PM defends her terrorism stand

T&T would have faced international pressure if it had not joined with 90 other countries to co-sponsor a resolution aimed at tackling global terrorism, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said yesterday. She said so as she defended her decision not to consult with Caricom before signing the resolution at the meeting of the UN Security Council, chaired by United States President Barack Obama at UN headquarters, New York, last week.

Saying “there was limited time for that kind of discussion,” Persad-Bissessar noted the co-sponsorship resolution was also signed by Jamaica. She added: “Jamaica has co-sponsored the resolution as well and what happened is after we arrived in New York, it was brought to our attention that the US was putting forward that resolution. There was limited time for that kind of discussion.
“However, when it was brought to my attention I had discussions with the Secretary General and ambassador to Caricom to speak to other Caricom heads to the way forward for Caricom with respect to resolution.”

She also said that many Heads of State in Caricom were not present at the time. However, she said Government would continue to engage Caricom partners to get involved in the fight against terrorism. She denied claims by Chaguanas West MP Jack Warner that she had opened T&T to terrorism by co-sponsoring the resolution, saying T&T and other nations were already under the radar of global terrorists. “We were always open to terrorism. The terrorists in the entire network have spread their tentacles throughout places you would never believe. Terrorist activity is borderless. I think we were already opened up for possible terrorist threats. “To not be active in our commitment to fight terrorists would have opened up T&T to serious international pressure. T&T would have been seen as a haven for terrorists if we did not come out and support the fight. We would have become a haven for the very terrorist elements we seek to protect our citizens from,” she added.

The PM also said discussions were being held to review military strategies. “We have discussed with US the issue of decommissioned ships. We need to send our teams to look at these warships to assess the conditions they are in and whether it would require refurbishment and whether it is feasible,” she said. Asked whether there will be legislative changes to support this move, Persad-Bissessar said the legislative framework was already in place. “Legislative changes will be required for the co-sponsoring. Advanced passenger information is already in place as law. “Not too long ago we dealt with fingerprinting at our ports of entry. Recently, we passed laws dealing with anti-money laundering and we continue to strengthen those laws to deal with money laundering, the financing of narco-trafficking, illegal arms and ammunition,” she said. She added, however, that the administrative framework now had to be strengthened.