00:00MP Keith Scotland, who is also a former minister in the Ministry of National Security, says
00:06serious questions arise about the government's decision to cancel the Independence Parade.
00:13He tells the morning edition the official explanation lacks validity,
00:18stressing that the parade carries deep national symbolism beyond ceremony.
00:23He adds that if threats exist, they can be contained through alternative measures,
00:30not by scrapping an event that embodies the nation's history and a legacy.
00:34If you debunk my first point and you said, OK, if these persons do not attend, well, what signal does it send?
00:43Yes? When you cancel it because those persons are under, you know what you're saying?
00:48I am kowtowing, I am retreating in the face of this threat because I am not prepared to put things in place
00:58that will offset this threat.
01:00Instead of the Independence Parade, the government has announced a National Day of Prayer.
01:06However, Scotland warns the move makes little sense, stressing that crowds will still gather,
01:13and he's asking what assurance is there that criminal elements won't target this event as well?
01:19What is to say that that threat cannot materialize at the day of prayer,
01:26where thousands of people will be gathered and, in fact, maybe have their guards will be down
01:35because we are going to pray, we are going to a day of reflection, correct?
01:41Then why have that in any event? Let people stay at their homes and pray?
01:46The TTPS is reporting a drop in crime during the state of emergency compared to the same period last year.
01:54But Scotland insists. The extension raises more questions than answers.
02:00He says the optics are troubling and the situation is far from reassuring.
02:05It rarely leaves more questions than answers, and the questions, if you ask them legitimately,
02:13as I have done on this programme now, and the answers does not ogre well for a passing grade.
02:21Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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