Diplomacy for a Carribean Prime Minister

Mrs Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, appears to have a difficulty with diplomacy.

For little else can explain her latest insensitive comments in relation to post-hurricane assistance to Caribbean Community (Caricom) countries — comments that have rightly earned her the wrath of many of her regional neighbours.

We are encouraged, though, by her visit to St Lucia late last week after that sister Caricom state was ravaged by Hurricane Tomas and where she gave her commitment of assistance without conditions.

In fact, Mrs Persad-Bissessar appeared to have been in damage control mode when, at a news conference after a meeting with St Lucia's Prime Minister Dr Stephenson King in Castries, she said: "I want to make it very clear, Mr Prime Minister, that we remain committed to assisting you here and the people of St Lucia. There are no strings attached to the humanitarian aid that we bring and will continue to send to you for reconstruction."

That, we hold, is counter to the comments she made earlier in the week that angered many in the region, causing some people to question her commitment to Caricom and its ideals of unity and co-operation.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has since said her comments were reported out of context. However, the direct quote -- which she has not denied -- is there for all to see and draw their own conclusion.

After telling journalists that she had received a call from Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves that St Vincent and the Grenadines had been devastated by Hurricane Tomas, Mrs Persad-Bissessar was reported as saying: "We will have to look at ways in which we would be able to assist. But you would recall my comments earlier this year, when I said there must be some way in which Trinidad and Tobago would also benefit. So if we are giving assistance with housing, for example, and that is one of the areas that we (prime minister of St Vincent and myself) spoke about... then we may be able to use Trinidad and Tobago builders and companies, so that whatever money or assistance is given, redounds back in some measure to the people of Trinidad and Tobago."

The callous tone of those remarks not only infuriated people in the Caribbean, but had many reflecting on her equally insensitive and offensive comment at the Caricom Heads of Government summit in Jamaica earlier this year that Trinidad and Tobago was not an ATM card for the Caribbean.

While we have no quarrel with Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar's zeal to govern with the best interest of Trinidad and Tobago in mind, we believe she needs to learn the art of diplomacy, lest she might again comne across as seeking to have her country benefit from its neighbours' misfortune.

That said, however, we must reject the call made by people in the region to boycott products from Trinidad and Tobago in protest against Mrs Persad-Bissessar's foolhardy comments.

Any such boycott would be juvenile and, even worse, erode the advancements made in trade and other relations by Caricom states over many years.

What we would suggest is a meeting between Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar and Prime Minister Bruce Golding, the current chairman of Caricom, and, if necessary, a few of the region's elder statesmen, such as former prime ministers P J Patterson, Owen Arthur and Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo who would, no doubt, assist her in better appreciating the value of regional co-operation.