Rowley: UNC disrupting years of diplomacy by backing US

Former Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley believes the UNC has lit a match in the Caribbean by openly supporting the US naval deployment in the southern Caribbean Sea outside of Venezuela’s territorial waters.

Rowley said this could have far-reaching implications for Trinidad and Tobago and Caricom.

He reposted a Facebook comment from Michael Edmund Dhanny on August 25 which called Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s statement on the US-Venezuela tensions, “the most reckless foreign policy statement we’ve seen in years.”

In that statement, Persad-Bissessar supported the US deployment to combat terrorist drug cartels, said TT will not engage Caricom on the matter, and promised to allow the US access to TT territory if Venezuela invades Guyana and the US wants to use TT territory for military operations to counter such an incursion. However, she said TT maintains good relations with Venezuela.

Rowley said, “Compare that with what Caricom did last time the ‘big guns’ (USA, Canada and Europe) gave (Venezuela President Nicolas) Maduro eight days to leave and threatened invasion if he did not comply. Caricom showed leadership, he continued, ‘by sticking together and talking with one voice.’ He said, ‘We showed leadership by talking to the UN (United Nations) in New York.'”

Rowley recalled he accompanied Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley and then St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Timothy Harris to meet with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to request dialogue instead of war.”

“Caricom was in the forefront of a Caricom/Uruguay summit which resulted in the Montevideo Accord, strongly supported by Mexico, Norway, South Africa and the African Union.”

Rowley said, “Finally we gathered in St Vincent where Guyana and Venezuela did the unexpected and unthinkable, both Presidents Maduro and Irfaan Ali were brought face to face by Caricom under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Ralph Gonzalves and Caricom leaders, to sign the Arnos Vale Accord.”

He added, “This period of heightened tension was tempered with aggressive, frenetic Caricom leadership which until last week, saw a period of calm and peace.”

Rowley said this peace continued “until Washington unilaterally hatched this latest tension under the guise of fighting drugs and crime etc with nuclear submarine, marines and guided missile vessels in ‘international waters.'”

He warned, “With this legacy in the face of the intractable issues surrounding us, TT has now set our decades-old successful foreign policy alight as a beacon to advocates of the Monroe doctrine.”

The Monroe Doctrine is a US foreign policy position that opposes European colonialism in the Western Hemisphere. The doctrine states any intervention in the political affairs of the Americas by foreign powers is a potentially hostile act against the US.

First articulated in 1823 by US president James Monroe, the doctrine was central to America’s political and foreign policy strategy in the 20th century.

Rowley said, “Dr Eric Williams, Errol Barrow (former Barbados PM), (John) Compton (former St Lucia PM), (Robert) Bradshaw (former Premier St Kitts and Nevis) and ET (Ebenezer) Joshua (ex-St Vincent politician) must be awakening from their slumber to try and save what they have built.” (Trinidad and Tobago Newsday)