00:00Prime Minister Kamala Passant-Bissessa says the vast majority of citizens and businesses
00:06support the state of emergency and the government's efforts to combat crime.
00:11Her comments come after 13 trade unions delivered a letter to the office of the prime minister
00:16objecting to regulations that prohibit protests within 500 meters of 15 designated locations,
00:24including parliament, courts, prisons and police stations.
00:28But the prime minister dismissed concerns that citizens are being prevented from exercising their
00:33democratic rights. She pointed to the limited size of restricted zones, saying, quote,
00:39the area around the 15 buildings listed covers 11.77 square kilometers or 0.23 percent of our
00:47total land area. Therefore, all citizens have 5,119.23 square kilometers or 99.77 percent
00:58of the country to use for protests, end quote.
01:01Passant-Bissessa said the restrictions were introduced for security reasons.
01:05According to Hu, quote, the 500-meter zone around these buildings was used because at that distance,
01:11the effects of small arms and rifle gunfire are negated, end quote.
01:16She added that the move followed what she described as attempts to intimidate public officials
01:22and provoke police officers. The prime minister also rejected claims that constitutional freedoms
01:28are being stifled under the state of emergency. She said, quote,
01:33law-abiding citizens are amazed at the absurdity and hilarity where there are people protesting to say
01:39they can't protest, having public meetings to say they can't have public meetings,
01:44and freely voicing opinions on every mainstream and social media platform claiming their voices are being
01:51muzzled, end quote. She also had a message for union leaders who have voiced concerns.
01:57Passant-Bissessa said, quote, I encourage union leaders to focus on issues and work to actually
02:01benefit their members, end quote. The prime minister further defended the emergency measures
02:07as a necessary response to decades of violent crime, adding, quote, for about 25 years, the country
02:14has been tormented by violence, over 10,000 murders, over 20,000 reported rapes and sexual assaults,
02:22tens of thousands of robberies, beatings, and other violent acts, end quote. She argued that protecting
02:28law-abiding citizens must take precedence, adding that the measures are temporary and intended to
02:34prevent the country from enduring another generation of unchecked violence. Passant-Bissessa also took aim at
02:41the opposition People's National Movement, which has signaled it will not support the extension when it
02:47comes before Parliament. She said, quote, I would have thought that the sensible behavior would be to wait to
02:54hear the government's points and evidence before making a decision, end quote. She added that if the opposition
03:01chooses to walk out of tomorrow's debate, it is, quote, unquote, their constitutional right to do so. Meanwhile,
03:08when asked about criticism that constitutional rights are being restricted under the state of
03:12emergency, Passant-Bissessa dismissed her detractors, saying, quote, I don't plan to argue with political
03:19and race grifters, publicity farmers, and deranged people, end quote. The prime minister maintained that
03:25communities across the country are demanding peace and security, and that government will continue
03:31supporting law enforcement efforts to reduce crime and improve public safety. The extension of the
03:38state of emergency is expected to be a major point of debate in Parliament tomorrow, as government and
03:43opposition lawmakers clash over whether the measures strike the right balance between public safety
03:49and civil liberties. You can read more in tomorrow's Express by Anna Ramdas.
03:54Ravishit Tawari, Rupnarain, TV6 News.
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