Fuad: No UNC support for Police Reform

BARATARIA/SAN JUAN MP Dr Fuad Khan seemingly shot down any chance that the Opposition UNC would support passage of the Police Reform Bills in Parliament. In a statement yesterday, Khan declared: “The UNC will not support the Police Reform Bills or any other Bill that gives politicians direct control over military or paramilitary organisations which would lead to the creation of ‘mongoose gangs’ as was the case in the past.” The UNC MP claimed that for far too long “the PNM has been abusing the electoral system to maintain political hegemony and in the process, they have lost control of the criminal element to which a certain degree of pandering was evident.”

“My party will not support these measures until constitutional reform is implemented with a serious view to introducing proportional representation in an attempt to disallow the abuse of the electoral system through gerrymandering. The UNC will not support any crime initiatives or Police Reform Bills until the Government proceeds to address the root causes of lawlessness in our society,” Khan said. On Tuesday, Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association president Anthony Hosang urged the Government and Opposition to put aside their political differences and pass the Police Reform Bills when they are laid in Parliament. Hosang, who was part of a group of business leaders that met with Prime Minister Patrick Manning in July to discuss the levels of crime in TT, expressed the hope that 2004 “would see a more harmonious spirit in Parliament with members putting aside affliations to their party and working in the best interest of all citizens of TT.”