Gun Amnesty Plan launched

According to top football administrator Jack Austin Warner, this will be part of a Football Gun Amnesty Plan which he plans to initiate throughout the country.

And a minute-long advertisement, using the song "Laventille" from local reggae artiste Mr King, was also launched at yesterday’s press conference at Teak Room, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Port-of-Spain.

The video, which is part of a multimedia publicity campaign for gang leaders to put down their weapons, featured clippings of the depressed areas of Laventille compared to the "sea of red" at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Mucurapo during the 2006 World Cup qualifiers. The feature also showed Dennis Lawrence’s 48th minute header in TT’s 1-0 win over Bahrain on November 16 in Manama.

"This Gun Amnesty Plan will use whatever leverage and influence the national football side has with some of these misguided individuals," Warner said. "If the effort produces one positively-altered life, or just a few guns, it would still have been worth it."

Warner stated that not all "Warriors" are wicked people, especially those who fight injustice and, in this case, rise from humble backgrounds to earn success.

"I wish the general public to view our Warriors as a group, a positive force, committed to doing for this country what no other politician has done to date or will ever do," Warner said. In his satirical way, Warner hoped that the plan will be embraced by the Prime Minister and Minister of National Security. "This strategy has had great success in many parts of the world but, unfortunately, I do not expect a positive response from them, unless like the limp blimp, they feel it has some public relations benefit," he said.