Human rights group welcomes Browne's remarks on repatriating TT detainees from Syria

Human Rights Watch associate director Letta Tayler and advocacy director Jo Becker have welcomed statements by Foreign and Caricom Affairs Minister Dr Amery Browne that TT is open to offers of collaboration to repatriate the families of local men who went to fight for ISIS in Syria.

On Wednesday, Browne said at a media briefing at his ministry at Prada Street, St Clair, that government was treating the issue as a serious matter.

“"The public is well aware there is ongoing work, preparatory work. The Government is also treating with the very serious national-security implications of persons of any category who would be returning or potentially returning from conflict zones.

"So that is not going to be an overnight development.”

Asked if he had considered offers of help from the US Government to return the families of ISIS fighters to TT, Browne said, "What I can say is that we are always open to partnerships and collaborations. That's the way we conduct our business.

"But on this issue, it is not just a case of conveying individuals from the Middle East to the Caribbean and TT.”

In a response on Thursday, Tayler and Becker said, “HRW welcomes Minister Browne's statement that the government is ‘hard at work’ on a plan to end the unconscionable suffering of these children and other unlawfully detained Trinbagonians while keeping the public safe. We urge the government to commit to a prompt timeframe to resolve this crisis and remain ready to engage with the authorities on a path forward.

“Prime Minister Rowley has often said words to the effect of, ‘We are small, but we are not insignificant.' Orderly, humane repatriations of these Trinis from northeast Syria would highlight TT’s regional leadership role and set an example for the world."

Tayler and Becker are co-authors of the HRW report of February 28 on locals held in NE Syria, titled Trinidad and Tobago: Bring Home Nationals from Northeast Syria.

Family members of the detained nationals took Browne to task for his statement, saying the situation has been going on for four years.

Raheema Khan said the government has been approached multiple times to collaborate in returning the 90-plus detained nationals to TT.

“The US has been telling you to take your people. There have been multiple articles since 2019, when Stuart Young was National Security Minister, where the US Embassy has been offering training for the government to remove the detainees. If the US has been offering training since 2019, where is the collaboration?

“The UN wrote a letter in 2021 calling on the TT government to remove their citizens from the camps, and it never responded. Where is the collaboration?

"HRW wrote to the National Security Ministry and the Foreign Affairs Ministry since December 2022. The Foreign Affairs Ministry acknowledged receipt. HRW wrote back in February asking for a meeting. None of the ministries met with them. Where is the collaboration?”

Tajmeed Ali said he had given the Foreign Affairs and National Security Ministries verification documents since 2019, and had even been assured that his grandchildren would be returned in two months.

“When the minister is saying it’s 'not an overnight thing,' and they can’t deal with it so fast, it’s been four years, not overnight. Mr Browne is fooling the population and has no shame in saying it’s 'not an overnight thing.'”

The HRW report can be found at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/28/trinidad-and-tobago-bring-home-nationals-northeast-syria