FORMER foreign affairs minister Dr Amery Browne has dismissed Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s declarations of “love” towards interim President of Venezuela Delcy Rodríguez.The Prime Minister made the declaration to the media this week on the steps of the Hall of Justice during the ceremonial opening of the law term. She also said she hoped to meet with Rodríguez later this month on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Venezuela’s interim President: Delcy Rodríguez
Browne, speaking at a news conference yesterday at the Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Port of Spain, said the Government was now trying to reset a relationship which it had damaged.He added the Opposition was yet to identify where an apology had been issued to the government of Venezuela, following remarks about Rodríguez by Persad-Bissessar previously.He said Persad-Bissessar’s statements that she “loved” Rodríguez did not constitute diplomacy, citing damage to relations between the countries by the United National Congress (UNC) Government.Browne said the Prime Minister had previously supported sanctions against Rodríguez, and recent statements supporting the Venezuelan leader appeared to be based on convenience.He also referenced the Prime Minister’s comment that her mother-in-law was Venezuelan, and said having Venezuelan “friends, relatives, cousins or grandnieces” is irrelevant to official relations between one state and the neighbouring state.“One is anticipated to demonstrate principle. One is anticipated to demonstrate dignity. And one is anticipated and called upon to demonstrate consistency,” Browne stated.He went on to accuse the PM of failing on “consistency, dignity, and principle”.Browne continued: “When the Prime Minister says to tell Delcy Rodríguez that I love her, we need to examine not just the words of today or yesterday, but also the actions and statements of the Prime Minister and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, going back years since her appointment and even during her time as leader of the Opposition.”He said previous statements by Persad-Bissessar have “led to a view and those actions have led to a view, that this Prime Minister is being viewed as a pawn, as a vassal, as someone who is inconsistent and shifty”.Browne said what was being seen as the official public communication between Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela “is not love, no matter what the Prime Minister would like to cast it as at this point”.“When you spend years verbally abusing a neighbouring state, its people, its government, its positions, you cannot now cast that as love,” Browne stated.Browne claimed Persad-Bissessar had lied to the country about T&T’s role in the removal of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. He said prior to the UNC Government, “there was no requirement for a reset” between T&T and Venezuela.“Relations were at an optimal level, and it is this Prime Minister, deliberately, against all warnings and good advice, who damaged those relationships,” he said.Browne also pointed out that the Prime Minister’s persona non grata status in Venezuela had yet to be lifted.
