PM: Caricom agrees on gun violence as act of terrorism

THE Prime Minister says Caricom leaders have agreed to classify certain criminal acts involving guns as acts of terrorism

Dr Rowley made this statement at the end of the 48th Caricom regular heads of government meeting in Barbados on February 21.

The meeting was Rowley's last as prime minister.

Last December, Rowley confirmed his intention to retire from electoral politics before this year's general election.

Energy Minister Stuart Young has been selected to succeed him and Hans Des Vignes has been selected as the PNM's candidate for Diego Martin West.

Rowley, who holds the national security portfolio in Caricom's quasi-cabinet, said notwithstanding social considerations, regional leaders agreed the changing nature of crime necessitates that certain acts of violence in public spaces, now be regarded as acts of terrorism.

"We are talking here about indiscriminate shootings in the public space where the perpetrators endanger all and sundry."

Rowley said, "In order to address that we believe that the legislation needs to be cognisant of what exactly we are experiencing now against what the existing legislation anticipated."

Caricom, he continued, has engaged the services of a former Belize attorney general "to review the legislative templates and to come up with new legislative proposals for consideration by the heads for changes to be made on the legislative side to treat with what we are experiencing against what we are surprised by."

Rowley said many of these crimes are committed by illegal guns and 90 per cent of them come from one source.

Jamaica Prime Minister Andrew Holness supported Rowley's comments.

Holness said this action was warranted because the level of crime being experienced in the region was not normal criminality and it was above the capacity of regular law enforcement to deal with.

In a statement on February 22, the National Transformation Alliance (NTA) said Rowley's statements mirror ones made previously by its political leader Gary Griffith last year.

"At the time, Griffith’s proposals were mocked, dismissed, and ridiculed by those in authority who accused him of wanting to label every criminal a terrorist."

The NTA said, "Yet, just a year later, Caricom has now adopted the very same stance, endorsing Griffith’s original position as the necessary path forward in tackling violent crime. Even those who initially ridiculed the idea, are now fully supporting this approach."

The party added, "When good policies are proposed, they should be evaluated on merit, not based on political affiliation."

The NTA said had Griffith’s recommendations had been accepted a year ago, TT "could have already been implementing these measures, preventing further bloodshed and strengthening our legal framework against violent criminals."