Ministers’ misstepsshow lack of finesse

THE EDITOR: Will the missteps by government officials ever come to an end? Early o’clock came the credit card fiasco, which was followed by another in housing with its attendant protocol violation at President’s House.

This was followed by the varied sexual scenarios, with the Dominica affair at the OAS right on its heels, not to mention the sea bridge issue, its prolongation a mystery, and its impact on Tobago misrepresented, with the final solution nowhere in sight. And then of course the New York condo affair with the claim to innocence at variance with fines imposed for matters related.

None of these carried any consequence, just a reshuffling of the pack of cards. Decisive action against wrongdoers seems hardly compelling in a system of race-based politics where accountability of leaders is never in demand.

And now a new misstep related to the repatriation of the Venezuelans.

On the one hand there is claim by the office in question for voluntary repatriation and that Trinidad must take a “domestic” view of the issue even though we may be bound by international law not so to do.

As to the first, the voluntary aspect has been questioned by the UN official calling for the evidence to support such a claim.

The same official suggests that the move to repatriate was in violation of international refugee law which allows for immigrants seeking asylum, as was the case with some of the refugees.

This also begs the questions as to why people seeking asylum would want to return to conditions they have been attempting to escape in the first place and whether there was some conspiracy involving senior Venezuelan officials, all appointees of the Nicolas Maduro-led government, to make that government look good by having immigrants appear to “voluntarily” want to return to their country.

Refugees are an international problem, such as those from Syria and Mexico and now Venezuela, and even though countries may see them as a problem, there is an obligation for them to try and balance the humanitarian aspect with the unfettered encroachment on social services et al.

It’s not an easy solution but countries on the receiving end must demonstrate that inclination to balance the two in sync with the demands of international law.

Is this policy move to repatriate the Venezuelans wholesale a marker of how critically insensitive officials can be to the nuances of policy decision, especially as it may negatively impact our standing with the international community, as in this instance?

The Dominica debt situation which received no support from TT and our anti-UN stance on the Jerusalem matter, siding with the US, have made us virtual renegades in the eyes of the international community.

Now this fiasco is on our doorstep, as part of the pattern of continuing missteps by the other officials worsens that situation, and the recent pronouncements of the government on the issue about our not being a “refugee camp,” reminiscent of our not being an ATM machine by a previous administration much to the chagrin of our neighbours, exacerbates that negativity further, and it tells a story of our lack of finesse in matters of international diplomacy.

DR ERROL BENJAMIN

docbenj742@outlook.comar Editor