IN her Independence Day message, Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar expressed gratitude to the forebears while raising concerns over the erosion of national sovereignty due to globalisation.
“Today on our 62nd anniversary of Independence, we say a prayer of gratitude to all our fore-parents for their devoted labours,” she said, acknowledging their role in building the nation’s economic, social, and political foundations.
Persad-Bissessar warned about the threats posed by globalisation, saying, “International colonial masters have been replaced by international corporate masters.” She emphasised that global corporations in sectors like finance, food, medical, energy, and IT have increasingly influenced national governance.
Regarding the Covid-19 pandemic, she noted, “Driven by global hysteria and not proper medical science we ceded control and decision making over the sovereignty of our own bodies.”
Persad-Bissessar added, “We saw the WHO, coerce independent nations to lockdown citizens and mandate the acceptance of a vaccine that was later proven to be ineffective.”
Persad-Bissessar also addressed the role of the internet in shaping national values and decisions, saying, “The internet has become the greatest tool for interference in the internal affairs of independent nations.”
Despite 62 years of independence, she argued that the nation remains tethered to former colonial influences due to challenges in finance, health, security, and technology. “Our duty to future generations mandates us to fix our internal issues with local innovation and ingenuity,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar called for unity and self-determination: “Let us embody the spirit of personal responsibility, invention, and unity of purpose to set our country on a path of self-sufficiency and self-determination.”
She encouraged citizens to “draw strength from the memory of our fore parents” and expressed faith in overcoming challenges through collective effort.
“Happy Independence Day, Trinidad and Tobago. May God always bless our great nation,” she said.
