PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – The Trinidad and Tobago government Monday defended the decision to cancel the Independence Day military parade later this month, saying “this decision was not made in a vacuum”.
August 31 marks the anniversary of the country’s independence from Britain, which was achieved on August 31, 1962.
The Ministry of Homeland Security said that instead, there will be a National Day of Prayer and that the decision was taken “after careful deliberation on intelligence” arising out of the current state of emergency (SoE).
Speaking on a television programme on Monday, Homeland Security Minister, Roger Alexander, told viewers that the decision was not taken lightly and “it did not take four or five seconds”.
He said Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar had, after continuous deliberations, announced the decision, taking into consideration also the safety of the citizens.
“We, as a government, had a decision to make. If people behave like this again, there won’t be another Independence Day parade. This is not the case. We came into government and on our arrival we saw a lot of things I wish I could take you through, but I can’t because of national security reasons,” the former senior police officer told viewers.
Alexander said, given the information coming to the authorities, “We have no choice but to protect our people, dismantle the threat, and then we go forward.”
Trinidad and Tobago declared a state of emergency on July 18, nearly three months after it had ended a 105-day state of emergency to deal with criminal activities.
Police Commissioner, Allister Guevarro, described the events leading up to the declaration of the SoE as one of “grave concern” telling a news conference that the police had received intelligence reports “whereby organized criminal gangs with persons inside of the prisons and persons operating on the outside of the prisons have formed themselves into what I would want to term an organized crime syndicate”.
The authorities moved high-risk prisoners to military bases as part of the crackdown on jailed gang leaders accused of using smuggled cellphones to plot a series of assassinations, robberies, and kidnappings with help from criminal associates on the outside.
On July 29, Parliament extended the SoE for a further three months.
Over the last weekend, the NEWSDAY newspaper reported that police and military intelligence agencies had unearthed a plot to kill Defence Minister Wayne Sturge and that several additional security measures have been put in place to protect the minister and those close to him.
The newspaper quoted unidentified “senior officers in three separate intelligence agencies” as confirming “a real and present danger to the minister and his relatives.”
The newspaper said that a confidential report has reached the desks of military commanders of elite units in the Defence Force and Police Service, and it is being treated with urgency, quoting one intelligence officer familiar with the case.
The paper recalled that on August 11, Prime Minister Persad Bissessar said the lives of two of her senior cabinet ministers have been threatened over their reform of make-work programmes such as the Community-Based Environmental Protection and Enhancement Programme (CEPEP) and the Unemployment Relief Programme (URP).
Alexander said that a “threat to a particular individual might have been dismantled at this time,” insisting that the authorities are being very thorough in their investigations based on intelligence received.
I should treat with this situation in this way than to answer a question later down the road,” he said, adding that Trinidad and Tobago must learn from the coup of 1990, when members of the radical Jamaat l Muslimeen group staged an unsuccessful coup attempt against the ANR Robinson government, resulting in the deaths of several people, including a legislator.
“Persons were running around with information and nobody did anything….I want members of the public to understand we have to make decisions based on your security and safety, “ Alexander said, adding “while I would like to answer you…there are some things we need to keep close to our chests to get that element of surprise we are looking for to be successful”.
Meanwhile, the Police Commissioner said the decision surrounding the Independence Day parade “is informed by national security assessments and inter-agency consultations”.
He said the police stand ready to support “any measure deemed necessary to safeguard public safety and national interests”.
He said it would not be prudent to “get into specifics and in such instances, discretion is paramount, and if, based on the assessment, the government received a decision was taken in the interest of public safety.
“I will urge the public to lend its full support,” he added.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Penelope Beckles has demanded transparency from the government following the announcement that this year’s Parade and associated State events, including the national fireworks display, have been cancelled.
In a strongly worded statement, Beckles said the announcement had left the country “bewildered,” noting that Independence Parades had been held even during periods of national crisis, such as the 2011 State of Emergency, and only the COVID-19 pandemic had previously halted the annual ceremony.
“The nation deserves answers: Who made the call to silence our Parade? Will the Prime Minister address the nation on this matter? What is the true reason for the cancellation? What is being hidden from the citizens? Will the Prime Minister do the honourable thing and face the public on this issue?” she asked.
Former police commissioner, Gary Griffith, said while intelligence may have led to the government’s decision, “it is hoped that whatever this threat is can be neutralized as quickly as possible.
“This does not just affect our Independence Day parade. It can also affect the image of Trinidad and Tobago, both regionally and internationally, in terms of trade and investment. People believe that if we have to cancel an Independence Day parade, it means something serious is happening in our country.
“ I will ask all law-abiding citizens to support the law enforcement agencies….”
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