00:00More safeguards for citizens than in an SOE and more surgically precise operations.
00:07That's how Defence Minister Wayne Sturge explained the proposed Zones of Special Operations Bill will benefit citizens while still keeping criminal elements in check.
00:17He criticised the opposition for spreading a narrative in Parliament that the bill is racist, targeting certain communities,
00:26saying there are various safeguards in place to ensure law-abiding citizens are protected.
00:32Law enforcement, he says, will only be able to arrest, detain or search a person or a premises if there is reasonable suspicion.
00:41And people can seek redress in court if they feel that power has been abused.
00:46Unfairly restricting movement of entire communities, he says, is another area being misrepresented.
00:53Which allow for areas within the zone to be the subject of a cordon for a maximum of 24 hours
01:01and for a curfew to be imposed within the cordon for a maximum of 72 hours.
01:07I repeat, the cordon and the curfew, the curfew, sorry, exists within the cordon and not the entirety of the zone declared.
01:18Since it is targeted and surgical, once the operations go as we expect them to go and the guns and the gang leaders are removed,
01:27then there's no need for a curfew. The curfew can be suspended.
01:31During Sunday's UNC press conference, Minister Sturge says government hopes to get Senate approval for the bill come Tuesday.
01:39Meanwhile, asked if he was concerned the SOE is ending in two weeks' time and a certain SOE detainee was released without charge
01:49in connection with threats against government ministers, he had this to say.
01:54That's a bit premature to say that he is not going to be charged. I don't know.
02:01What I can say is that a pre-action protocol letter was written and it was acted upon merely hours before the tribunal gave a recommendation
02:17to not release him. The fact that he has been released does not suggest that he can never be charged in the future investigations ongoing.
02:28Minister Sturge was asked that given he was one of the ministers whose life was reportedly threatened,
02:35whether or not he fared for his safety.
02:37I'm not afraid. We all die. We all will get that chance.
02:43And if you give me a choice between cancer and an assassination, I'll choose an assassination. So I'm not afraid.
02:50Cindy Raghuma, Tika Singh, TV6 News.
