00:00Opposition leader Penelope Beckles leads off the challenge in the lower house to say that the PNM
00:06is not about politicizing crime. She acknowledges the government would have acted on very concerning
00:13intelligence. The fact that we find ourselves in this house for the second time in less than
00:18seven months deliberating on a state of emergency would tell us that this matter that we are
00:29dealing with today is of extremely grave concern. More so that this government is now in office
00:40for the third month and that they have seen it fit to bring this state of emergency.
00:48Beckles expresses the opposition's willingness to support the extension but our support is not blind
00:55and it is no is it unconditional. We understand that as a parliament we must strike a careful and
01:03vigilant balance between protecting national security and of course upholding the democratic
01:09rights of citizens. She says state of emergency measures should never become routine and ought
01:17to be always under vigilant parliamentary scrutiny they should also have measurable results.
01:23Based on his recent statement that speaks to basically what we will call collaboration from
01:33in the prison and outside of the prison and I think what the public is really concerned about
01:39between the 18th of July and today the 28th of July no one effectively has been charged for any offence.
01:49She asked that there be no replay of the people's partnership state of emergency of 2011
01:56which involved a threat against the lives of the prime minister and several government ministers.
02:03December of 2011 all 17 persons were home free and why were they home free because
02:16those 17 men that were detained in relation to that assassination plot
02:23were released because there was no evidence.
02:29The opposition leader referenced the infringement of certain rights under the SOE like the blindfolding
02:35of lawyers who sought to meet clients held at military facilities. She asked that actions taken
02:42by the government be balanced with information. Whilst you may not be able to give all information
02:49I'm sure the public is willing to hear what information can be shared so that measure of comfort
02:56that this situation is under control, that is a reasonable request.
03:02Arvishit Wari, Rupnarain, TV6 News.
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