Politicians hold the advantage

What allowed this was the fact that, as worked up about party politics as Trinbagonians might get, they never see personal confrontation as part of their politics. It is not coincidental that the perpetrators of the attempted coup in 1990 embraced an ideology that is, in many ways, antithetical to the core values of Trinidadian society. But the very fact that such an aberrant group has survived, and even flourished, in this country tells us that these core values have changed.

This is why security in Parliament cannot continue in the lax manner reported exclusively in yesterday’s Newsday. Parliamentary security is deficient in certain fundamentals. Of the 40 officers dedicated to Parliament, there are reportedly only 16 — which is to say, less than half — who are functioning in that capacity. And, although there is supposed to be 24-hour security on every day of the week, the police officers are only present in force when there is an actual sitting. Even then, we are told, not all entry points to the Red House are covered.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning may want to use this as an argument for a new Parliament building. But just last week he was saying that the security arrangements for Parliament are "very tight and sophisticated." And they must indeed be very sophisticated if our sources within the Parliament can’t even detect them. But, Manning’s political rhetoric aside, Red House security clearly has to be beefed up.

This should have been obvious since July 27, 1990 but, if it wasn’t, the Frederick Street bomb must have reminded parliamentarians that they are always at risk. Perhaps politicians on either side weren’t concerned before because both their parties had become cosy with the Jamaat al Muslimeen. But the seeming randomness of the explosion on July 11 reinforces the fact that any nut, even one without a political agenda, could easily penetrate Parliament.

The good news is that fixing this problem does not appear to be too onerous a task. The first requirement is to get the full number of police officers on the Red House beat. Moreover, Cabinet should follow the recommendation that these officers be specifically trained in guarding buildings and should fall under the authority of the Speaker. This is psychologically important, since those officers will then come to see the Red House as their responsibility. For Cabinet to reject this suggestion would seem like petty turf-guarding — and that would be ironic, since it is Cabinet members who are to be protected by this set of officers.

At any rate, something has to be done and done soon. It would be nice if our MPs could continue to function in the laidback manner they have been accustomed to. But the country has changed, and such ease is no longer possible in these more perilous times.