Independent Liberal Party (ILP) political leader Jack Warner yesterday scoffed at calls made by Chaguanas Mayor Gopaul Boodhan for a gun amnesty, saying it will not be a success under the People’s Partnership Government. Boodhan made the recommendation during an early-morning peace walk hosted by the Inter Religious Organisation (IRO) in Chaguanas.
But during an ILP walkabout at the housing development at Egypt Village in Endeavour yesterday, Warner said when he was national security minister in 2012 he had made a similar recommendation. “I met with the police commissioner and the Prime Minister and the Cabinet and they refused. So when you have to march for a gun amnesty that is a lot of foolishness really. But then again, thank God the people saw through it,” Warner said.
Pressed further on whether he believed a gun amnesty would work, especially with reputed gang warfare in Central, Warner said it would only be a success if the PP Government was thrown out. Saying that no one trusted the Kamla Persad-Bissessar-led administration, Warner added, “Especially after a state-of-emergency where 1,000 people were arrested....who trust this Government? That maybe a good ploy but not for this Government.”
Warner said when he was minister he put forward more than 100 recommendations to Persad-Bissessar to fight crime but all were rejected. “So for me, to talk about implementing a gun amnesty today is just hypocrisy to the highest. And for crime to be solved and for the economy to be fixed this Government has to go,” Warner said.
On the crime situation at Egypt Village, Warner said it was a relatively new community so the crime rate was not high. But he added that precautionary measures must be taken. “We cannot wait until the crime situation gets higher. I mean it is a new development and people have just moved in and therefore I don’t think the issue of crime is high at this point in time. But one has to always be vigilant,” Warner said.
The development is bounded by Crown Trace, Enterprise, which is often described by police as a “hotspot” given the high level of criminal activities, including shootings and gang violence reportedly carried out between the Muslim and Rasta City gangs. Saying he was aware of the situation, Warner said part of his aim was to talk to the residents of Egypt Village and “offer some kind of solace.”
“You cannot talk to one without talking to the other because they know my work is good and if I tell them I will be bringing peace to the area, I shall,” Warner added.