House passes first SoE motion

GOVERNMENT and the Opposition collaborated on July 27 during an extraordinary sitting of the House of Representatives to approve a motion filed by Attorney General John Jeremie for the House to acknowledge the reasons for President Christine Kangaloo declaring a state of emergency at midnight on July 17.

In moving the motion, Jeremie told MPs one of the key objectives of the SoE was to allow the security forces to disrupt the plans of people inside and outside of the prisons to execute a plan that involved the assassination of certain key officials and attacks against public institutions.

As he outlined the series of events which resulted in the declaration of a SoE, Jeremie repeated the plans of this organised crime syndicate "were not isolated but represented a structured campaign involving multiple criminal elements."

He said their targets included "senior police officers, members of the Judiciary, personnel within the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and officers of the TT Defence Force (TTDF)."

Jeremie claimed incarcerated gang leaders were using communication devices inside the prison and being aided by "compromised prison officers" to co-ordinate these plans with criminals outside the prison.

He said, "It was essential for the TTPS (Trinidad and Tobago Police Service) to act immediately to disrupt this threat."

To disrupt the threat, Jeremie continued, the inmates in question where "moved to another secured location where they would be unable to communicate with affiliates on the outside and to access smuggled (communications) devices."

He said, "They were separated from their members."

These prisoners were relocated from the Maximum Security Prison (MSP)in Golden Grove in Arouca to the TT Regiment main base at Teteron Barracks in Chaguaramas.

Jeremie said a search of the prison cells of the relocated inmates on July 22 "led to the discovery and confiscation of cell phones and accessories from within the prison cells."

He added operations and investigations are ongoing to gather intelligence to capture members of this syndicate who are involved in threats against the state and its actors.

In response, Opposition Leader Pennelope Beckles said the PNM will not object to legitimate efforts by government to deal with national security matters.

Opposition MPs thumped their desks when Beckles said, "We (in the PNM) are not in the business of politicising crime."

But she added the opposition's support for the motion was not unlimited and not without condition.

She recalled a SoE called in 2011 by the then UNC-led People's Partnership coalition government based on alleged threats against the life of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and other senior public officials.

Beckles said 17 people were detained during that SoE but were released by the end of 2011, after no evidence was found to justify their detention.

She told MPs the people who Jeremie referred to are people who are already incarcerated.

"I think what the public is really concerned about is between July 18 and today, July 28, no one effectively has been charged with any offence (during the SoE)."

Beckles said, "I am more convinced based on the statement given by the honourable AG that the government must be in possession of some kind of evidence that I think would lead the population to be convinced about the the need for the SoE."

She added while government cannot disclose certain reasons for calling the SoE on national security grounds, it must provide a credible account to the population as to the reasons why a SoE was needed to deal with the matter referred to by Jeremie.

As he concluded debate on this motion and before starting debate on a second motion to extend the SoE by three months, Jeremie said in declaring the SoE, Kangaloo was clear for her reasons in doing so.

"There was an existential threat to the security of the state...led by intelligence dealing with certain actors within the MSP."

Jeremie said, "That is it. We took action. We avoided the worst case scenario."

He added his remarks in the House were vetted by Commissioner of Police Allister Guevarro as he referred to a newspaper article which spoke about unnamed sources providing information about security matters which prompted the SoE.

Jeremie said, "I don't have control over the press."

But he added much of the content of that article was correct.

"The threat is a very real threat."