- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 20/Jul 06:56

Beckles on SoE: Government has surrendered

OPPOSITION Leader Pennelope Beckles says the government's declaration of a state of emergency (SoE) on July 18 is evidence that the UNC has no crime plan and has waved a white flag of surrender early in its tenure in government. Beckles, who is currently in the US visiting with members of the Trinidad and Tobago diaspora there, made this comment in a statement on July 18. Referring to statements made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Attorney General John Jeremie in justifying the need for the SoE, Beckles said, "What the nation is seeing is a government that has panicked and one that is hiding behind the TT Police Service (TTPS). What we are seeing is not leadership, it is a galloping slide into authoritarianism. What we are witnessing is an alarming admission of failure." She said, contrary to the claims made by Persad-Bissessar and Jeremie, "this is not strength, wisdom, or leadership." Beckles claimed, "This is total and absolute surrender, and hapless hopelessness. This SoE does not address the root cause of crime. Au contraire, in the absence of better information, it injects fear and terror into the minds of the wider citizenry. " She recalled the UNC in opposition for the last ten years, campaigned in the recent general election with bold promises to fix crime. "That ten-year campaign has now defaulted less than three months later, to the last resort of emergency powers, bypassing both the people and the Parliament. " In an indirect reference to comments made earlier by former prime minister and PNM political leader Dr Rowley, Beckles said, "The irony is downright grotesque and comical. Just over six months ago, in December 2024, this very prime minister, in her previous incarnation as opposition leader, condemned the then PNM government’s declaration of an SoE as 'shameless political gimmickry'.” Today, Beckles continued, in a stunning reversal, "she invokes the same powers, for different and confusing reasons, while offering no clear evidence, no details of the alleged threat, and certainly no crime plan." "To add insult to injury, this knee-jerk reaction is being led by the TTPS, and not the government or its agents. The Attorney General repeatedly deferred to the TTPS, deflecting by saying that the reporters’ questions were operational and that the TTPS could answer. It is perspicuously clear that this Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led government has no plan." Beckles claimed, "The Attorney General himself unwittingly informed the national community that he instructed the Prime Minister to go back to sleep. This is absolute confirmation that the Prime Minister has been and continues to be asleep at the helm of the leadership of our country." Jeremie said the PM had not slept for over 48 hours as she was commanding her team from her private home in South Trinidad. Beckles recalled saying at a PNM public meeting in Chaguanas on July 5 that the government had gone silent on crime. "The confused and indecisive actions of the UNC today give proof to the citizens of TT that their silence was not strategic; it was reflective of no plan to share. " Beckles said, "The people of TT deserve better. They deserve safety without sacrificing freedom. They deserve a government that governs, not one that governs by decree." She added, "They deserve policies, not panic. The time has come for answers. This is not the time for decrees. Leadership is needed, not force. While the government has left the nation in a state of confusion, what remains clear is that it has no crime plan." The post Beckles on SoE: Government has surrendered appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.