00:00The Prime Minister is refusing to walk back on statements made in her independence messages which drew criticism from opposition
00:07ranks.
00:08In her national address, Besant, Besassah said, Trinidad and Tobago must take responsibility for the decisions made during its 64
00:16years of independence rather than continue blaming its colonial past.
00:21But in response to questions from the Express, she went further in defending her position, saying,
00:27quote, is the normal criticism from the usual deadbeats who have been cursing me for the last 16 years, who
00:34I never bothered with before and never will, end quote.
00:38Besant, Besassah accused the PNM of resorting to what she called race grifting and pointing to its treatment of figures
00:45associated with the Black Power movement.
00:48She told the Express, quote, always invoking hatred and race and forgetting their own anti-Black Power past.
00:56The PNM put CLR James under house arrest in 1965.
01:01They banned Stokely Carmichael, later known as Kwame Ture, from coming home, end quote.
01:07Besant, Besassah also linked the 1970 Black Power uprising to dissatisfaction with the PNM's post-independence record.
01:15She then directly addressed the condition of several communities, rejecting any suggestion that responsibility rests with Britain's King Charles,
01:25Besant, Besassah said, quote, King Charles doesn't have the Beetham, Seelots and Lavent Hill in the condition it is.
01:32It's the PNM's abuse and neglect that has those areas in a bad state, end quote.
01:38She accused the PNM of abandoning communities after using their residents for votes and said she would not allow similar
01:45treatment of UNC supporters.
01:47Her comments also addressed criticism that her messaging suggests she's more concerned with her political supporters than the wider population.
01:56Besant, Besassah said, quote, if a person is incapable of showing love to their own family, then that person is
02:02incapable of showing love to anyone else.
02:06If a person cannot defend themselves and their family, then that person cannot defend anyone else, end quote.
02:13The Prime Minister also warned that what she described as the days of people abusing the UNC without consequence are
02:21over.
02:22She said, quote, in government or out of government, people must understand that if you try to abuse or take
02:29advantage of the UNC membership,
02:31the party and I will respond savagely and swiftly, end quote.
02:35And she had a final message for former Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley, who has also criticized her statements, saying,
02:42quote,
02:43Rowley needs to stop behaving bitter like a jammet, not the expensive kind, who can't get customers.
02:50I wish Trinidad and Tobago a wonderful week ahead.
02:53Love you all, end quote.
02:55You can read more on this story in tomorrow's Express by Anna Ramdas.
02:59Ravishitamwari Ruknarein, TV6 News.
03:06Ravishitamwari Ruknarein.
