Abdulah: Moonilal parroting Trump’

Leader of the Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) David Abdulah says Opposition MP Dr Roodal Moonilal’s recent decision to write to US ambassador Joseph Mondello shows he is “parroting on the lines” of US President Donald Trump.

Abdulah made the statement at a virtual press conference on Friday.

The letter, dated April 28, referred to a Reuters World News article that alleged TT recently supplied over 150,000 barrels of fuel from Paria Fuel Trading Company to Aruba, which eventually ended up in Venezuela. Moonilal had attempted to raise the matter in Parliament last week but was not allowed to.

Abdulah said, “Dr Moonilal spoke about (Venezuelan president Nicolas) Maduro being a narcotics trafficker and an incompetent government. He’s parroting the lines of Mr Trump.

“The majority of the world’s countries recognise Maduro as president (of Venezuela), as does the UN as does the majority of Caricom, and we support Caricom’s position that this must be a region of peace.”

Abdulah also referred to a press release he had issued on Monday, which said the UNC’s support of Moonilal’s actions made them appear to be a “fifth column.”

He said there is a difference between an opposition being critical of a government’s policies and “openly siding with another state against the interest of your own.

“We must understand the US position on the shipment of fuel to Aruba by the Paria Company in this light.

"The US, under Trump, has itself become something of a pariah state. It has stopped financial support to the WHO during the pandemic. It unilaterally broke off the Iran no-nuclear agreement, negotiated over many years with the involvement of several states. It then unilaterally imposed sanctions on Iran. It has blocked medical and other covid19-related assistance to Cuba and Venezuela. The US violates the principles of respect for the sovereignty of nations and the non-interference in another state’s internal affairs.”

He said it is not the first time the UNC has adopted such a “backward position.”

“They did so by claiming that Juan Guaido was/is the president of Venezuela. They did so again when they advocated that all the Venezuelans who entered TT must be given refugee status, when they were, in fact, migrant workers.”

He said the UNC position makes it clear it is unfit to be the Government of TT since “they will turn us into a semi-client state of the US.”