1 week ago
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Senior Reporter
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar is challenging the Opposition People’s National Movement (PNM) to stage its own Independence Day parade, stressing that her Government has not restricted the right to free movement on August 31.
At a media briefing yesterday at the Opposition Leader’s Office in Port-of-Spain, Pennelope Beckles renewed her call for a scaled-down Independence Day event in the interest of patriotism and for small businesses that depend on the day for earnings. Beckles also again questioned why the Prime Minister has not personally addressed the nation on the decision to replace the military parade and related festivities with a day of prayer and reflection.
Beckles posited that a military parade would have been a show of force to the criminals.
“This Government should make every attempt to let the criminals, the gangsters, and all of those who are involved in criminal activity…to let them know that the Government is not afraid of the criminals and the gangsters,” Beckles said.
And while Government ministers, particularly Legal Affairs Minister Saddam Hosein, have stressed that the sole reason for the cancellation was security concerns linked to the ongoing State of Emergency (SoE), Beckles insisted such assurances should come directly from the Prime Minister to ease public unrest.
According to the Minister of Homeland Security, Roger Alexander, intelligence reports advised against gathering top State officials and a large contingent of security forces in one location due to a potential threat. Meanwhile, Minister Hosein said that as a consequence of the parade’s cancellation, the State will be saving money that could be put to use in crime fighting initiatives. On Sunday, Guardian Media received information that $1.5 million was approved for the parade by the previous government in February. Meanwhile, a Government source said the expected cost for this year’s fireworks show was $1.1 million.
However, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said the PNM can have its own function and even went as far as to invite Guardian Media to join the Opposition Leader.
Responding to questions via WhatsApp about her perceived absence during a time of “mixed messaging” over the “real reason” for the Government’s decision, she said: “You all at Guardian Media and Mrs Beckles-Robinson are free to go to Port-of-Spain on Independence Day and walk around if you wish. There are no restrictions on free movement. Enjoy, have a great day.”
Guardian Media informed the Opposition Leader about the Prime Minister’s suggestion; however, she did not immediately respond.
On August 16, following the PNM’s General Council meeting, Vice Chairman Dr Amery Browne was asked by if the party was planning its own way of commemorating the day. He said, “there are opportunities presenting themselves, but our focus right now is to give a strident reflection to the Government of the population’s disappointment with this decision. And to call upon them to provide greater clarity.”
Dr Browne would have gone on to say, “political parties are not usually called upon to host, on behalf of a country, an Independence commemoration.”
Say ‘sorry’ Tancoo
Meanwhile, the Opposition demanded an apology from Finance Minister Devendranath Tancoo, after PNM Deputy Political Leader Colm Imbert slammed his response to the party’s questions on the parade cancellation as “asinine.”
In a video posted to TikTok, Tancoo questioned why the PNM was adamant that there be a military parade when the Government has already established that there is a “viable, true and real security threat” against high office holders, inclusive of members of the Judiciary, Police Service and Prison Service.”
Minister Tancoo said, “Why is the PNM so anxious to have all of these individuals in one place? Who exactly is the PNM trying to facilitate? The criminals? Ask yourself these very serious questions. These are not things that are happening by the way. This is not just the PNM being as obstructionist as they always have been.”
Yesterday, the Opposition Leader described Tancoo’s statements as “disturbing, reckless, deliberately dishonest and deplorable.”
“And we are calling on Mr Tancoo to retract those statements, because it is totally false. As the Opposition, we have the right to make our inquiries, we have the right to raise issues, we have the right to ask the Government exactly why it is you’re cancelling the parade, and therefore we see this as a very desperate, shameless, and despicable attempt to link the PNM with the criminal elements in this country,” Beckles said.
Efforts to find out if Tancoo was going to apologise were unsuccessful.
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