Boosting the hardware

THE SOVEREIGNTY of our country means more than having political independence and the established institutions of a democracy; it also requires the capacity to detect unwelcome, unauthorised, illegal or hostile incursions into our national territory and to deal decisively with them. In other words, we must be able to protect ourselves from criminal elements existing within and also coming from outside our society. The measures announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning last Wednesday with respect to improving our capacity for surveillance, control and protection of our coastal areas are welcome and necessary measures to reinforce the maintenance of our sovereignty.

In any case, Trinidad and Tobago’s inability to provide continuous surveillance and air and sea patrol of its coastal areas has long been a matter of public concern, particularly with the increasing use of our country as a trans-shipment point by drug traffickers and the smuggling in of guns for criminals engaged in the trade. As the Prime Minister pointed out, TT is strategically located between countries supplying the drugs and countries which are the major consumers of illegal narcotics. Because of this fact and the escalation in violent crime which the drug trade has generated in TT, many would say that the measures now being undertaken have been long overdue. However, we have to consider them better late than never.

According to the PM, the state-of-the-art radar system purchased from Israel will provide surveillance coverage of the “critical areas” of the country when it is completely installed by December. The system will give TT 360-degree coverage of the coast of both islands, even seeing “beyond Barbados.” The radar would also have an aerial capacity enabling it to detect suspicious aircraft entering the national airspace illegally. In addition, Mr Manning announced that the recommendation for the establishment of a helicopter unit, to strengthen the Defence Force’s Air Wing, will go before Cabinet shortly. He explained: “The bulk of the patrolling of our waters will be done by helicopters with an attack capability to deal with a lot of the high speed craft the drug dealers use to transit the Gulf.

And we are purchasing high speed craft ourselves to do the work that is involved in the inshore waters of Trinidad and Tobago.” The introduction of this high-tech radar system and the use of more sea and air craft in the fight against drug trafficking and crime should be reassuring, but we must wonder how long they would be maintained in proper working order, being aware of the dismal record of maintenance of equipment in the government service generally. Because of their vital strategic value, we expect that efficient services will be established to keep all this “hardware” in good functional condition.

The increasing use of helicopters in the war against crime, said the PM, is part of a government initiative underway since 2003. In fact, it was announced by former National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee in the House on October 10, 2003. These measures, while they strengthen our sovereignty and may be helpful in the battle against crime, can only be a part of the solution. The country, instead, has been looking urgently to the Special Crime Fighting Unit appointed last October and headed by Brig Peter Joseph for a comprehensive plan, or perhaps any kind of plan. But we are still waiting.