AG: Cuban protesters must obey the law

The United Nations (UN) is verifying the status of 18 Cubans camped outside the UN offices on Chancery Lane in Port of Spain over a week now, Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi said yesterday. He insisted the Cubans must obey the law even as their status is being investigated.

Al-Rawi spoke with Newsday briefly after attending a meeting on the Cubans and the general issue of asylum seekers hosted by National Security Minister Edmund Dillon and including Parliament Secretary Glenda Jennings-Smith and representatives from the Police Service, UNICEF, the UN Refugee Agency and Living Water Community.

The Cubans which includes children, came to Trinidad from Cuba on November 8, last year, saying they were pacifist protesters of the “totalitarian” system in that country and fled because they were being persecuted and their lives were in danger. They had been protesting outside the UN since their arrival and previously received housing from Living Water Community but set up a makeshift camp last week.

On Monday they went on to the UN property when authorities attempted to remove them. Al-Rawi said the role of the Government, which is a signatory to International Convention on Human Rights, was to facilitate some discussions, look at temporary, medium and long term measures, and to clarify facts.

He said there are many inconsistent reports in the public domain and confirmed that Living Water had offered the Cubans housing. He explained the UN had received applications from the Cubans and there was a verification process to determine if they are to be categorised as refugees, a process of which is ongoing for a number of people who have come to the country. He said the UN explained at the meeting they cannot “slingshot” the Cubans’ case because of the amount of noise they make and the process must be disciplined.

“However the obligation to obey the laws of Trinidad and Tobago is certain and law enforcement obviously conducts itself independently of political or executive management,” Al-Rawi said.

He said they intend to hold further discussions today and a mechanism for the removal of the Cubans was being worked out between Living Water Community and the UN.