The Trinidad and Tobago government says “arrogance and xenophobia have no place in the modern politics of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),” and they will not be “distracted” by recent comments made by Guyana’s Vice President, Bharrat Jagdeo about the twin-island republic.
Jagdeo has maintained that his comments about the state of the Trinidad and Tobago economy are factual, telling reporters over the last weekend that he stands by the comments he had made earlier that Trinidad and Tobago’s economy is “falling apart”.
“The fact is Trinidad’s economy is reliant on one sector: oil and gas,” Jagdeo said, noting “this has nothing to do with just (Prime Minister Keith) Rowley. This is the fact of the economy of Trinidad and Tobago going for a long period only relying on one sector.
Jagdeo said Trinidad and Tobago’s economy has been faced with numerous challenges over the past few years due to limited economic diversification and dependence on a highly volatile sector. The COVID-19 pandemic, he acknowledged, contributed to worsening economic conditions.
He said because of those challenges, the government in the sister CARICOM country is diligently attempting to avoid those pitfalls in the development of Guyana’s nascent oil and gas industry.
Asked to comment on the situation, Prime Minister Rowley told reporters that he will not be “distracted” by comments saying “there are a lot of people in Guyana, and I am really not distracted by Vice President Jagdeo’s comments about us.
“A lot of people comment about us some favorably and some not, but we will not be distracted by that,” Rowley said.
On Sunday, the Guyana-based online publication, Demerara Waves On-Line, quoted President Dr. Irfaan Ali as saying that the government’s utterances about the Trinidad and Tobago economy amounted to a subtle endorsement of the main opposition United National Congress (UNC) in the country.
“I’m dealing with straight language, straight language. I’m not interpreting language; straight language. There was no pitch for any opposition or government,” he said, adding that Jagdeo said “nothing about the opposition or government.”
But in an opinion piece published in the Trinidad Guardian newspaper on Monday, Trinidad and Tobago’s Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Minister, Dr. Amery Browne wrote that members of the “CARICOM family” normally avoid launching “imbalanced and disrespectful descriptive about neighboring member states.
“The region recently witnessed some politicians in Guyana offering public analysis of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, with one of them describing his own discourse in this manner — “it sounds arrogant, but it’s not hostile or xenophobic”.
Browne said the truth is that some of the comments have been all three “arrogant, hostile and xenophobic” and come “hot on the heels of opposition politicians in Trinidad and Tobago seeking to obstruct the expansion of the CSME’s free movement regime and to block Trinidad and Tobago’s most recent steps toward full compliance with our obligations under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas”,
“They now seem to be trying to draw strength for their efforts from a narrative from overseas that paints a one-sided and denigrating image of Trinidad and Tobago. So, what exactly is this repeated public commentary about Trinidad and Tobago by a few Guyanese public figures designed to achieve?
“Who is their target audience, and what are their objectives? The truth is that T&T citizens are amongst the warmest and most generous in the world. Nothing anyone says can change that. We are in fact largely a nation of immigrants.”
Browne said there are many Guyanese, Jamaicans, Grenadians, Barbadians and Vincentians and others from the region who migrated to Trinidad and Tobago over the generations and have done extremely well for themselves and are now an integral part of our diverse, melting-pot society.
“There are hundreds of thousands of Caribbean nationals who have had the same positive experience here and have been welcomed with open arms and hospitality; they have thrived in Trinidad and Tobago, they have helped develop many of our industries, and they love our land with all their heart.
“There have been examples of mistreatment and a better-than-thou attitude as exists in every society, but it is a complete disservice to our country to make those exceptions the rule and to disrespectfully paint an entire nation with one broad brush.”
Browne said many Guyanese “have done very well here and remitted money back to Guyana over the generations and many continue to do so,” adding “that is something that we can be very proud of, as we are all part of one CARICOM family.
Browne recalled that when Guyana was on the brink of bloodshed and widespread civil unrest after an elections fiasco in March 2020 that eventually brought Jagdeo and the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) to office, “it was our Prime Minister…who went there with the Prime Minister of Barbados and a CARICOM delegation to help ensure that democracy and peace would prevail”
He said also that Trinidad and Tobago had reacted “swiftly” when Guyanese fishermen were detained by Venezuelan authorities, by summoning the Ambassador of Venezuela to the Ministry of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs.
“I told him that Trinidad and Tobago stands with Guyana and that we view the plight of those fishermen just the same as if they were from Trinidad and Tobago. When Prime Minister Rowley was Chair of CARICOM in 2021, we gave resolute support to the Guyanese position in the claims being made by Venezuela for much of their territory.”
Browne said speaking publicly about Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago,” in the manner that has been done recently, without referencing such tangible realities does great disservice to the truth and is an offense against the warmth that our people and nations have shared and must continue to share.
Browne insisted that Trinidad and Tobago is a proud and sovereign republic and is “not “falling apart”, notwithstanding any rhetoric from any politician or aspirant at home or overseas.
“Just like every other small island state in our region, we are emerging from the most devastating pandemic of our lifetimes, and we are working to revitalize our economy. Our private sector, including our manufacturing sector and services industry, continues to be outstanding in performance within the country and region.
“There are many economies within our region that are as dependent on tourism as ours has been on petrochemicals, but that has never been the basis for us to politically disparage each other as we each and all seek to expand our economic base.
Meantime, during his news conference last weekend, Jagdeo told reporters that Guyana, which is now an oil and gas producing country, remains open to partnering with Trinidad and Tobago, and any other CARICOM country, but those partnerships must not sideline Guyanese or Guyanese-owned business.
He said while Guyana remains committed to partnerships within CARICOM “It must be an equitable sort of relationship.
“People have to understand that we are on equal footing, not in a subservient way or subsidiary way. Our businesses would have to benefit too.”
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