By Prior Beharry
OPPOSITION Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar says the “unhinged ranting” of Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley suggests that he is endorsing the killing of innocent babies.
She made the comment in a release on Wednesday evening as Trinidad and Tobago continues to come under fire from human rights organisations over the killing of nine-month Venezuelan baby boy Yaelvis Santoyo Sarabia on the high seas off Mayaro, Trinidad on Saturday.
The Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard fired on the boat carrying the baby and his mother who was also wounded and taken to hospital. The baby was killed in the migrant boat.
On Tuesday, Dr Rowley posted on Facebook, “The Opposition Leader has limboed to a new expected disgusting low,” and that the baby’s death regrettably was an accident.
Calling Persad-Bissessar and her supporters “minions,” he said the vessel carrying the migrants could have also been transporting illegal weapons and that the TTCG attempted to stop a craft that refused to comply and acted aggressively but lawfully, reasonably and professionally under international protocols and law.
In response, Persad-Bissessar referred to his post as a pathetic, appalling and dangerous meltdown on the tragic killing by the TTCG of the baby.
She said the killing has resulted in international outrage and cited a number of international newspaper reports of the baby’s death.
Persad-Bissessar said, “The Venezuelan Government, headed by Rowley’s infamous dancing partner and close friend, Nicolas Maduro, has called for the Trinidad and Tobago Government to launch an ‘exhaustive investigation’ into this atrocious incident.”
This was in reference to a 2016 gas-agreement signing in Caracas when Dr Rowley and Venezuela President Maduro were dancing at the Presidential Palace.
In her release, Persad-Bissessar made reference to a joint statement by UNHCR, the human right office OHCHR, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNICEF, stating that no child should die while travelling with a parent or alone.
She said Dr Rowley twisted her words from the UNC meeting on Monday when she called for an explanation on the incident.
Persad-Bissessar said, “In response, Prime Minister Rowley has chosen to defend the appalling incident in the absence of any thorough investigation, as well as lie, twist my words and make this dastardly tragedy yet another episode of his ‘Blame Kamla’ mad man’s rant.
“While this is in keeping with his destructive, dictatorial track record of interfering with the independent national security organisations of our country, it remains dangerous and intolerable.
“It is passing strange that he did not respond in kind to President Maduro, whose Government made similar observations, nor did he see it fit to issue a comprehensive, sane response to the United Nation’s concerns, as any real, patriotic leader would do in the best interest of preserving good foreign relations with our international allies. Indeed, his unhinged ranting seem to suggest that he is endorsing the killing of innocent babies, at the expense of our country’s democracy and international reputation.”
She said similar incidents have occurred in the past and cited 2019 when a migrant vessel carrying 30 people capsized in the Gulf of Paria with only nine surviving.
Persad-Bissessar said Dr Rowley never acknowledged this incident and made no attempt to prevent it from happening again.
She said, “Rowley’s government also shamelessly deported 16 children including a four-month-old infant, by placing them on pirogues at Cedros and telling them to make their way to Venezuela.”
Persad-Bissessar said since 2018 she has been urging the Rowley Government to treat with the critical issue of Venezuelan migrants entering T&T borders illegally.
She said, “This tragic killing of the baby is therefore the culmination of Rowley’s blatant refusal to address the massive humanitarian crisis unfolding in Venezuela and institute proper policies with regards to migrants and border security.”
The opposition leader called for a comprehensive investigation of the incident at sea and for the findings to be laid in Parliament “so that the national and international publics can determine what really took place, which is in keeping with normal protocol in incidents like these.”
