Business condemns assault on Sir Ellis

Business associations have condemned the recent assault of former president Sir Ellis Clarke. San Juan Business Association (SJBA) president, Gail Merhair, described the attack as “extremely horrifying.” “Our sympathies go out to Sir Ellis and his family. He looks well for his age, but he must have been very traumatised by the attack.” Asked what the attack meant, Merhair said, “The mere fact that a former president could be attacked, only goes to show the state of crime in Trinidad and Tobago. Crime is a disease which has no boundaries.” She said the assault showed criminal attacks were now being spread through all the different sections of our society. “Crime is no longer just geared towards people of the business community, but there are now attacks on people holding high office.” Calling for urgent action, Merhair lamented that crime was hitting people of all walks of life.

“We call on the government and the authorities to secure the population. We again call for tough action to curb crime and to act as a deterrent to keep people away from criminal activity.” Downtown Owners and Merchants Association (DOMA) president, Gregory Aboud, said, “DOMA extends our concerns to Sir Ellis and wish him a speedy recovery from any trauma he may have experienced.” Aboud said the attack was an indication of the state of lawlessness in the country. “It raises the visibility of lawlessness when a prominent citizen is attacked.” He said there were many signs of such lawlessness on the streets of Port-of-Spain. “Ordinary citizens feel far more threatened when prominent citizens are so bold-facedly attacked.” Aboud recalled the attack not only on Sir Ellis, but also the killing of the bodyguard of former president Arthur NR Robinson, acting Insp Edward Williams. “People feel more susceptible to danger when former presidents are attacked and robbed, and when former police inspectors are killed.” Aboud observed that many ordinary people were being attacked and these assaults were not being publicly reported.