Sun | Sep 15, 2024

Opposition leader warns against threats to sovereignty

Published:Tuesday | September 3, 2024 | 12:11 AM
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Kamla Persad-Bissessar

PORT OF SPAIN (CMC):

Opposition leader Kamala Persad-Bissessar says as the twin island republic marks 62 years of political independence, the nation should say a prayer of gratitude to “all our fore-parents for their devoted labours to build and develop Trinidad and Tobago’s economic, social, and political pillars.”

“We salute them for promoting the values of freedom, harmony, tolerance and diligence within our national consciousness. As gatekeepers of our country’s future survival and progress, we must always be vigilant to identify any threats to the sovereignty of present-day Trinidad and Tobago. Despite having benefits, globalisation has increasingly become a threat to our national sovereignty as it has eroded our ability to make independent decisions on national governance.”

The opposition leader lamented that international colonial masters have been replaced by international corporate masters.

“A proper analysis will show that our behaviours on governmental and personal levels have moved from being previously controlled by other nations to now being controlled by global corporations and international oversight bodies particularly through the financial, food, medical, energy and IT sectors.”

“The international financial, energy and IT industries have been weaponised by large nations to have organisations controlled by them dictate the laws we enact internally in order to access financial capital, energy markets and global technological connectivity,” she said

According to Persad-Bissessar, the nation has been driven by global hysteria and not proper medical science and as a result “we ceded control and decision making over the sovereignty of our own bodies during COVID. We saw the WHO, coerce independent nations to lockdown citizens and mandate the acceptance of a vaccine that was later proven to be ineffective.”

Concerning the Internet, she said it has become the greatest tool for interference in the internal affairs of independent nations.

“The large social media companies and search engines influenced by their corporate advertisers and governments, censor free speech by categorising opinions opposite to their beliefs and interests as hate speech.”

“They dictate what morals and values are appropriate, they erode your religious liberties and online mobs determine which causes and groups are just and which are evil. Important national decisions that are inimical to our citizens’ best interests are being influenced by feelings and not facts because of online social re-engineering and propagandas enabled by global internet connectivity.”

She added that although the twin island republic has been independent for 62 years, she believes the country is “clearly still yoked to our colonial masters due our inability to adequately and self-sufficiently address needs in areas of finance, health, national security, poverty alleviation, education, and technological advancement.”

“Our duty to future generations mandates us to fix our internal issues with local innovation and ingenuity as a matter of urgency. Thereby gaining full control of our future and eliminating any threats to our nation’s long-term independence.”

“I urge all citizens to draw strength from the memory of our fore parents and work to regain our sovereign decision making and preserve our independence.”

“Let us embody the spirit of personal responsibility, invention, and unity of purpose to set our country on a path of self-sufficiency and self-determination.Undoubtedly, we will face serious challenges, but we must have faith that we will overcome them all once we work together, with a common resolve,” she said.