“Be on your best behaviour. If the police tell you to do something, do it. Because they will arrest you and throw you into a hole, where we will not be able to find you.”
This was the warning given to the newsroom at the T&T Guardian Newspaper by the then editor-in-chief Anthony Wilson, shortly after a State of Emergency was declared by the People’s Partnership Government in 2011.
The 2011 SoE felt different from the current one we are in. The reasoning behind the 2011 SoE ranged from threats against the then prime minister’s life to intelligence that a foreign entity planned to carry out terroristic activities on our shores to reports of impending gang warfare. Our right to movement was restricted with a strict 9 pm curfew enforced in some areas.
Perhaps because I am not in the middle of the action as I was in 2011, but this SoE feels less ominous and frankly hasn’t changed my day-to-day life, other than the increase in traffic due to roadblocks. I don’t hide illegal arms or mountains of cocaine in my household, so I don’t really have anything to worry about, nor have I ever been affiliated with any gang or gang activity.
During his press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the SoE was a direct result of the December 29th massacre of five people in Prizar Lands, Laventille. He said intelligence had revealed the murders were linked directly to gang activity and reprisals were guaranteed to follow.
He went on to say the provisions of the SoE allowed “police to attack swiftly without the warranting process” and gave them an advantage over criminal elements.
Extrapolating from this data, one such as myself, can essentially hypothesize that what Dr Rowley was essentially saying was the police know who the gang members are, know where the guns are, know where the perpetrators of these murders are, but cannot get enough evidence to secure a warrant.
In other words, our crime detection is poor. We do not have the systems in place, be it forensic or investigative, to bring criminals to justice. And when they are brought to justice, our judicial system is so overwhelmed, these same criminals make bail and run back out onto the street committing the same crimes, only smarter so they don’t get caught again.
Therefore, as he himself said, “desperate circumstances have us to take this action.” And yes, we are in desperate circumstances. My opinion anyway.
While Dr Rowley answered the questions asked of him with clarity, he failed to identify what steps would be taken after the SoE to reduce gang activity, reduce violent crime and end the flow of high-powered guns into the country.
What happens when the SoE ends? This is what we need to know, and it is not being answered. Gangs are not magically going to disappear and guarantee you right now all kinds of guns are being buried in the bush and will very merrily be dug back out, cleaned off and pew… pew… be put back into action once the SoE ends.
For every criminal arrested and charged during the SoE, there are three to four more lining up to take their place. Soooooooooo… if someone in charge can let me know what is going to be done to ensure we don’t find ourselves back in this “desperate” situation, it would be great thanks.
Then, towards the end of the press conference, which left me with more questions than answers, Dr Rowley hit everybody with a switch-up.
I don’t know why people were surprised by this. He said during the 2020 elections this would be his last term, so it’s been a plan for a while. Dude has been in politics for 45 years, that’s longer than I have been alive. Did he have hair when he started? I need to know this.
Truth be told, what Rowley is doing is clever. He’s stepping down on his own terms versus what happened to his predecessor Patrick Manning, who despite his waning popularity fought to hold onto his position, leading his party to an election loss. Shortly after he lost his bid to be re-elected as leader of the PNM. The same thing happened with Basdeo Panday under the United National Congress.
In life you must know when to quit. When to step down, when to let someone else take the lead. We need new faces in government. Hopefully whoever replaces Rowley will be able to answer my questions on what will done to solve our crime problem in a continuous, holistic way that is proactive, rather than reactive.
And hopefully, some of the other dinosaurs we have lurking in the halls of the Red House will follow Rowley’s example and hand the reins over to more progressive, contemporary politicians.
Rowley’s Switch-Up in SoE
AZP News Commentary
“Be on your best behaviour. If the police tell you to do something, do it. Because they will arrest you and throw you into a hole, where we will not be able to find you.”
This was the warning given to the newsroom at the T&T Guardian Newspaper by the then editor-in-chief Anthony Wilson, shortly after a State of Emergency was declared by the People’s Partnership Government in 2011.
The 2011 SoE felt different from the current one we are in. The reasoning behind the 2011 SoE ranged from threats against the then prime minister’s life to intelligence that a foreign entity planned to carry out terroristic activities on our shores to reports of impending gang warfare. Our right to movement was restricted with a strict 9 pm curfew enforced in some areas.
Perhaps because I am not in the middle of the action as I was in 2011, but this SoE feels less ominous and frankly hasn’t changed my day-to-day life, other than the increase in traffic due to roadblocks. I don’t hide illegal arms or mountains of cocaine in my household, so I don’t really have anything to worry about, nor have I ever been affiliated with any gang or gang activity.
During his press conference yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley said the SoE was a direct result of the December 29th massacre of five people in Prizar Lands, Laventille. He said intelligence had revealed the murders were linked directly to gang activity and reprisals were guaranteed to follow.
He went on to say the provisions of the SoE allowed “police to attack swiftly without the warranting process” and gave them an advantage over criminal elements.
Extrapolating from this data, one such as myself, can essentially hypothesize that what Dr Rowley was essentially saying was the police know who the gang members are, know where the guns are, know where the perpetrators of these murders are, but cannot get enough evidence to secure a warrant.
In other words, our crime detection is poor. We do not have the systems in place, be it forensic or investigative, to bring criminals to justice. And when they are brought to justice, our judicial system is so overwhelmed, these same criminals make bail and run back out onto the street committing the same crimes, only smarter so they don’t get caught again.
Therefore, as he himself said, “desperate circumstances have us to take this action.” And yes, we are in desperate circumstances. My opinion anyway.
While Dr Rowley answered the questions asked of him with clarity, he failed to identify what steps would be taken after the SoE to reduce gang activity, reduce violent crime and end the flow of high-powered guns into the country.
What happens when the SoE ends? This is what we need to know, and it is not being answered. Gangs are not magically going to disappear and guarantee you right now all kinds of guns are being buried in the bush and will very merrily be dug back out, cleaned off and pew… pew… be put back into action once the SoE ends.
For every criminal arrested and charged during the SoE, there are three to four more lining up to take their place. Soooooooooo… if someone in charge can let me know what is going to be done to ensure we don’t find ourselves back in this “desperate” situation, it would be great thanks.
Then, towards the end of the press conference, which left me with more questions than answers, Dr Rowley hit everybody with a switch-up.
Dr Rowley announced he was peace-ing out after his term and would not be putting himself up for re-election as leader of the People’s National Movement or the Member of Parliament for Diego Martin West.
I don’t know why people were surprised by this. He said during the 2020 elections this would be his last term, so it’s been a plan for a while. Dude has been in politics for 45 years, that’s longer than I have been alive. Did he have hair when he started? I need to know this.
Truth be told, what Rowley is doing is clever. He’s stepping down on his own terms versus what happened to his predecessor Patrick Manning, who despite his waning popularity fought to hold onto his position, leading his party to an election loss. Shortly after he lost his bid to be re-elected as leader of the PNM. The same thing happened with Basdeo Panday under the United National Congress.
In life you must know when to quit. When to step down, when to let someone else take the lead. We need new faces in government. Hopefully whoever replaces Rowley will be able to answer my questions on what will done to solve our crime problem in a continuous, holistic way that is proactive, rather than reactive.
And hopefully, some of the other dinosaurs we have lurking in the halls of the Red House will follow Rowley’s example and hand the reins over to more progressive, contemporary politicians.
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