00:00A major policy decision tonight as Prime Minister Kamala Pesad-Besasa is taking a hard line on communities represented by
00:07the opposition.
00:08She says she will not force special operations on areas that do not want them, and they will apply only
00:14to, quote, government-controlled areas.
00:43As part of the government's crime-fighting strategy.
00:47The Prime Minister says she will not seek to impose those measures on communities where residents and their representatives do
00:54not want them.
00:55She says, quote, since the opposition MPs and supporters do not want special operations, I will only allow it in
01:03government-controlled areas.
01:04They can continue to allow their hardcore constituencies to be destroyed from within.
01:10I am not bothered, end quote.
01:12The statement follows concerns from the opposition and its supporters about the potential impact of the legislation,
01:19including whether expanded police and military operations could be used disproportionately in particular communities.
01:27Opposition MP for Port of Spain South said he will rally his constituents to stage protests against the imposition of
01:34closed areas in his constituency.
01:36Pesad-Besasa dismissed what she described as attempts to portray the proposed operations as politically targeted and accused PNM supporters
01:46of using racial rhetoric to oppose the government's crime-fighting measures.
01:50Pesad-Besasa wrote to X, saying, quote, the predictable, comical, manufactured drama coming from the PNM and their supporters is
01:59that the stinking racist chairman Cooley Prime Minister is going to send the police and army to terrorize their supporters
02:06in hardcore PNM constituencies, end quote.
02:09Early in the day, opposition MP for Port of Spain North, St. Anne's West, Stuart Young, likened the S.O.
02:16bill to apartheid.
02:18Meanwhile, Pesad-Besasa maintains that communities opposed to the intervention should be allowed to make that choice,
02:23while the government proceeds with operations in areas where it has political responsibility.
02:30The Prime Minister says the objective is to address the criminal activity she says has left law-abiding citizens living
02:37under heightened security for years.
02:40While at the United Nations General Assembly gathered in New York, she said, quote,
03:04Pesad-Besasa then identified the geographic scope in which she says the government intends to proceed.
03:10She says that includes 26 UNC-held constituencies and 70 UNC-held local government electoral districts,
03:19as well as two Tobago constituencies represented by the Tobago People's Party, subject to consultation with Chief Secretary Folly Augustine.
03:29The distinction of 26 UNC-held constituencies and 70 UNC-held local government electoral districts
03:36allows some expansion from saying UNC-held constituencies alone.
03:41For example, while the constituency of San Fernando East is PNM-controlled, won by Brian Manning in 2025,
03:50there are some UNC-held electoral districts or parts within that constituency.
03:57This will allow closed zones to be set up in Marabella East, Marabella South, Vistabella and Marabella West.
04:04The Prime Minister's statement comes against the backdrop of a country that has been grappling with persistent violent crime,
04:11with successive governments introducing different policing strategies and emergency measures in response.
04:18Pesad-Besasa says residents have been forced to take increasingly stringent precautions to protect their homes and families.
04:24She said, quote,
04:49The Prime Minister's latest comments add a political dimension
05:03She says criminal groups operating within areas covered by her administration
05:08will therefore face what she describes as hard policing under the proposed law.
05:12She said, quote,
05:14The violent criminal gangs and drug laws residing or operating inside government-controlled constituencies
05:20and local government electoral districts will therefore be subject to hard policing
05:24as outlined in the special operations bill.
05:27The bill was passed in the lower house and is expected to be debated on Tuesday, that's tomorrow, in the
05:33Senate,
05:33where a simple majority is required for passage.
05:37Arvishay Tawari Ruknarein, TV6 News.
05:39That story takes us to tonight's PeopleMeetown.
05:42We ask,
05:43Do you agree with the Prime Minister's decision to institute special operations zones in government-controlled areas?
05:51To vote, text yes or no to the number 766-4886 or 766-4TV6.
05:57We'll have the results for you at the end of this newscast.
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