Rowley: I chided Opposition for ‘nastiness’

Prime Minister Keith Rowley yesterday said his, “shut your mouth” remark made on Tuesday, was aimed at certain Opposition MPs whom he accused of nastiness in their comments about his offer to give temporary refuge to nationals of hurricane-hit Dominica.

He was answering a reporter’s question at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency after his pre-Budget public consultation.

He denied the reporter’s suggestion that his stern words was an attack on freedom of speech aimed at people in society who were not in support of his ‘open your home and pot’ to Dominicans call.

Rowley was at pains to point out that his ‘shut your mouth’ call was aimed at Opposition MPs whose remarks once necessitated him visiting Jamaica to halt a planned boycott of TT made goods.

Rowley said most people understood his offer was for Dominicans to stay with family and friends here and not to “offload Dominica into Trinidad and Tobago.”

“I was not surprised by a very small minority who published some of the nastiest responses to my comment which has belittled and embarrassed our country.

They are the ones that I’m speaking to, especially the ones in the political arena, who believe that their political fortunes can only be advanced by the nastiness they would encourage among some of our population,” Rowley said.