Call for peace An uneasy calm settled over Picton, Laventille, yesterday as clusters of residents sat along the pavements, voicing concern about what they claimed were increasing incidents of “police attacks.” In recent days, they claimed, contingents of heavily-armed police officers have been detaining young men in the area, seeking to find the location of illegal arms and ammunition.
Amidst the angry and anxious voices, community elder Cecil Gulston raised his hands in the air, appealing for a cease-fire between warring factions. The 58-year-old man said the arrest of 18-year-old Trevlon Harry by members of the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) on Tuesday had sparked a sense of resentment in an area where there was little trust of law enforcement officers. Harry’s arrest resulted in scores of residents burning debris and demanding answers to claims that Harry was dropped in “enemy territory” at Block Eight to be beaten. Gulston, also known as “Abu” said the approach by the police was too brutal.
He described the situation in Laventille as already volatile, where residents were forced to carefully choose what cars they travelled in. “I have to make sure that the car I taking not going Beverly Hills and Block Eight, just for my safety,” Gulston said. He said the desire to extract information was changing the manner in which the police operated. “We don’t want any war in the community. Is a little bit of people that getting on stupid.
“We need the police but they have to do their work in the right manner. “They cannot expect the people to work with them if they moving in that manner,” Gulston said. He said as long as police acted with unnecessary force, people would continue to oppose them.
Social ills
From the vantage point of a resident’s backyard at Picton, the pristine Hyatt Regency Hotel was easily visible. It stood like a majestic tower against a backdrop of crudely constructed houses and latrines. “The problem in Laventille is really a social problem,” Gulston theorised, adding, “We could see the Hyatt as plain as day. We so close to it and we still using latrine. It have latrine in Port-of-Spain.” He said the presence of Member of Parliament Donna Cox was non-existent. “We never vote nobody else than the PNM. “People in Laventille love the PNM so much that the PNM done understand that they don’t have to do nothing for Laventille people,” Gulston added.
Call for peace
A narrow stretch of Plaisance Road in Laventille separates John John from Block Eight. These two areas have been branded “war zones” by residents. With the sound of gunshots being a common occurrence, Gulston lamented that the lives of young men were constantly wasted. He called for young men of other crime-infested areas, including Sea Lots and Beetham to call a truce. “It is about time all these communities come together because is only a lot of young men involved. “We need to get together and solve we social problem.”
UNC’s response
Leader of the UNC Basdeo Panday, in a news release, expressed concern about the tactics used by police officers to disperse protesting residents. “It looks like the police are preparing to go to war with citizens,” a release said yesterday, in reference to the use of tear gas by police on Tuesday. “Whether you agree or not with the reason why a community chooses to protest, it is their right. “And with increasing frequency, people are being denied permission to protest and to express their feelings on the conduct of the Government and the state of society.”
