Maroc - NEWSDAY.CO.TT - A la Une - 28/Oct 19:42

Penny advises PM: Temper your language, don’t abandon Caricom

Opposition leader Pennelope Beckles said she was not surprised by the Venezuelan government’s announcement of its suspension of gas agreements with Trinidad and Tobago. She urged Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar to temper her language in relation to the matter as well as to maintain Caricom ties. On October 27, Venezuela VP Delcy Rodriguez said a proposal was submitted to President Nicolas Maduro for the gas arrangements with TT to be suspended. She condemned Persad-Bissessar for saying all drug traffickers should be killed violently, after a US missile strike killed Venezuelans in a pirogue on September 2 in international waters off the mainland. Last week, Rodriguez said TT's economy would collapse without Venezuelan gas as she warned of attempts by the US to take control of the country's natural resources. In an interview with CCN TV6’s Morning Edition on October 28, Beckles said, “I am not really surprised. The concern, of course, is what are the consequences for TT. “We know that, in terms of oil and gas, that is still our greatest revenue generator and contribution to our GDP.” She noted Persad-Bissessar’s visit to Washington in September where it was announced that Secretary of State Marco Rubio had given his support for the granting of an Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) licence to TT for the Dragon gas deal once it did not benefit the Maduro administration. Beckles also recalled Persad-Bissessar saying the Dragon deal was dead and then announcing its resurrection and saying she would be willing to go to Venezuela to negotiate. “I am calling on the honourable Prime Minister to address the nation as it relates to this matter. The main reason being that we are not really clear what is the position.” She said it was okay for the PM to say the country did not need Venezuelan gas, even though people knew that was “absolutely false.” The opposition leader echoed Caricom’s position about the region being a Zone of Peace. “Caricom made it very clear that the best approach is conflict resolution. We understand the consequences to TT and the region if a war breaks out. “As the opposition, we are very clear in our minds, we do not support human trafficking, we do not support narco trafficking, we do not support drug smuggling. “But at the same time, TT has always been a signatory to international law. We understand the importance of sovereignty and we are calling on the government to recognise the importance of Caricom, the importance of the region remaining a Zone of Peace, and to revisit the sometimes harsh and violent language,” Beckles-Robinson said. This situation requires diplomacy, she added. The post Penny advises PM: Temper your language, don’t abandon Caricom appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.