Intelligence failure on the part of government’s law enforcement agencies is to blame for not detecting and preempting last Monday’s police roadblocks that trapped thousands of commuters in crippling traffic and gridlock throughout the country. This was the view of former national security minister Gary Griffith, Senator Helen Drayton and criminologist Darius Figueira. Speaking to the Sunday Guardian on Thursday, Griffith said, “The intelligence agencies and NOC (National Operations Centre) fell flat, the ball was dropped badly.
“Several persons in the media heard chatter the Friday before that this massive police operation was going to take place, yet there was not a word from the NOC and the National Security Minister Carl Alfonso. “He himself stated that he was made aware of the situation at 7.30 am which was over two and a half hours after the operation commenced.
“Information wasn’t being passed on to the public in real time to explain what was happening. This can cause an escalation in the perception of fear and when panic steps in it exacerbates the situation creating a domino effect leading to further problems.” He said this was reminiscent of the July 27, 1990, coup in which the law enforcement agencies were not aware of what was happening until the Red House was under siege and the coup rebels had taken over Trinidad and Tobago Television.
‘Tantamount to mutiny’
Griffith said the incident was a ticking time bomb waiting to happen and there were indicators weeks ago that had not been picked up on. He said it was a massive police operation and was the largest in the history of T&T, other than the 2011 State of Emergency, executed without the knowledge or authorisation of division heads which was tantamount to mutiny.
Griffith condemned the actions of the law enforcement personnel that orchestrated the roadblocks, although he understood their frustration over their inability to take industrial action. He said another coup was impossible, but the 500 acres of land in Felicity that was previously earmarked to house a military hospital and support battalion for the T&T Regiment which is now earmarked for rice production by Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj might breed resentment among the military.
Figueira: National emergency scenario overlooked
Criminologist Daurius Figueira said that with millions of dollars spent on an annual basis on T&T’s national security apparatus it was expected that operators on the ground would relay to their superiors news of impending action. He said if the relevant security agencies had received that type of intelligence they could have pre-empted the action. Figueira said while motorists and commuters were trapped in the bumper-to-bumper traffic they were vulnerable to bandits on foot who could have preyed on them.
He said one major issue that was not raised was the scenario of a national emergency in the midst of the gridlock should a rupture or massive explosions occur in the natural gas supply line, resulting in fatalities and injuries.
Drayton: Dangerous lockdown staged without detection
Senator Helen Drayton in today's Sunday Guardian column said the issue was not whether the police used their powers to obstruct and inconvenience the public in an attempt to force certain collective bargaining outcomes, but dangerous that they had the ability to stage a national lockdown without prior knowledge or detection by the police executive, the Government, and all intelligence agencies whose job it was to protect citizens.