UNC: Manning cannot eradicate drug trade

THE OPPOSITION UNC yesterday scoffed at Prime Minister Patrick Manning’s pronouncements that Government can eradicate the drug trade in Trinidad and Tobago and its associated evil of terrorism. Addressing a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall on Saturday, Prime Minister Manning said Government shared American concerns about the global threat of terrorism and such crimes in this part of the world were closely linked to the drug trade. Manning also said that during his discussions last week with US President George W Bush in Washington DC, he indicated that Government shared a 1994 assessment by Scotland Yard that TT was small enough to completely eradicate the drug trade. “We went further to state that we were taking steps here to eradicate the drug trade if we can,” the Prime Minister said.

However UNC chairman Wade Mark scoffed at Manning’s statement. “Mr Manning is not serious about dealing with the drug trade. Mr Manning is in bed with the insurgents. The evidence is absolutely clear. Mr Manning should face the truth,” he declared. Mark reiterated the UNC’s longstanding claim of an alliance between the ruling PNM and the Jamaat-al-Muslimeen. In his Budget 2003/2004 presentation in Parliament on October 6, Manning announced that Government’s drug-fighting measures included the purchase of two Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) which will each have the capability to launch fast interceptor boats and a helicopter with offensive capabilities and carry an amphibious assault team of 150 soldiers.
According to information from the Israel Armament Development Authority Ltd (RAFAEL), the modern OPV “plays an increasingly major role in the naval arena” which includes a diverse range of peacetime (control of territorial waters, monitoring commercial marine traffic) and crisis/wartime (anti-terrorism, surface warfare) missions.

RAFAEL is a world leader in the development and production of advanced weapon systems for some of the world’s leading naval, air and ground forces and has annual sales exceeding US$600 million. Under former National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee, a US$945,000 agreement was signed with the US Government to facilitate the establishment of a hi-tech coastal radar system, similar to one currently used by the Israeli military, which would give 360 degree coverage of TT’s coastlines. Chin Lee said the system which the PNM found when it entered office in 2001, only covered three percent of the nation’s coastlines. On Saturday, the Prime Minister said the system was recently purchased and will be operational within a year.