Dear Sir
The Keith Rowley-led government was defeated in its attempt to push an extension to the draconian Bail Bill to deny people the right to apply for bail. The government’s claim that this legislation was a solution to the crime problem fell flat, in light of evidence that there has been no reduction in crime and criminality after three years of having the bail bill on the statutes.
The fact that the government was resoundingly defeated in their attempts to pass this bill speaks to the glaring inadequacies of the arguments made by the attorney-general and is concrete proof that the Keith Rowley government has now collapsed.
Since the government’s announcement that it wanted to extend the life of the bail bill, we consistently called upon them to produce any empirical evidence that the bill was in fact working. No such evidence was ever produced. Therefore, there was never any sufficient basis to interfere with the fundamental rights of citizens.
Embattled and disgraced attorney-general Reginald Armour, in his previous incarnation as president of the LATT, argued against the Bail Bill in 2016; which is the same bill that was presented in the Senate. Without any irony, the attorney-general today even admitted he had no real data to support his arguments in favour of the bill.
Meanwhile, crime continues to rise to unprecedented levels with triple and quadruple killings now occurring overnight. The Bail Bill presented by the government did nothing to curb crime and instead, breached multiple sections of the constitution that guarantees and safeguards the fundamental rights of all citizens.
The real cause of the scourge of crime continues to be the complete abandonment of responsibilities by this government. The police service has been left crippled by Keith Rowley’s sabotage and destruction of an impartial police service commission. Our national security is further incapacitated by the hapless and hopeless leadership of Fitzgerald Hinds.
The only solution to the nation’s runaway crime wave is the complete removal of this failed Keith Rowley PNM government.
In 2012, then opposition leader Dr Keith Rowley stated: “…if the government can’t deal with it (crime) then the government itself is part of the problem.
It is clear that this PNM government has become the problem.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar, SC, MP
Leader of the Opposition
