'Don't shout, Dr Rowley'

Two retired diplomats yesterday said the Prime Minister should have tempered his aggressive response to a US State Department Trafficking In Persons Report, which gave TT a highly critical rating of its handling of the migrant situation.

Retired head of the public service and former diplomat Reginald Dumas said Rowley's stance is unbecoming for a head of government.

"My view is that the Prime Minister's reaction would have been infinitely better if he had made a quiet reply, saying we will discuss this matter with the United States and have his ambassador go into the state department and sit down, talk and move towards a solution of the issue," he told Sunday Newsday.

"Perhaps the nature of diplomacy is perhaps different when seen from a political perspective as seen from a diplomatic perspective. But shouting is not going to solve problems. You may not agree but you have to sit down an talk. If somebody does something and you vex for that and you shout back, how does that solve the issue?"

Dumas said Rowley's comments should haven been more tempered, especially given the nature of the Donald Trump administration, which, he said, has a penchant for "threatening, imposing its will and bullying people."

He agreed with Rowley that TT must never allow itself to be bullied "but on the other hand, we cannot ourselves bully anybody and we ought not to try."

Dumas said TT's interests would have better been served if Rowley had consulted with this country's ambassador in Washington.

"The Prime Minister should have advised him to go to the State Department for discussions on this matter, to see what kind of solution one could come up with because human trafficking, like drug trafficking, is not something that any one government or country can solve by itself because if you are trafficking, it means you are moving things back and forth.

"You have to work with others in order to, if not solve the problem, because I suspect that human trafficking will never be solved, but to at least to mitigate the difficulty."

According to the US State Department Report, TT remains a Tier 2 country as it has not met the minimum standards in several key areas of human trafficking. TT also has not secured any convictions under the 2011 anti-trafficking law.

A Tier 2 country is one whose government does not fully comply with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act minimum standards.

But in his address at the formal opening of Phase 1 of the Chaguanas Traffic Alleviation Project, Narsaloo Ramaya Marg Road, on Friday, an incensed Rowley wondered if TT would have received a higher rating if he had converted the country into a refugee camp.

He also wondered about the rating he would have given the US as "their own people" have compared their treatment of migrants to dogs and cattle.

Retired head of the Institute of International Relations, UWI, St Augustine, Basil Ince yesterday said the Prime Minister's comments could have been more diplomatic. He said Rowley erred as in "going toe to toe with (Donald) Trump (US President).

"You don't want to do that because the fella (Trump) is so vindictive, you never know what he will do," he said.

"His comments give you the impression he is going toe to toe with Trump and you don't want to do that."

Saying diplomacy is a must as a head of government, Ince said: "You cannot come frontally all the time. You have to say what you have to say in a diplomatic manner. It is as simple as that."

He added Rowley should have spoken in more generic terms.

"Do not refer to any country. People will know right away what you are talking about."

A former foreign affairs minister, Ince said while Rowley had a right to be offended by the poor grade "you have to be more circumspect when you are the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the prime minister of any country for that matter."

Oropouche East MP Dr Roodal Moonilal said he was not surprised by Rowley's harsh comments.

"This is the typical intemperate and crass response of the head of government, which I think the country is accustomed to," he told Sunday Newsday.

"The issue is not whether or not we can 'cuss' the American government but whether or not the issues raised in terms of our handling of the migrant crisis was driven by policy and was properly planned.

"I thought he was as diplomatic as he can get. I cannot expect Dr Rowley to speak better. I thought he was very constrained because that is his normal language."

Moonilal said Rowley lacks diplomacy and statesmanship.

"In fact, I expected him to ask Donald Trump to meet him on the pavement."

Ince said while the US should not pass judgment on other countries for their treatment of migrants, given their own stance on the issue, TT should pay attention to the areas where it may have fallen short.

He does not believe there will be any negative impact in TT/US relations as a result of Rowley's statements, at least not in the foreseeable future.

"I don't see anything happening not for quite some time. Not to say you are going to get a knee-jerk reaction from Trump right away or the US, I don't think so. But down the line you never know. Something important may come up, not tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, not a month even.

"These things (Rowley's comments) are in files. But, I don't think it would mean anything for US/TT relations today or tomorrow."

Moonilal disagreed.

"By now, the American government knows that this country is run by a bully and they are prepared for that. The only problem is that the representatives of the American government in Trinidad may decide to fight fire with fire and I expect that the US Ambassador, who has already been on record as making strong comments against the government, I expect that at his next speaking opportunity will be one we should look forward to."

Moonilal said the government has lost control of the migrant situation. He said its decision to implement a visa policy was long overdue to prevent the influx of Venezuelan migrants.

"But they have allowed the borders to go unchecked and the illegal ports of entry to become more crowded than legal ports of entry and now we have a crisis on our hands that deals with health, education, security and the American government and other authorities have reflected on this and I think they were very kind to give us an F grade."

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