Minister of State in the Ministry of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds is hoping that the police pay close attention to the threat by Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal to break into the Dr Roodal Moonilal Ramai Trace SDMS Primary School.
Responding to last Friday’s protest by Moonilal, parents and pupils of the school, Hinds said that that country was already too lawless and statements made by Moonilal made the situation worse.
For five days in last week, there were protests over the stalled construction work at the school, which is being rebuilt since 2015.
With approximately 90 per cent of the school completed, Moonilal said last week that if the school remains closed, a decision may have to be taken at the community level to open the school themselves and occupy that building that belongs to the people of Ramai Trace.
Hinds said that he was amazed to hear a Member of Parliament publicly threaten to commit a criminal offence at the school.
“Dr Moonilal, who along with his colleagues on the Opposition bench, refused to support the Anti-Gang Bill recently and to strengthen the police’s effort to fight the criminal gangs and protect us, citizens, is now encouraging other protesters to join him, go to the yet un-opened Ramai Hindu school and threaten to break the gates in forcible and unauthorised entry. Apart from the sheer stupidity of this, I cannot understand why would a person, sworn to uphold the law and the Constitution, want to behave in this way?
“It is my hope that the police leadership take this threat seriously and take the necessary steps in order to prevent this publicly-issued diabolical and criminal threat. I hope that if prevention fails and Dr Moonilal’s threat becomes real, the police are able to properly investigate and quickly determine who were the criminals and place them swiftly before the courts. This country has been already far too lawless for the likes of Dr Moonilal to worsen, rather than contribute to a solution to our problems. If he or his blind supporters carry out this threat or attempts so to do, I say lock them up,” Hinds said.
Currently, the pupils are being accommodated at the Hanuman Milan Mandir at Penal Rock Road, Penal.
Education Minister Anthony Garcia has assured that the school will be completed by year’s end.