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  • 10 months ago
On Monday afternoon, the House of Representatives began debate on two motions for the State of Emergency, one of which seeks a three month extension of the SoE.

And it led to the Prime Minister's rejection of the Opposition Leader's query about exactly who is being protected by the SoE.

Juhel Browne reports.
Transcript
00:00And it is not that because we declare a state of emergency that the planning and execution
00:07of murder will end.
00:09My last reporting appears to be about 11 or 12 persons have been murdered during the state
00:14of emergency.
00:16Fundamental differences outlined by both sides of the political divide in the House of Representatives
00:22as it debated two motions on the state of emergency that took effect in Trinidad and
00:27Tobago on December 30th, 2024.
00:30Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley piloted both motions.
00:33So to say that we are in a state of emergency and they killed somebody, that is not the
00:38best way to look at it, Madam Speaker.
00:40The Prime Minister referred to the initial period for the SOE.
00:44My colleague may enter the debate and give us some numbers to see whether in fact there
00:49has been any amelioration in the behavior of the violent few.
00:56And if there has been, then one can only assume that it has been as a result of the
01:01action that we have taken.
01:04And if that is so, Madam Speaker, we may want to take that action for a bit longer.
01:09It is too early, Madam Speaker, to say that it has been successful, so we close the door
01:14after 15 days.
01:15The first motion called on the lower house to take note of the statement by the President
01:19setting out the specific grounds on which the decision to declare the existence of the
01:25state of public emergency was based.
01:28Opposition leader Kamala Basarabassa read excerpts of the President's statement, which
01:32made reference to one murder in front of the Besan Street police station and the murders
01:37of five people, which law enforcement identified as reprisal killings, as well as reference
01:43to intelligence of the potential for more reprisal killings that posed a threat to public
01:49safety.
01:50The opposition leader told the lower house there are inconsistencies in the statement
01:54by the President to the Parliament and the reasons the government had given for the state
01:59of emergency, and the opposition leader said this could be challenged in a court of law.
02:04Here we are after 600 plus murders.
02:08On that day, just before what we call the oldest day, New Year's Eve, the cabinet decided,
02:13look, too much is too much.
02:16Why then?
02:18Is it that only because it was one gang fighting another gang?
02:21Was it done to protect the gang members or was it done to protect the people of Suriname
02:26and the people?
02:28Prime Minister Rawley responded directly to that question from the opposition leader.
02:32We be accused of declaring an emergency to protect the criminals from one.
02:42That manner of speaking is an offensive statement and I reject it out of hand.
02:53I don't even want to say it's politics because that is bad politics.
02:56The Prime Minister, who chairs the National Security Council, also sought to make clear
03:00the threat being faced by law enforcement.
03:03It has come to my attention in some districts, some instances, police officers, whose job
03:10it is to protect us and to secure us, in some districts at night, are so afraid of
03:18the criminals that they close the police station door, turn off the light, and be inside there
03:26hoping that the criminals don't come at them.
03:28However, the Prime Minister also pointed out the dangers that the police face with regard
03:34to criminal gangs in particular.
03:37They have power.
03:39They believe they can engage law enforcement officers in shootouts and sometimes they kill
03:47law enforcement officers and sometimes law enforcement officers are forced to defend
03:53themselves by killing them.
03:55The opposition leader made reference to the Prime Minister's announcement that he would
03:58not be seeking re-election in the next general election and would be resigning as Prime Minister
04:03before the end of that term of office.
04:06Now, as on the eve of your retirement, you finally decide, let's drop the state of emergency.
04:12We need something drastic.
04:14But what troubles me, up to this point, yes, SOE, there's nothing, no plans, no policies
04:19or programs post-SOE.
04:21The second motion, piloted by the Prime Minister, is seeking the approval of the lower house
04:26for a three-month extension of the state of emergency.
04:30Jule Brown, TV6 News.
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