THE Prime Minister says state agencies have become one with criminal elements even as he says government has been grappling with the state’s contribution to the crime problem in the last two weeks.
Speaking at a sod-turning ceremony for the new Caura Housing Development on Tuesday, Dr Rowley said, “For the last two weeks, we have been dealing with the state contribution to that (crime) problem, where state authorities in positions of trust have broken down and the calypso Who’s Going to Guard the Guard is now the most important question.”
Two weeks ago, the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) found itself under the spotlight when the PM announced the recall of Ambassador Brig Gen Anthony Phillips-Spencer from Washington, DC, to act as head of the SSA. Phillips-Spencer replaced Maj Roger Best who had been sent on administrative leave.
After a series of events that began on March 2, Rowley replaced Best, the local equivalent to the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the US, after the Cabinet was reportedly informed of an impending threat. On March 3, the PM, head of the National Security Council, announced that Best, based on the council’s recommendation to the Cabinet, was sent on immediate administrative leave paving the way for Phillips-Spencer’s appointment.
On March 9, police then raided the home of Pastor Ian Albert Ezekiel Brown, a special reserve police officer. Police also raided a site for an extension of Brown’s church in Caratal, Cumuto. After the scandal broke, the church’s website as well as its social media pages were deactivated. In an interview on Power 102FM on March 12, Brown, who claimed to be an undercover intelligence officer at the SSA, said he was fearful for his life after his “cover was blown.”
On Tuesday, speaking on the subject of crime, Rowley, in a fiery speech, said there were too many people in this country who knew who the killers and criminals were, but chose to turn a blind eye. His comments came after ten murders took place over the last weekend, five occurring at Harpe Place, Observatory Street, Port of Spain, during a mass shooting.
On Tuesday, the PM was half-way through his passionate speech when the venue went silent owing to a power outage, his security detail becoming visibly uneasy as HDC workers frantically tried to resolve the issue. Within a few minutes, Rowley was back behind the podium, warning families about harboring criminals and calling their support unacceptable.
He said some members of the public only reacted when someone they knew was killed, only then being quick to call on the government and police to “do something.” “The thing you do after somebody is dead is to bury the dead,” Rowley said. He urged families and communities to speak up and help prevent the deaths of innocent people.
“If you know who these people are, for God's sake, tell the police! Say where they are and what weapons they have so something can be done.” Rowley said in the recent past, criminals only had access to handguns that could be easily concealed, but today,
