Caption: Barry Padarath

By Prior Beharry

COUVA South MP Barry Padarath on Thursday condemned the Senate’s defeat of the Government’s proposed Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) Bill, calling the vote “a dark and shameful moment” and accusing independent senators and the PNM Opposition of putting “political gamesmanship” ahead of public safety.

In a statement, Padarath said the Government “stands firmly and unapologetically” with Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and argued that the bill’s rejection would embolden criminals and abandon high-crime communities.

“When faced with a clear choice, to protect law-abiding citizens or to maintain the status quo that benefits criminals, they chose the latter,” Padarath said.

He blamed the  “so called ‘Independent Senators,’ aided and abetted by the PNM Opposition.”

Padarath, who is also Minister of Public Utilities,  rejected criticism that the proposed measures raised human-rights or constitutional concerns, saying the debate was being misframed to avoid confronting violent crime.

He also accused critics of cynically “playing the race card,” arguing that acknowledging crime concentration in certain communities was “not racism” but reality.

Padarath said the people most affected by the vote would be “the poor, the vulnerable, and the law-abiding residents of high crime communities,” and blamed the previous administration for record murder rates that, he said, the current Government inherited.

He signalled the Government intends to return with new proposals after the bill’s defeat.

“This Government will return with legislation that is comprehensive and impossible to dilute,” he said.

He said that “every constitutional avenue will be explored” and “every lawful mechanism will be activated.”

Padarath also questioned the independence of senators appointed by the President, alleging that one had admitted to conversations with Court of Appeal judges that were critical of the United National Congress (UNC). He said the Government could not “go along with the charade” of independence while expecting “serious results” on crime.

He said Persad-Bissessar’s stance in the wake of the vote and warning criminals “not [to] mistake delay for defeat,” insisting the State would not retreat from communities “criminals believe they own.”