Stop paying taxes, businessmen [of Trinidad and Tobago] urged

Trinidad Express Newspapers Ltd ^ | 30 July 2002 | Imran Ali

[kerosene]

Businessmen were urged yesterday to stop paying taxes and apply for guns in response to the unrelenting spate of kidnappings.

At a press conference yesterday, Chaguanas MP Manohar Ramsaran voiced his dissatisfaction with government’s response to the kidnappings of several businessmen.

“Until such time that we are given police protection and given the confidence by (National Security Minister Howard Chin Lee) that things are okay, I am calling on all businessmen, whether it is for one month, two months, two weeks, to stop paying taxes until you receive the satisfaction that something is being done,” Ramsaran said.

The conference was called in the wake of the attempted kidnapping of Wilbur Balgobin, who shot at a gunman and his accomplice who came to his Lange Park, Chaguanas home on Saturday night.

Chaguanas mayor Orlando Nagessar said when he first raised the issue of increasing crime in Chaguanas two months ago, he was accused of “playing politics”.

“I wonder if the people who tried to kidnap Willie Balgobin were playing politics,” Nagessar said.

“And the question is who is next. Kidnapping has become a new profession in Trinidad. You want employment, you be a kidnapper and you get rich overnight,” he said.

Saying that businessmen are scared out of their wits, Richard Sirjoo, President of the Chaguanas Chamber of Commerce, called for more action from the State.

“In the absence of appropriate protection from the State authorities, we must protect ourselves,” said Sirjoo, urging the businessmen to apply for guns.

The speakers also made another call for the resignation of Minister Chin Lee.

When asked for his views on the situation, Downtown Owners and Merchants Association president Gregory Aboud told TV6 that the recent spate of kidnappings is affecting the confidence of foreign investors.

“The fact is that kidnapping destroys the confidence of the investing community. We’ve had expressions of concern from businessmen in other Caribbean countries,” Aboud said.

He pointed fingers at deportees who come into this country after a life of crime abroad, saying they introduce a higher level of sophistication to organised crime.

He said if a deportee moves into any neighbourhood, authorities should alert all residents, and the deportee should be required to report to a police station on a fixed schedule.

[kerosene]

How about doing away with the "apply for guns" part and just allow citizens to arm and defend themselves with firearms, without government interference? And, no, a machete isn't good enough.

[coloradan]

Looks like a re-emergence of the concept of self-defense rights.

[omi]

If anyone can buy a gun, then the deportees might arm themselves also. At that point a 9 mm might not do the businessmen much good.

I agree that they need to arm themselves if the government doesn't step up security or they could hire private security guards. I am sure they have the money especially if they stop paying taxes.