Muslim group queries two-toned US stance on ex-terrorist fighters

PUBLIC Relations Officer of the Concerned Muslims of TT (CMTT) Imtiaz Mohammed is questioning statements by US Embassy Chief of Military Liaison Office, Col Claudia Carrizales, who last week warned TT against accepting foreign fighters back in the country.

In a media release on Saturday, Mohammed questioned why Carrizales’ position seemed to be an about turn from her counterpart Irfan Saeed, Director of the Office of Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) at the US Department of State's Bureau of Counter-terrorism.

At the American Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting at the Hilton Trinidad on Friday, Carrizales said TT must be ready for the return of foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs).

She said, “Within the next year or so, you will eventually have some hardened FTFs return to this country. Those are your citizens. They are your responsibility. Are you ready to deal with that kind of threat?”

But Mohammed in the release said this contradicts what Saeed said last year when he called on the TT Government to welcome back those who left this country to fight for ISIS, in particular women and children.

Once here, he said Government should give them support so they can go on to re-establish their lives where possible.

Mohammed said Col Carrizales' statements could have the effect of causing unnecessary fear towards Muslims and suggested that she tailor her words more carefully in the future.

“CMTT appreciates very much the assistance of the USA in training our police and Defence Force officers in the fight against terrorism, but the USA must do so without instilling fear and causing disharmony among our population.

"Instead of making controversial statements publicly, CMTT is calling on the Colonel to be more sensitive and truthful in her assessment of the threat to commit acts of terrorism by Muslims in Trinidad and Tobago.”

In her address Carrizales said the Carnival terror plot last year was real and the thwarting of it showed that TT had passed the test. Carrizales said the people who attempted to pull off last year’s Carnival terror threat were “boy scouts” compared “to what’s coming back.” She said anyone who believed that threat was a conspiracy theory, is “living under a rock."

Carrizales said the missing element to a terrorist problem in TT is a charismatic Muslim hard-core FTF who could rally others. She said businesses would not invest in a country with that kind of problem, and it was not a problem which Government alone can solve. She said the business community must do what it can to influence policy change and address issues in at-risk communities.