The National Trade Union Centre (NATUC) says it does not support the decision of the Trinidad and Tobago government to extend the current state of emergency (SoE) that comes to an end on June 17.
‘Emergency rule must never become normalised. What is presented as temporary must not be allowed to evolve into a standing feature of governance. A nation cannot claim to defend law and order while silencing the lawful voices of its people,’ the umbrella grouping, which represents approximately 80,000 workers across various industries, said in a statement. On Sunday, the Office of the Attorney General issued a statement in which it said that following a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC), chaired by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, a decision was taken to extend the SoE by three months.
The statement said that Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar’s government will go to Parliament on Wednesday tabling a resolution to extend the SoE for three months. The government enjoys a 28-13 majority in the Parliament.
The main opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) has already indicated that it will not support the measure when it is brought to Parliament and intends challenging its constitutionality in the courts.
In March, the government defended the imposition of the SoE less than two months after a more than year long similar measure had been lifted.
In its statement, NATUC while acknowledging the administration’s primary obligation to safeguard public security, said that prolonged interventions threaten to dismantle essential civil liberties.
It warned that that emergency rule must not become a permanent fixture of national governance or be used to systematically curtail public speech and legislative transparency.
It expressed particular alarm regarding the restrictive impact of these executive powers on the rights of trade unions, civil society groups, and individual citizens to assemble, protest, and voice dissent.
NATUC said that access to historical public grounds surrounding Whitehall, the Red House, and various ministry buildings remains central to local civic expression.
It is calling on members of Parliament, independent senators, religious bodies, and civil organizations to strictly scrutinize the upcoming legislative request. It is also demanding that the government provide ‘clear, transparent data’ regarding the objective effectiveness of the SOE framework to date, questioning whether the measures are actively reducing crime or merely suppressing civic freedoms.
‘National security cannot be built on the weakening of democracy,’ NATUC said, adding that public safety and constitutional rights coexist transparently without sacrificing fundamental civil liberties.
The Tobago arm of the Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce says another extension of the SOE does not augur well for the island’s tourism thrust.
The private sector chairman, Curtis Williams, said that the real test for the country is after the SOE ends.
‘The real test is whether the reduction in crime can be maintained after the SOE ends. Businesses are looking for sustainable safety and not a temporary leave,’ he added.
Meanwhile, criminologist Dr. Randy Seepersad is cautioning the government on using states of emergency as a crime-fighting initiative.
Seepersad, speaking on a television programme here on Monday, said while there is no doubt the recent SOEs bore fruit in terms of a decline in murders and other serious crimes, such an anti-crime measure should not be normalised as it can lose its effectiveness.
He said more needs to be done to arrest the issue of gangs operating in the country and that domestic related murders must also be taken into consideration.
‘First, let me be clear that while the SoE is indeed related to a reduction in crime, I think we have long established that it certainly does not get at root causes, so we need something beyond the SoE.
‘It does not tackle all aspects of the crime situation. Murders in incidents of domestic violence. An SoE will not be able to curb those kinds of murders because they have a whole different set of root causes,’ he said.