PM to Rowley: No place for political prejudice in terrorism fight
THE suggestion by Opposition Leader, Dr Keith Rowley that Trinidad & Tobago should have attempted to dodge or hide from a United Nations Resolution against terrorism amounts to a callous attempt to politicise a grave issue that has destroyed millions of lives around the world Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has said.
In a statement to the media on Monday, the Prime Minister dismissed the Opposition Leader’s suggestion, saying that he “continues to fail to understand that leadership is not about creating mischief and using his personal political prejudice to divide people, but actually requires taking a stand for freedom, social justice and the security and wellbeing of people.”
According to the Prime Minister: “Despite the reality and open threat to all countries, Dr Rowley still fails to understand that the fight against terrorism is not a responsibility that can be ignored, or avoided, or politicised in petty arguments. In fact, the position being peddled by Dr Rowley has the potential to favour terrorism, not fight it.”
“His statement that ‘we cannot afford to declare war on terrorists at a time when you can stay away’ is an open admission of a lack of boldness required by leaders of free and democratic societies. It is an open declaration that he is prepared to turn a blind eye to wrong-doing and to the dangers people face because he hasn’t the ability to envision the work and the determined action required to truly protect both the people of our country and people generally.”
Declaring the war against terrorism as “a collective duty and responsibility” the Prime Minister stated: “When people, families and communities face threats to peace and life, the only decision any good and compassionate leader must make is to fight against anyone who lays threats to the innocent, whether or not it is in our region.”
“Terrorism has no demographic, nor is it restrained to any country or region, it is something that grows when it is ignored. To do as Dr Rowley has suggested, and be too weak to take a stand is to cede power to those who threaten lives, peace and freedom.”
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar added: “Dr Rowley’s thinking and attempt to pronounce on foreign policy without even an understanding of how our nation fits into a new global dynamic demonstrates that at no point has he taken a true and realistic view of how Trinidad & Tobago has grown in partnerships, strength, influence and impact in the global community of free countries.”
“Without that fortitude to take an honest look at our Trinidad & Tobago, he has confessed that he perceives our people and nation as small and inconsequential. He has in effect insulted the progress and standing of our people and such backward thinking has the potential to hurt us almost as much as being too afraid to face up to issues which threaten stability.”
“It is interesting to note that the Leader of the Opposition of Jamaica has voiced no such criticism of the Jamaican government for co-sponsoring this Resolution,” the Prime Minister added.
This UN Resolution seeks to build a global partnership in the international community so that all countries can rise to meet the mounting challenge of terrorism, which is a crime against humanity and democracy.
Trinidad and Tobago declared support for US President Barack Obama on this initiative and joined 103 nations from around the world in co-sponsoring the Resolution to build a global alliance to confront the scourge of terrorism.
Trinidad and Tobago and the region will benefit from the sharing of critical data and intelligence with our allies and the strengthened network of security and law enforcement agencies that can now work together.
The UN Resolution has been described as a proactive and progressive step in the right direction that will bring training opportunities, invaluable transfer of expertise, enhance the capacity of our security agencies, make us all more aware and alert and improve our chances against terrorists.