THE International Organisation of Caribbean People (IOCP) Inc launched a website to “draw attention to the unrestrained Carnival of crime that has been allowed to continue in macabre revelry throughout TnT since 2001, and continues to leave in its wake pain, anguish and terror for all”.

IOCP president M. Francisca Seebaran-Dayam, who left here since 1969 and currently lives in Texas, USA, said the website has four main objectives:

“To expose the tenacious refusal of the government to heed the cries of its citizens and its unrelenting and reckless inaction, to begin to take immediate steps to protect its citizenry from the clutches of terror rampantly stalking the nation.

“To expose and bring to the fore a realistic account of the criminal acts being perpetuated against the people of Trinidad and Tobago and the evident abandonment of the media in its fundamental practices.

“To inform the international community of the criminal negligence and disregard of the rule of law by the government of a people and nation already in the throes of terror, carnage and torment.

“And to immediately commence steps for action to alleviate and eliminate the threatened security and inhibition of progress of all peoples of the nation.”

The website, www.iocp.us, highlights mostly kidnappings.

Seebaran-Seyman said that the country has been plagued by almost weekly incidence of kidnapping -- a crisis, she said, spiralling out of control.

“In 2003, there were 235 reported kidnappings, in 2004 there were 173 and in 2005 there have been 125 reported victims, 10 per cent of whom have been murdered.

“Of the named victims, 74 per cent are of East Indian origin in a population where people of East Indian descent comprise the ethnic majority of 41 per cent.

“The solve ratio of these kidnappings is almost non-existent,” she said, pointing fingers at the police as well.

“The incapability, some say feigned, of our police authorities to bring to justice these dastardly perpetrators; the ghastly failure to identify patterns and strategies behind the abductions; no evidence of understanding of the reasons attributing to, the escalating crime wave passing through the country; and the persistent and voluntary inertness of the pusillanimous leaders of the ruling government, seem symptomatic of a government that tacitly supports state-sponsored terrorism,” she said.

Seebaran-Seyman grew up in Belmont (Cadiz Road) and later lived on Old St. Joseph Road, Laventille.

She has visited her native TnT once yearly over the past 36 years except for 2003 and 2004, and described her organisation as being non-political and non-sectarian in its principles and practices.

The IOCP website currently addresses the question of discrimination, saying:

“IOCP laments we cannot even get basic information to prove discrimination.

“The government refuses to comply or release any statistics on race, origin, colour, religion or sex, for fear of what it will reveal and they continue to block our attempts to do so ourselves.”

However, she noted, the crime statistics report posted under “articles” on the website was obtained from the Ministry of National Security, Office of the Commissioner of Police.

“The crime report was requested broken out by race through the Freedom of Information Act and the information was refused by two government ministries as well as the Office of the Ombudsman.

“The government claimed they do not keep records by ‘race, origin, colour, religion and sex’.”

Seebaran-Seyman said her organisation exists to “work for equality and justice in the Caribbean, to assist in times of crisis and to be a voice for the socially displaced”.