PDM Speak Out Against Violence  

Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

#TurksandCaicos, September 7, 2022 – The People’s Democratic Movement is describing the ongoing violence carried out by and against young men in the Turks and Caicos as a National Crisis and is calling for another gun amnesty and gun buyback scheme.

Party Chairman, Ezra Taylor in a statement on Sunday, after the second double murder of the weekend, extended his condolences to the affected families and maintained the violence was becoming much too frequent.

“Unfortunately, this most recent act of gun violence among our young men is becoming commonplace in our society, whilst peace and safety among our residents become a fleeting illusion,” he said

Taylor queried the Government’s strategy to keep citizens safe, and keep youth from inflicting what he described as ‘irreparable damage to the future of this country and themselves’

He described rampant the use of firearms in the nation as ‘beyond alarming’.

“We must find a way to remove these illegal firearms from our streets, and out of the hands of those who have no consideration for the value of life.  Whilst petty rivalries among some of our youth, who should be factors of production in our society, must not be the reason for us losing our reputation on the global stage as a safe destination, and peaceful country for residents.” He maintained.

Taylor criticized the government for not keeping its campaign promise to ‘eviscerate crime throughout The Turks and Caicos Islands.’

“Those campaign promises now fall void and families grieve, and there seem to be no real solutions from this administration.” he claimed.

The opposition member says, he thinks the police need another amnesty to get illegal guns off the street.

“Undoubtedly, we need to consider a no-questions-asked gun buy-back scheme alongside a publicized amnesty (28-30 days) for the surrender of illicit firearms, the genuine concern for public safety compels us to act, we must improve our border surveillance to disrupt the illicit trade of firearms and consider the introduction of a Firearms Task Force within our primary border protection department.” he said.

Residents with illegal guns in the Turks and Caicos have shown no inclination to give them up, their reluctance marked by the failure of the most recent amnesty to recover any significant amounts.

Taylor also called on the people of the Turks and Caicos to do their part in helping the police put these murderers behind bars.

“I must also emphatically state that we as a collective must find it in our conscience, if we witness or are privy to information regarding any criminal activity, primarily gun violence, that we share that information with the authorities to assist with alleviating and solving these heinous acts, do not wait until it personally affects you, or your loved ones.  I will also plead with those who may possess illegal firearms, that you surrender them and choose to have peace within your communities.”