00:00Former Mayor and Works Minister Dr. Suruj Rattan Rambachan tells The Morning Edition
00:06the country has endured periods of racial tension before,
00:10but says the current climate is becoming increasingly toxic.
00:15While the country's diversity has long been one of its greatest strengths,
00:19he warns that many citizens are growing wary of the division
00:23and fears that peace built over generations is now under strain.
00:30I think the peaceful nature of our country could be under threat
00:34by some of the kind of language that is being used.
00:37I really think so.
00:38Because there are minds in this country who feed off that kind of rhetoric
00:43and who feed off that.
00:44And while it might be a small percentage of the population,
00:47very small, maybe less than 2% of the population on both sides,
00:51I think that one has to be careful
00:53because it doesn't take a million people to create a revolution
00:57or to create social chaos in a country.
01:00Dr. Rambachan says debate is the hallmark of any healthy democracy.
01:05However, he believes,
01:07recent discussion is increasingly being replaced by racial stereotyping and personal attacks.
01:14He also weighs in on the Prime Minister's recent social media remarks,
01:18which drew criticism from some who viewed them as contributing to racial tensions.
01:24I think it's the kind of language that has to be toned down on both sides.
01:28Camille Robinson-Regis, for example, uses worse language than that,
01:31and she has done in the past.
01:33And, you know, Kamala Passat-Bissessa is not just a Prime Minister,
01:37she's a human being.
01:38And there comes a point in time when any human being will feel the pain of that kind of attack
01:44on her.
01:45And I think there is a deliberate move in the country to somehow undermine Kamala Passat-Bissessa as a Prime
01:50Minister.
01:51Calling for what he describes as a national reset,
01:55Dr. Rambachan tells the Morning Edition,
01:57this is the most divided.
02:00He has seen the country.
02:02He also tells us he does not believe the Prime Minister will be easily shaken by naysayers.
02:08She is a very, very strong, courageous woman.
02:12And if she projects what she has said, I don't think it's out of frustration.
02:17I think it's out of a deep feeling that she senses in the population
02:21that there are groups of people in the country who will deliberately try to undermine her as Prime Minister.
02:28As Prime Minister, she has at this point in time to take the difficult decisions she's taking.
02:33Otherwise, the country will be in a worse position.
02:35Dr. Rambachan says the time has come to replace division with dialogue
02:40and put the country's future ahead of race.
02:45Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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