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CCNTV6
  • 4 months ago
While the opposition supports the extension of the State of Emergency, Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles calls for real results, and no replay of the SOE of 2011.
Transcript
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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