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  • 6 months ago
PDP leader Watson Duke has written to Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar calling for an all-inclusive approach on the Tobago Autonomy issue.

This follows the passage of a motion brought to the Tobago House of Assembly last week by Chief Secretary Farley Augustine.

More in this Elizabeth Williams report.
Transcript
00:00It's taking a bunch of failed autonomy bills, bring it together and say, let's create one
00:06big caladoo and then give it to the prime minister and say, that is what Tobago wants.
00:12This is a lesson in plagiarism.
00:15It's a lesson in murder.
00:18And we have to move away from that.
00:20Therefore, after consulting with the executive of the Progressive Democratic Patriots and
00:29having consulted with several other politicians on the island of Tobago and other civic-minded
00:36persons, as the assemblyman representing all of Tobago, so I speak, I have penned a letter
00:46to the Honorable Prime Minister, Mrs. Kamala Prasad-Bissassett.
00:53Mr. Duke, during a media briefing on Monday, said,
00:56what is also disturbing to him is the fact that all assemblymen were not afforded the
01:02document sent to the prime minister by the TPP.
01:06Mr. Duke is calling for a Tobago referendum commission on Tobago's autonomy to be set up.
01:12If you're going to give the prime minister a policy paper on autonomy for Tobago unions,
01:18then you must involve Tobago unions.
01:22All assemblymen, of which they are 15, must be allowed to view the document and have a response
01:31to the document.
01:33No policy paper was given at all in the assembly.
01:37Meantime, Duke labels himself a hero, as PNM Senator Melanie Roberts-Ratchman and Chief Secretary
01:46Farley-Augustin were former members of the PDP.
01:49He congratulates his students.
01:52I think that Watson Solomon Duke, by and large, is a hero.
02:00Who else would be a hero if I'm not?
02:08My students have awed, mature, and congratulations to them.
02:13They are now holding their own.
02:16They are now pursuing politics under different lights.
02:19And I congratulate Melanie Roberts-Ratchman on being a PNM senator.
02:28I saw how I shook her hand.
02:30I said, I hope you tell them the story.
02:32She said, yes.
02:33She told them the story.
02:34Melanie was my first candidate in the 2017 TH elections.
02:43She has moved on and has definitely found her place with the PNM.
02:48Also, Farley-Augustin, he was about my seventh candidate in the 2017 elections.
02:57He has attempted to move on and has claimed he is some TPP.
03:04And I wish him well.
03:06But he's still operating under the blessings and the victory of the PDP.
03:13Elizabeth Williams, TV6 News.
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