Rowley Warns Kamla About her Language

By Sue-Ann Wayow

OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar needs to change her language when she speaks about crime in Trinidad and Tobago and educate, not encourage more violence.

This coming from Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley who said last Saturday that her words used to support her proposed Stand Your Ground law were non-sensical and not useful for society.

He was speaking during a Conversations with the Prime Minister segment at the La Joya Complex, St Joseph and declared, “A gun is a serious thing to manage and look after.”

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Dr Rowley said no one, especially those traumatised by crime needed to be reminded of how grave the situation was and Persad-Bissessar’s main intention was to create fear-mongering which was unnecessary.

He said, “If you really want to contribute to our approach, in responding to the criminal element which we have to do is to tell us something useful that we can engage…But talking bout empty the ‘matic and empty the clip and that all of that is unfortunately a script that somebody wrote for the Opposition Leader who went off and made a fool of herself.” 

Dr Rowley continued, “There is a problem with it, in our society, our young people who are fashion conscious…they know that lingo, they know what that means and when you bring that to centre stage and bring it on a political platform to be part of your speech, you’re not educating anybody. You are simply giving recognised rank to something that is detrimental and deleterious to our well-being.”

The Prime Minister said it was fortunate that many of the nation’s youths were not into obtaining firearms for themselves and those who have and are on the criminal side, were aware of their choice and the implications of it.

“Unfortunately, it is that choice of the way of life that is part of our problem, so to give it rank on a political platform is to tell me that you have nothing to contribute to the fight against crime,” he said.

Admitting that he did not like the language used by Trinibad artistes mentioned by Persad-Bissessar last week, Dr Rowley also encouraged young people to not be negatively influenced by the music.

“There are consequences to sub-cultures that damage you if you believe that you can play with them, use them for self-purposes and not end up contributing to the existence and sustenance of such damaging sub-cultures,” he also said.

Getting more guns good business 

He again spoke about the role of the police service and the influx of arms and ammunition in the country, saying “certain people” believed it was good business to have more weapons.

Not setting out to have a militarised society, Dr Rowley said, “A handful of people in the people service, decided that it was good business to have as many guns sold in this country in an environment where there is fear being encouraged and fear being seen to be required because the criminal element had started to explode itself on the country and in that scenario people saw the opportunity for business.”

He said, through the police service millions of rounds of ammunition have entered Trinidad and Tobago which cannot be accounted for.

“The same people who making gun and gun licence and bullet and what you call it…matic, all of them, the same people who making that their interest in local government election have no interest in what I just told you,” Dr Rowley said.

He also repeated that semi-automatic weapons which remain illegal in Trinidad and Tobago ended up in the hands of citizens.

Dr Rowley said, “The same people who know it is illegal to have automatic weapons like that, have sold them and given them permits to get gun parts to convert their semi-automatic to automatic. That’s what has been happening in T&T. And incidentally, the very said voices that are trying to tell you that as a solution and an identification of the problem, have some responsibility for creating it.”