Griffith slams Rowley, says government will continue to 'flush out criminal elements"

The National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister issued a statement Saturday in which he harshly criticised statements made by Opposition Leader Keith Rowley about a plot to assassinated the Prime Minister and some members of her cabinet.

Rowley got a briefing on the matter from top police officers on friday. Shortly after that he called a news conference and told reporters the reported threat was "political hysteria", stating that he did not believe it was real.

He suggested that it was a "smokescreen" intended to justify an extension of the State of Emergency, adding that the government was looking for political sympathy.

However in a formal statement Gary Griffith stated that Rowley's comments were an attempt to politicise the matter, and showed "a blatant disregard" of the impartiality and competence of the country's law enforcement agencies.

Griffith was adamant that this was a matter of national security and not a political one.

He said the plot was part of the attempts by criminal elements to destabilise the Government as a reprisal for the government's actions in crippling their illegal business. He said this has been "the most serious isolated national security event in this country over the last two decades."

Rowley's recent statements, he said, border on being reckless, irresponsible and unacceptable.

"His feeble attempt to politicise this matter has now meant that he has blatantly disregarded the impartiality and competence of our law enforcement agencies and the Intelligence Units," Griffith said. 

He added that Rowley's position which suggests that he cannot trust or believe the professionalism and knowledge of those who are compelled to protect, serve, guard and defend renders him unfit to be recognised as a possible national leader.

"His statement has caused him to lose credibility in the eyes of the thousands of law enforcement officers who put their lives at risk to protect the law abiding citizens from those that his previous Government dined and compromised with, in the hope that they would not commit criminal acts, and it is indeed disappointing that he would be so petty to trivialise a serious matter to gain political points," Griffith declared.

He noted that the Prime Minister "broke new ground" when she asked law enforcement agencies to brief Rowley on this matter of the clear and present danger facing the country.

"This was not a political matter, but one of National Security, where the Intelligence revealed quite clearly that there were elements with a well-orchestrated plot to destabilize the Government," he added.

Griffith stated that the Government never "acted" on this matter but listened to what was discovered through intelligence reports, and accepted the recommendations made by the Defence Force and Protective Services.

He stated:

• It was the law enforcement heads who contacted the Government officials to brief them on this plot
• It was the law enforcement heads who personally pleaded with the Government to be cautious because of the well-orchestrated assassination plot on the Prime Minister and other Government officials
• It was the law enforcement heads who requested to mobilise troops based on this threat, and recommended that extra security be placed on those who were at risk
• It was the Law enforcement agencies who recommended that the National Security Alert State be escalated
• It was the law enforcement heads who arrested over a dozen persons based on this threat

In addition, Griffith said the media had placed the matter in the public domain before any formal statement came from the Prime Minister.

He said the failure to properly analyse intelligence data in 1990 and make "bold pre-emptive decision" was responsible for the coup attempt that year.

Griffith suggested that Rowley's position shows his inability to understand security and to lead.

"It was because of the political will of the (PNM) Government that the criminals...lived a life of luxury prior to 24 May 2010, as there was never a threat to their livelihood," he stated.

"The State of Emergency has been the start of this cleansing process to rid the nation of the scourge of crime, with the radical reduction in major criminal acts over the last three months confirming this...

"The Government would continue to flush out these criminal elements until the nation is restored to the peace and tranquility that they deserve, and the only way that this could be achieved is by trusting in the competence of our Protective Services and allow them to do their job and not question their judgment."