The government has backed itself into a corner with the recent statements made by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar concerning Venezuela.
That's the view of the Movement for Social Justice, which says, skillful diplomacy is needed.
It is suggesting the appointment of a special envoy who can navigate the now tense space, to get to the bottom of what really transpired amid allegations that a Trinidadian was among a group that tried to enter Venezuela with plans to destabilise the country.
00:00Movement for social justice leader David Abdullah is making the party's position clear on the present discourse between Trinidad and Tobago and Vanizuela.
00:08We want to say that the approach by the Trinidad and Tobago government was not a well-advised one and that, as several people have stated, what ought to have happened was quiet, vacuum diplomacy after the first statement by President Maduro.
00:31That statement was announced publicly that a group of men, including a Trinidadian, made an attempt to enter Venezuela carrying weapons of war.
00:40The Ministry of Defense responded, saying it was aware of reports that Colombian paramilitary groups were using TNT as an entry route to Venezuela.
00:50According to Abdullah, a fact-finding mission should have ensued by the government.
00:54But instead, Prime Minister Kamala-Poussad-Bissessa's response was a warning to Venezuela that TNT is off-limits for the threatening deadly force against unidentified vessels in TNT's waters and saying that she will not allow Venezuela to hamper the country's relationship with the United States.
01:12The statement by the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, unfortunately, has, in a sense, backed the government of Trinidad and Tobago into a corner.
01:20Abdullah says one of the problems in what has unfolded is that TNT does not have an ambassador in Caracas.
01:27We are proposing that the government appoints a special envoy, if you wish, a special emissary, who would have the ability and skill and relationship-building capacity to engage the government of Venezuela at a high level,
01:53therefore clearly ascertaining the truth of that situation as to whether or not Trinidad and Tobago nationals or a national was involved.
02:04The MSJ says at this stage it should not be someone in a ministerial post.
02:10Abdullah also calls for an ambassador to be appointed to Caracas as a matter of urgency,
02:15if only for the fact that Venezuela is the closest neighboring country to Trinidad and Tobago.
02:21The issue is that there is a government in Venezuela, there is a government of Trinidad and Tobago,
02:26so whether they like each other or not is not the issue.
02:29There must be reestablished on the basis of international relations norms,
02:36mutual respect for the sovereignty of each nation, and non-interference in the internal affairs of each nation.
02:45According to Abdullah, the government's position that it has no evidence concerning the attempted incursion is a weak ground to stand on,
02:54especially since a lot of movement in and out of this country goes undetected by TNT's national security apparatus.
03:02He further says it ought not to be slighted, as Colombia is a place with many U.S. military bases,
03:08and there have been past destabilization attempts on Venezuela through Miami.
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