00:00They lied when they told the country last year
00:05that there was threats against senior law enforcement officials
00:09and that was the reason why they are calling a state of emergency.
00:12They lied when they came back to parliament to extend it.
00:15They lied early on this year.
00:19They attempted to introduce Zozo.
00:21They failed on that.
00:23They lied by when they called the state of emergency on March 12th this year
00:27by saying again that gangs are threatening law enforcement officials
00:33and now that we are on the cusp of an extension of the state of emergency,
00:38the Attorney General is now masquerading like a lying masquerader
00:49to tell the country on the floor of parliament
00:52that some threat exists over members of parliament.
00:59Opposition Chief Whip Marvin Gonzalez is casting doubt over the state's intel
01:04on alleged threats against high office holders
01:06as the current state of emergency is set to expire at the beginning of June.
01:12On Wednesday, the AG told the House that fresh information had come to hand last Friday,
01:17which caused security at the parliament to be beefed up
01:21and several government officials to be placed under higher protection.
01:26However, Gonzalez notes there was no visible increase in security
01:30and says it was business as usual last Friday,
01:34with the exception of the visit of India's foreign minister.
01:38As a matter of fact, he handed over some laptops in the rotunda of the Red House
01:46and from my recollection, there was students there in the rotunda.
01:52He further notes that the debate went into the night,
01:56following which government officials attended an event at the diplomatic center.
02:01More importantly, he notes,
02:03neither the parliament staff nor the opposition was briefed about an alleged threat.
02:09When we stayed in the parliament from 1.30 up to 7 p.m.,
02:13no one briefed us as members of parliament.
02:17No one briefed the leader of the opposition
02:21that there were specific threats surrounding the parliament
02:25against members of parliament
02:34The chain of events has even prompted the opposition
02:37to question the integrity of the TDPS.
02:42And what was shocking to me was that he said he was authorized
02:47by the commissioner of police.
02:48Is that the way you do things?
02:50You, as attorney general, were authorized by the commissioner of police
02:54to come to parliament and make that statement?
02:57What about the National Security Council?
02:59What the attorney general is doing on behalf of the government
03:03and bringing into his deception
03:11is no other office than the office of the commissioner of police.
03:16Gonzalez points out that question he raised in parliament
03:20as it relates to how many people have been charged
03:23under the Anti-Gang Act since the SOE,
03:25as well as whether anyone has been charged
03:28in relation to the alleged plot
03:30to murder senior officials,
03:32continue to go unanswered.
03:34And he believes this is because the answers will reveal
03:38that the SOE has not been yielding success.
03:41So what are we doing under the state of emergency?
03:44He should be fired.
03:47And if the commissioner of police is supporting what he's doing,
03:49then the commissioner of police should also be fired
03:51because the people of this country
03:53gave up their constitutional rights
03:56to empower the police and police officers to protect them.
04:01And you have the gall to come and tell us
04:04that our lives are at stake,
04:06then God help us.
04:08If the state of emergency
04:10and the extensive powers given to the police
04:13to protect us
04:14and to protect the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago
04:17are not working.
04:18Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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