Selective states of emergency

2026-02-08 - 02:18

After the Zones of Special Operations (ZOSO) Bill failed in the Senate, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar signalled that she will have no qualms about re-introducing another state of emergency, if needed. Apart from a general state of emergency for the whole country, there can also be states of emergency in selected parts of the country. This could mimic what was intended in the ZOSO Bill and permit the State to take action on a selective basis. This country has had states of emergency in selected areas before. Prominent examples, apart from others, can be found in 1965 and 1995. Prime Minister Dr Eric Williams advised Governor-General Sir Solomon Hochoy to declare states of emergency in the sugar belt in 1965 when there were strikes in the sugar industry. This facilitated debate on the Industrial Stabilisation (ISA) Bill 1965 in Parliament on March 18 and 19 before assent was granted on March 20. In the Gazette, Vol. 4, No. 21, dated March 9, 1965, a Proclamation was made by Hochoy under the Emergency Powers Ordinance, Ch. 11, No. 10. He recited that “action has been taken or is immediately threatened by any person or body of persons of such a nature and on so extensive a scale as to be likely to endanger the public safety or to deprive the community or any substantial portion of the community of any of the essentials of life...” A state of emergency was declared in the following parts of Trinidad: “(a) Chaguanas Ward, Montserrat Ward and Couva Ward in the County of Caroni; (b) Pointe-a-Pierre Ward, Naparima Ward and Savana Grande Ward in the County of Victoria; (c) Tacarigua Ward in the County of St. George.” In the Gazette at Vol. 4, No. 24A dated March 12 1965, the following additional area was added in which Hochoy said that he did “hereby declare that the said state of emergency exists in St Ann’s Ward in the County of George.” (sic) That part of Trinidad was not in the sugar belt. That permitted a detention order to place the renowned public intellectual CLR James under house arrest in Barataria. In the T&T Gazette, Vol. 4, No. 27 dated March 23, 1965, the states of emergency in all of the listed areas were terminated. In a Guardian front page story by George Harvey on March 24, 1965, he reported on the house arrest of CLR James: “Mr James, a former Editor of the ruling People’s National Movement organ, ‘The Nation’, calmly received the news yesterday that the emergency had ended and checked with the police to ensure that restraints on his person had been removed. He still expressed amazement at the treatment meted out to him.” Williams and James had parted political company some years before. James would have been viewed by Williams as a security risk, given his political outlook and his capacity to influence working class audiences with his Marxist views. James came to Trinidad to cover the Australia-West Indies Test match, which was scheduled to start on March 26, 1965, for two UK-based newspapers. Once Parliament had passed the ISA, James was freed from his house arrest. Williams took no chances with CLR James. Fast forward to 1995. In Legal Supplement Part B–Vol. 34, No. 163 of August 3, 1995, Acting President Emmanuel Carter declared “that a state of emergency exists in the City of Port-of-Spain in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.” This SoE was made specifically to detain the then House Speaker, Occah Seapaul, at the Speaker’s official residence. In the Schedule to The Detention Area Order 1995 (Legal Notice No. 115), the detention area was defined as follows: “All and singular the premises located in the city of Port-of-Spain and known and assessed as No. 9 Mary Street, St Clair.” The Detention of Persons Order 1995 (Legal Notice No. 116) stated: “1. The said the Honourable the Speaker Occah Seapaul shall be detained. 1. The Honourable the Speaker Occah Seapaul shall be detained at her place of private residence located at #9 Mary Street, St Clair.” This detention facilitated parliamentary consideration of the Constitution (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 1995 which created a procedure for removing a Speaker of the House of Representatives. Senate approval on July 20 and passage in the House of Representatives on August 4, minus the Speaker presiding, facilitated the simple majority Bill. On August 7, 1995, Minister of National Security John Eckstein advised the House that the SoE in Port-of-Spain had been revoked. These precedents establish that specific persons can be detained for their behaviour or presumed behaviour (CLR James-1965 and Occah Seapaul-1995) under emergency powers. Without ZOZOs, is this the alternative? Professor Hamid Ghany is Professor of Constitutional Affairs and Parliamentary Studies at the University of the West Indies (UWI). He was also appointed an Honorary Professor of The UWI upon his retirement in October 2021. He continues his research and publications and also does some teaching at The UWI.