Above: Trinidad PM Kamla Persad-Bissessar (Photo: TGISL)
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Trinidad has lifted the curfew imposed at the beginning of the country’s declared State of Emergency, although the latter will remain in effect, according to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.
The Prime Minister declared the State of Emergency a success, citing what she said were major reductions in criminal activity since the initial declaration Aug. 21.
“It would be the greatest understatement to say that the State of Emergency and curfew are a success,” she said. “It saved our nation. It redeemed all previous failed attempts. It has made Trinidad and Tobago safer than it has been for a very long time.”
The government also reserved the right to impose a limited curfew if so advised by Trinidad’s National Security Council.
“We did not have a crisis because the State of Emergency gave us the means to avert one,” Persad-Bissessar said. “I am confident that history will record the day on which the State of Emergency was declared, August 21, 2011, as one in which democracy and freedom were preserved and protected in our nation.”
According to data from the government, 6,146 officers were deployed in various shifts since the initial declaration.
In the two week period before the declaration, there were 583 serious crimes committed, a number that fell by 43 percent in the first two weeks of the State of Emergency and by 61 percent in the last two weeks of October.
The Prime Minister said the State of Emergency would continue and be reviewed on a continuos basis, and urged citizens to continue to exercise caution.
In the period from the beginning of the State of Emergency to Nov. 2, there were a total of 107,183 kilograms of marijuana seized, 12,739 rounds of ammunition, 153 firearms and 13.8 kilograms of cocaine seized.