TRINIDAD:BURGEONING NARCO STATE.
Editorial - Monitoring Trinidad
These are challenging times in the Caribbean where Governments, almost without exception, are wrestling with an upsurge in violent criminal activities and the concomitant mounting concerns about the implications for their countries' and the region's economic and political stability.
In fact, the deteriorating crime situation threatens the very fabric of Caribbean society all the way from the Bahamas in the North to Guyana in the South where recent reports based on information released through whistle-blower Website WikiLeaks tell about a burgeoning narco-state whose government has been compromised by at least one drug lord.
It is now increasingly evident that much of the turmoil in these countries – including here in St. Maarten – is inextricably linked to the drugs trade fuelled by greed at a time when economies are under severe stress, unemployment rates are climbing and the lure of the quick dollar provides an attractive though dangerous option.
St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas spoke for the entire Caribbean when he told a recent gathering in Basseterre that because of the spike in criminal activities "We run the risk of shattering the confidence of our many foreign investors, scaring away potential tourists and depleting our confidence in ourselves as a people and our willingness to engage in investment and other economic activities critical to the development of our nation."
He was speaking against the backdrop of a sharp spike in violent homicides this year – with four young people murdered in four days late last month – a situation that forced him to assume ministerial responsibility for the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force while at the same time beefing up the bureaucracy involved in managing the federation's anti-crime initiatives.
Barbados, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago all experienced similar spikes in violent homicides recently, with Trinidad experiencing 11 homicides in 48 hours, and St. Maarten three in three days.
In the oil-rich twin-island republic, the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government responded to the sudden spike in violent criminal activities by imposing a state of emergency.
Generally, nations impose states of emergency very reluctantly, reserving the use of this weapon in their armouries as a last resort, as it would entail the suspension of citizens' human rights and, if not carefully managed, easily could lead to excesses and wanton abuse by the state through its arms of repression.
That the Persad-Bissessar government has resorted so readily to using this weapon suggests that it really was at its wits' end about how to deal with the situation. It is therefore not surprising that even as the country's elected representatives debated the state of emergency yesterday, there were already some reports suggesting excesses and abuse by the state.
The Trinidad and Tobago government must be acutely aware of the risks it is taking in possibly stigmatising and even criminalising certain groups within the already heavily stratified society while failing to dismantle the criminal networks. The consequences of such failure would be far-reaching, and no doubt the rest of the Caribbean will be monitoring this adventure closely to see where it leads.
In fact, the deteriorating crime situation threatens the very fabric of Caribbean society all the way from the Bahamas in the North to Guyana in the South where recent reports based on information released through whistle-blower Website WikiLeaks tell about a burgeoning narco-state whose government has been compromised by at least one drug lord.
It is now increasingly evident that much of the turmoil in these countries – including here in St. Maarten – is inextricably linked to the drugs trade fuelled by greed at a time when economies are under severe stress, unemployment rates are climbing and the lure of the quick dollar provides an attractive though dangerous option.
St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas spoke for the entire Caribbean when he told a recent gathering in Basseterre that because of the spike in criminal activities "We run the risk of shattering the confidence of our many foreign investors, scaring away potential tourists and depleting our confidence in ourselves as a people and our willingness to engage in investment and other economic activities critical to the development of our nation."
He was speaking against the backdrop of a sharp spike in violent homicides this year – with four young people murdered in four days late last month – a situation that forced him to assume ministerial responsibility for the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force and the St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force while at the same time beefing up the bureaucracy involved in managing the federation's anti-crime initiatives.
Barbados, St. Maarten, Trinidad and Tobago all experienced similar spikes in violent homicides recently, with Trinidad experiencing 11 homicides in 48 hours, and St. Maarten three in three days.
In the oil-rich twin-island republic, the Kamla Persad-Bissessar government responded to the sudden spike in violent criminal activities by imposing a state of emergency.
Generally, nations impose states of emergency very reluctantly, reserving the use of this weapon in their armouries as a last resort, as it would entail the suspension of citizens' human rights and, if not carefully managed, easily could lead to excesses and wanton abuse by the state through its arms of repression.
That the Persad-Bissessar government has resorted so readily to using this weapon suggests that it really was at its wits' end about how to deal with the situation. It is therefore not surprising that even as the country's elected representatives debated the state of emergency yesterday, there were already some reports suggesting excesses and abuse by the state.
The Trinidad and Tobago government must be acutely aware of the risks it is taking in possibly stigmatising and even criminalising certain groups within the already heavily stratified society while failing to dismantle the criminal networks. The consequences of such failure would be far-reaching, and no doubt the rest of the Caribbean will be monitoring this adventure closely to see where it leads.
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With the recent developments on Sint Maarten, pertaining to the particulars of the Bada Bing and Patrick Illidge ongoing saga. John Van Den Heuvel's book Sneeuw over Curacoa, is even more realistic in its portrayal of the so called Netherlands Antilles as Mafia havens and Narco States. Sint Maarten is a definate candidate for Narco State.
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