Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley yesterday announced that the State will redouble efforts and hunt down perpetrators of violence.
And President Christine Kangaloo has called out 100 members of the T&T Volunteer Defence Force to boost support for the T&T Police Service from October 30 until Carnival 2024.
Rowley’s terse warning and Kangaloo’s proclamation for more Defence Force assistance followed the recent spate of eight murders in 24 hours in Arima, Belmont and Diego Martin between Sunday and Monday night. Some 481 people have been murdered in T&T so far this year.
Rowley released a statement early yesterday notifying the public that Government was redoubling efforts to curtail acts of violence.
The Prime Minister said, “Notwithstanding the persistent efforts of the various state machinery, the selection of violence as a way of life, the love affair and glamourisation of firearms and the wanton disregard for human life in Trinidad and Tobago has now gone beyond concerning to the ridiculous.
“This intractable situation now demands that the law-abiding citizens be given the right to their peace and safety above the freedom of the lawless and the violent few who operate with impunity.”
Rowley, who heads the National Security Council, warned, “The current violent crime spree will not be tolerated. The State will redouble all efforts to curtail these violent outbursts, will hunt down and disarm the perpetrators and will make operational adjustments so that the state security services can act with dispatch against the violent cohort of our national population.”
Meanwhile, the October 30 proclamation of a legal notice by Kangaloo, who is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, circulated on social media yesterday.
The notice stated that Section 238(1) of the Defence Act, Chap 14:01 provides that the President “... May call out the Volunteer Defence Force or any portion of it for actual military service with their arms and ammunition, in aid of the civil power in any case in which a riot, disturbance of the peace, or other emergency requiring such service occurs, or is, in the opinion of the President, anticipated as likely to occur, and in either case to be beyond the powers of the civil authorities to suppress, or to prevent, or deal with.”
The proclamation said the President “deems it necessary to call out to duty, 100 members of the T&T Volunteer Defence Force to strengthen T&T Defence Force capability towards the fulfilment of operational support to the TTPS in the provision of a safe and secure environment during the pre-Christmas season to the 2024 Carnival period.”
The 123-day period is from October 30, 2023 to February 29, 2024—spanning the 2024 Carnival period, when security is always heightened.
Kamla: Rowley putting PR plaster on problem
However, addressing the PM’s statement yesterday, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar said, “Rowley attempts to appear tough but cannot continue putting a public relations plaster on a crime problem that requires holistic plans with measurable objectives. The use of selective fake outrage for public relations will not lessen the violent crime crisis.
“Many experts, individuals and entities want to contribute to the anti-crime fight. I urge Keith Rowley to put aside his fears, reconsider his refusal to attend the crime talks and include all willing stakeholders to increase the expertise available to the Government.”
She said, “Accepting help in the anti-crime fight should not be viewed as a weakness; humility and co-operativeness are signs of confidence and strength. No citizen wants to see a continuation of the violent crime crisis.”
Persad-Bissessar said nowhere in T&T is now safe. “Citizens are being murdered and robbed in broad daylight, they’re prisoners in their homes, preyed upon and terrorised by violent criminals. The Prime Minister indicated that the ‘wanton disregard for human life in T&T has NOW gone beyond concerning to the ridiculous’. In the view of many citizens, the crime crisis in T&T has been ridiculous for the past eight years!”
She said, “Yet, he refuses to meet with and accept help from all stakeholders to battle the crisis. Many experts, individuals and entities who are willing to meet at the crime talks and work with the Government are being shunned and excluded for no sensible reason. In the face of his refusal to meet willing stakeholders and outright rejection of their help, insult is added to injury as the incompetent Fitzgerald Hinds remains at the head of National Security.”
Persad-Bissessar said the PM’s “public relations social media post is the usual pattern of the Rowley-led Government and there was no focus on the root causes of crime and the underlying socio-economic problems that drive this issue”.
“The Government must stop fighting against law-abiding citizens who want to help in the anti-crime fight and start co-operating. No citizen, including every member of the United National Congress, wants to see a continuation of the violent crime crisis. The Government should accept the help on offer!” she added.