00:00The official Emancipation Day celebrations at the Queen's Park Savannah took an unexpected turn on Saturday as government members of
00:09parliament exited the event shortly after proceedings got underway.
00:14The live broadcast of the afternoon celebrations on TTT also ended abruptly.
00:20The developments followed reports that some government representatives were subjected to heckling from sections of the audience.
00:28Meanwhile, Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Basasa, who was absent from the celebrations, told CCN TV6 she had never committed to
00:38attending the event.
00:40The Prime Minister says, quote,
00:42I never committed to attending that event. I attended two African emancipation events on Thursday. I am spending the day
00:50with my family.
00:51I am sorry that those persons who were eagerly waiting to insult and curse me were disappointed.
00:58They should not worry. There will always be another event where they may have the opportunity to hurl curses and
01:05insults at me.
01:06I attended two wonderful emancipation events on Thursday in Porto, Spain and San Fernando.
01:13Those were beautiful events organized by the Office of the Prime Minister and another by Minister Benjamin, end quote.
01:20The Prime Minister also responded to criticisms of UTT's Uhuru emancipation event, which highlighted what it described as the shared
01:30struggles, resilience and triumphs of African slavery and Indian indentureship.
01:36The Prime Minister says, quote,
01:38If the PNM MPs and their supporters don't want East Indians to participate in emancipation events, that is their democratic
01:47choice.
01:48Maybe next year the PNM could lobby UTT to invite Star Sabga and Jenna Hadid for a spoken word performance
01:56instead.
01:56End quote.
01:58In a separate African Emancipation Day message, Prime Minister Pusambas Esa paid tribute to the resilience and contributions of African
02:06descendants,
02:07describing the transatlantic slave trade as one of history's greatest crimes against humanity.
02:13She also urged citizens to remain united in purpose, committed to justice and equality,
02:21and to continue building a nation worthy of the sacrifices of those who fought for freedom.
02:27Renessa Cutting, TV6 News.
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