Who is popular today?

NATIONAL Transformation Alliance (NTA) political leader Gary Griffith said there is nothing unusual about members of the Volunteer Defence Force (VDF) being called out to support the police for the pre-Christmas and Carnival seasons.
Griffith, a former national security minister and TT Defence Force (TTDF) captain, made this observation in reference to a proclamation issued by President Christine Kangaloo on Tuesday to call out 100 members of the VDF.
"I wish to assure the public that the proclamation from President Kangaloo notifying that 100 members of the VDF, now known as the Defence Force Reserves, will be called out to support the TTPS for the pre-Christmas and Carnival seasons, is nothing new, and there is nothing ominous afoot."
Griffith, who is also a former police commissioner, said this practice has been done for decades.
Similar call outs happened under the former Patrick Manning, Basdeo Panday and Kamla Persad-Bissessar administrations.
Griffith said any alarm which the call out may have caused was the result of two things.
"One, the constant fear and panicked state that citizens are in because of the trauma of crime on the soul of the nation, and two, the lack of proper communication from the Government, to swiftly quell public speculation, and to share the fact that this has been done for years, simply to provide support for the TTPS, during their busiest times of the year."
Griffith called on National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds to clarify to the public what is the role that the TTDF plays in supporting the police's efforts to combat crime.
The post Griffith: No need to panic over Defence Force reserves call-out appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.