- NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 24/Jul 22:18

Padarath looks forward to SoE debate on July 28

BARRY Padarath, Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives, said he looked forward to the upcoming debate in Parliament on July 28 at which the government is required by law to seek to justify its calling of a state of emergency (SoE). Speaking to Newsday on July 23, he said the SoE was justifiable as it was far superior to the past SoE attempted by the former government. Saying the government had taken office after winning a large popular mandate in the April 28 general election to deal with TT's problems, he said, "The Prime Minister (Kamla Persad-Bissessar) has not been shy at all, and I don't think the PM and members will be shy at all in the Parliament on Monday (July 23)." Padarath said the government would deal frontally with the challenges that were ahead of TT. "The state of emergency is not happening in isolation, and we have been articulating (things) very clearly. "I think this is one of the fundamental differences between the former administration and ourselves. Persons are asking what difference is there with respect to this SoE." He said the current SoE was working as part of national security apparatus plus stand-your-ground and home-invasion laws and easier access to firearm users licences (FULs). Padarath said the UNC had advocated for those things and the population had voted very clearly for them at the last general election. "So while we have found ourselves in a specific circumstance, we are not operating as though this (SoE) is the only thing that is available to us. "We came in with a clear plan, and on Monday, you will hear a lot more of that in terms of fleshing out the issues. "The government will be very vocal, we will be very strong and we will be very definitive in terms of where we are taking the fight to the criminals." Padarath said the SoE was being handled very differently to past SoEs in two ways. "One has to do with the operational element. In opposition we had always complained about why were the police alerting the criminals in terms of giving them the information of what is happening and so on." He said this SoE was different. "I noticed the Police Commissioner (Allister Guevarro) has been very careful to ensure that the operational elements are done and then the public is advised of it, so you don't arm the criminal elements with information ahead of time." Padarath also said Guevarro had taken a very different approach to policing and intelligence than done in the past, so as to ensure information was not leaked to alert criminals. He saluted Guevarro's handling of the SoE, despite some push-back in some quarters. "The government can see the wisdom in what he has done and the way in which he has done it." The second feature of the SoE that Padarath highlighted was the provision of the right tools to the police. "The Commissioner, having articulated to the government what are some of the tools that are needed, he has been very co-operative in advancing some of what we have discussed." Padarath reckoned Guevarro understood the government's position on stand-your-ground legislation and access to FULs. "So this is where you have a situation where the government is not spending its time fighting the CoP (Commissioner of Police), trying to lock up the CoP. Instead we are working with the police service." He hailed the synergy between the operational element of the police service and the policy and vision of the government, working in tandem. "It is working very smoothly," he added. "You asked what we can expect on Monday: you could expect to see a lot more of the operation side of what we will advance. That we are not dependent on just a state of emergency. That we intend on keeping our promise to the electorate on specific anti-crime measures. "Therefore I believe our front-line speakers will decimate any argument put forward by the opposition." He said the government would be able to articulate the difference between its state of emergency and the SoE under the former PNM government. "It is not just talk and smokescreens and mirrors. We have been articulating what our position is and also we are now showing the population the operational side of doing some of what we think about." He said the government had listened to the experts over a new CoP, who was installed without the government playing politics. "We are now listening to the data provided by the experts in terms of the response towards crime. "So that is what you can expect on Monday. You can expect a frontal attack against crime from the government." He boasted of a strong position of "28 solid seats" in the House, comprised of the UNC's 26 seats and two seats held by "our friends," the TPP. Padarath declared, "We have no intention to dancing to any tune of the opposition. "They have no moral authority to lend any advice to us." The post Padarath looks forward to SoE debate on July 28 appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.