Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Letter: Serious questions remain about national security

In four months, the People’s Partnership Government would have served two years in office. It has been an eventful two years marked by missteps as well as great successes. 

The main problem for the government remains the control over the crime situation. According to the Police, the murders that are taking place are “hits”, targeted assassinations. Be that as it may, it is disconcerting to the population who want firm action on this matter.

It appears that the Police have dropped their hands since the end of the SoE. They continue to flounder with respect to intelligence gathering and as well targeted strategies into areas where the majority of murders are taking place. 

One is left to wonder why certain strategies announced prior to the end of the SoE have not been implemented. For example, the precepting of Regimental Police so that when the army is out on “confidence patrols” there can be arrests and searches. Secondly, why has the army not set up camps in “high risk” areas?

The people cannot continue to suffer if there are disputes between the army and the Police over so described territory. The fact is that the Police are woefully inadequate in the drive against crime. By no stretch of the imagination is 37 murders in 30 days acceptable. 

In fact it is an indictment on the performance of the Police and the Commissioner who should be given the “pink slip.” 

In this country we take too long to make critical decisions and allow Rome to be burnt while we party and procrastinate. The Police remain uninspired by Commissioner Gibbs and in addition there appears a strong resentment against having a foreigner as Commissioner. 

In this regard too, Professor Ramesh Deosaran has been tardy in the evaluation of the Commissioner and therefore is indirectly contributing to the chaotic state of affairs. 

This is one area that requires reform. The Police Service Commission must do its work with greater speed since that represent the interests of the people of the country. Or is it that Professor Deosaran has suddenly gotten flat footed.

In the midst of this, hard questions must also be asked of the Minister of National Security with whom ultimate responsibility for crime resides. The Prime Minister is duty bound to ascertain from the Minister of National Security as to why the spike in murders and what is being done. 

It appears that it is business as usual after the SoE. The real issue seems to be that the Minister is not calling people to account for their performance. So too Professor Deosaran seems to lack the courage to deal with what the public has concluded as poor performance on the part of the Police Commissioner.

Politically, the failure to resolve the negotiations for the wages and salaries of Police Officers has left the Police Officers demoralized and frustrated. To what extent the non-resolution of this wage and salary dispute is a deliberate ploy on the part of Anand Ramessar and his Executive remains to be seen. 
However, it is becoming manifestly clear that there are no serious attempts by the Police Executive to solve the negotiations. 

This leads one to believe that there is a deliberate attempt by the Executive to put the country at risk in terms of security. The government must take note of this and send the matter to the tribunal. The government must not allow the people to live under conditions of insecurity.

Finally since last year, the Ministry of Works built spaces for Police vehicles on the Highway. I have not seen one vehicle placed there for almost one year. The Minister of National Security must account for this.

Arjun M. Persad |Lengua, Barrackpore

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Jai & Sero

Jai & Sero

Our family at home in Toronto 2008

Our family at home in Toronto 2008
Amit, Heather, Fuzz, Aj, Jiv, Shiva, Rampa, Sero, Jai