Caption: Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar with THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine
By Alicia Chamely
TOBAGO People’s Party (TPP) Political Leader Farley Augustine is threatening to “mash up” the US military radar in Tobago himself, should he discover it was used to facilitate the US military strike on Venezuela.
Appearing on Tobago Channel 5’s All Access, host Aisha Keens-Dumas on Wednesday questioned Augustine if Tobagonians should “be concerned” now that action had been taken against Venezuela.
Augustine replied, “I don’t think we need to be concerned at this time because what is clearly evident is that no strike took place on Venezuela from our land.”
He warned, however, “I have said consistently to Tobagonians that I will be the first out there to cry foul, to even breach the law myself and go down there and mash up the radar myself, if it is I believe that was the intent of the United States government to use Tobago soil or Tobago waters to make strike against Venezuela.”
Augustine explained his position of neutrality in the relations between the US and Venezuela saying, “I don’t think Tobago should be picking either side in this battle. Most people don’t understand how international relations work, in particular how international relations today works, vastly different from how it worked a decade or two decades ago.”
“We live in a world that really and truly doesn’t see small islands. We are easy to be bulldozed, and I don’t know that we, as a small island, should be getting into a fight between a giant and a wannabe giant, so that’s really not our business,” he added.
Augustine noted the installation of the radar without consultation or approval of the Tobago House of Assembly as a matter of national security, was something that needed to be addressed going forward, especially when it came to securing Tobago’s autonomy.
Noting the radar arrived in Tobago without any consultation due to the structure of the current laws, Augustine explained he was “adamant” that any Bills related to the autonomy of Tobago must include matters of national security and international relations and the right for Tobagonians to not only be informed, but to confer on these matters.
In late November of last year, the US military installed a long-range radar in Crown Point, Tobago.
At first Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar stated the radar was for the newly constructed ANR International Airport. However, she would later state she had requested the radar from the US military to enhance T&T’s maritime border protection.
Foreign military experts, however, stated the radar was designed specifically for tracking aircraft and missiles and did not have maritime tracking abilities.
When the radar was first installed, Augustus admitted the THA was not informed about the radar or its use.
Persad-Bissessar justified excluding the THA, stating Augustus was not a part of the National Security Council and therefore did not need to be included in matters of national security.
