Criminals could have fled | MP worried about Christmas under state of emergency

While stating that any criminal could have fled his constituency while the state of emergency was being imposed there, Mark Golding said he is worried that the security measure may dampen Christmas celebrations for law-abiding residents.

The state of emergency, which took effect on September 23, will run until January 7.

It covers several sections of the Corporate Area, including St Andrew South, where Golding is member of parliament.

“When I see that it (state of emergency) is going to last through Christmas and beyond into the new year, I wonder for my constituents whether their normal everyday modes of existence are going to be severely inconvenienced – whether their ability to enjoy the Christmas season is going to be compromised by not being able to hold entertainment events and so on. I worry about that,” Golding told the House of Representatives this week.

He, at the time, was contributing to the debate of a successful motion to have the state of emergency extended until January 7.

READ: Golding decries poor state of his constituency, says state of emergency won’t fix it

Golding argued that, while the increased presence of soldiers and cops is welcomed, that did not require the declaration of a state of emergency, which inherently curtails people’s rights.

He also said there were flaws in the implementation of the state of emergency. “There was nothing to stop persons leaving the constituency if they felt that they were likely to be apprehended, because the way in which it (state of emergency) was imposed didn’t really provide a kind of dragnet to secure persons from leaving who wanted to leave. So I don’t hold out a great deal of optimism that this particular measure is going to lead to any long-term benefits for my constituents,” added Golding.

The featured image is a file photo of Mark Golding, MP

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