By Sue-Ann Wayow
THE main reason why Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley’s behaviour was likened to that of animals, namely monkeys, was because of how he conducted himself at a recent press conference.
“It was about his behaviour, it was not about calling him about a monkey,” said Political Leader of the Progressive Empowerment Party (PEP) Phillip Alexander.
He also said that Dr Rowley himself had called people the worst of names and had hate words for others and the PNM was quite disrespectful, hypocritical and conveniently pious and “cannot be calling out anybody to do anything with race.”
The day any law against racism was passed, there will be the halting of almost everything in the country, including calypso, the political leader said.
Alexander said when even a “PNM troll” edited a version of what he said, people watched that version ad said, “he ent lie, he is not being racist.”
He said, “My comments were literally based on his actual behaviour, his physical movement, how his face gets, how he put his hands by his face, he gets so animated, that’s why I asked when I was speaking, I asked people, you don’t look at it, you don’t see?”
Alexander told AZP News, “Only the die-hard PNM supporters want to come and attack Phillip Alexander, no problem you could do that, but the majority of the people saying it’s not racist and that is people of every race and every colour.”
The editor of the video being shared on social media can expect a pre-action protocol letter from him for calling his comments racist, he said.
Alexander added, “It is not racist. That was an analogy of his behaviour to Prior Beharry of AZP News.”
Calling for unity, he said, “We need to unite as one people under one flag. That would not happen as long as we continue to be an uneven playing field and as long as the PNM continue to play fireman and arsonists.”
PNM’s attack on Indians
Highlighting moments when the race factor was included in comments, songs, political platforms and accessibility to land and housing, Alexander said it was unfair to persons of East Indian origin.
He said, “When Indians (or any other demographic) say something remotely negative about the PNM, they immediately get blasted for racism even if the comment wasn’t racist. Then the entire cult calls for their head on a silver platter.
“But when PNM and their supporters drop direct race bombs on Indians, they justify it by saying ‘it’s not racist if it’s the truth’. Yet those same anti-Indian bigots forever masquerading as the victims of racism.”
In the video Alexander said, “Rowley in full monkey flight. Because it have times, I expect Rowley at some point to fling faeces at the media like the chimpanzees at the zoo… Prior Beharry asked him a question at the end of his last press conference, and he went full monkey on Prior, and the media gets that as a message to be careful what question you ask him because he will monkey you.”
The comments by Alexander in the video were recorded during a political meeting of the PEP at Ramsaran Street, Chaguanas, on Saturday.
