Moonilal: Turn community activism for Bharatt into political action

THE United National Congress (UNC) observed a minute of silence for the murdered Andrea Bharrat, Ashanti Riley and victims of crime as it begun its Virtual Report on Monday night.

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said Bharrat’s death has become a unifying symbol to mobilise the national community to stand up and express its concern over what has happened to this country, once described as a paradise.

He called on those holding nightly vigils and prayers, since the discovery of her body a week after she went missing, to convert this community activism into political action.

“We cannot continue with protest every night if we leave the same government in place. If National Security Minister Stuart Young stays in place, then regrettably we would have to buy more candles, more placards, more markers, because it will not stop.

“Someone out there is a potential victim. It may be next week, next month, but another victim is there once they (the People’s National Movement) remain in office.”

He said the government failed Bharrat by its failure to have functioning CCTV to detect and deter crime throughout the country, and for not having a helicopter to do an immediate aerial search.

Moonilal trained his guns on Young, calling on him to confirm whether there were functioning CCTV cameras along the route she was taken.

“I am informed that the CCTV cameras, even on a proposed route to track the kidnappers, were non-functional.

“Our children are kidnapped and brutally murdered while Young has 24/7 security paid for by the taxpayers,” he said at the meeting, which saw Senator Jearlean John deputising for Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar who had been called away to an urgent meeting.

Moonilal said the People’s Partnership gave TSTT a contract to install and operate 500 CCTVs throughout the country, including 180 for Tobago, to enhance law-enforcement capabilities.

“When they (government) came into office they mash up 800 (CCTV cameras).”

Yet, he said, when he told Young in Parliament 40 per cent of the cameras were not working, he was accused of obsessing over the cameras and giving misinformation.

“Last Friday CoP Gary Griffith said 44 per cent of the cameras are not working.

“We are obsessed by our security. We are obsessed when our children are kidnapped and brutally murdered and basic crime-fighting tools have collapsed.”

He said the responsibility for providing and maintaining cameras was shifted from TSTT to a Canadian company, Johnson Controls. There is no operator, he charged, as Government awaits the “spy agency called the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) to operate the cameras.”

He said Young wants to spy on the opposition and anyone opposed to the PNM.

Moonilal said he was upset that while a helicopter the PP leased has been rotting in Cumuto, the police on the trail of Bharrat’s abductors and killers did not have one to do an aerial search.

Both Moonilal and Senator Jayanti Lutchmedial called for the removal and prohibition on importimg and distributing pepper spray and non-lethal weapons for women and vulnerable citizens. Moonilal called on Young to say who were the specialists advising Government against their use, when the police said they had a report outlining how it could be done within the law.

They pointed out that a lot of women are shift workers and have to use PH cars to get home at night.