on guard. Sandy said he was disappointed at statements by former prime minister Patrick Manning who said on Saturday that the plot had been "blown out of proportion." "I didn't hear what Manning said but any attempt at an assassination is not something that can be blown out of proportion. It is a serious issue, if he thinks that it is his opinion and I will say no more on that," Sandy said.
He added that he chose not to say anything further about the plot because the Head of the National Security Council had already spoken. "The police are doing their intelligence and we don't want to interfere," Sandy said. He added: "The assassination plot is real. This is why the Honourable Prime Minister thought it fit to share with the national community what is happening. She has released some of the information but you must recognise that there are areas which we cannot share. "All I am prepared to say is that I am saddened by the reaction of some with respect to something as serious as this and utterances that attempt to trivialise this." He noted: "This is a real concern and we have had information coming in from law enforcement agencies.
We have asked them to do what they have to do. We are not interfering with that. We are hoping that in the not too distant future that they can come with more information that we can share with the public." Asked how the Government planned to boost tourism in the face of negative foreign travel advisories, Sandy said: "Lets put this another way. Were we to lose our Prime Minister to an assassin or any of my colleagues to an assassin, that will have a more negative impact than what's happening now." Sandy said he hoped the Opposition will understand the serious nature of the threat.
"We felt if there is a threat against the Prime Minister and other ministers, the possibility exists that an attempt could have been carried out in the Parliament as well so we felt it would be a good idea to brief the (Opposition) so that they will be aware," he said. Sandy warned that measures have been put in place to deal with any spike in crime during Christmas and Carnival. The minister also said he had no updates on death threats made to Opposition Leader Dr Keith Rowley and Senator Fitzgerald Hinds prior to the state of emergency.