00:00Political leader of the MSJ, David Abdullah, tells the Morning Edition, Trinidad and Tobago's
00:07position on Cuba could raise red flags among other countries, particularly within the Caribbean
00:13and Latin America. He argues that the vote risks creating the impression that this country
00:20is aligning itself with the U.S. government's increasingly hardline approach toward Cuba.
00:26Countries will say, well, you're going on the U.N. Security Council shortly.
00:31How can we trust Trinidad and Tobago to take an independent position representing the interests
00:37of the Global South, in particular Latin America and the Caribbean, because we represent Latin
00:42America and the Caribbean, in a sense, on the Security Council? How can we trust you to take
00:47independent positions when you, in fact, have taken a position that is clearly in violation
00:54of Article 2 of the United Nations Charter when you are supporting what is collective punishment
01:01because of the blockade?
01:02He believes the country should have voted differently, arguing that its international responsibilities
01:09demand an independent and carefully considered foreign policy.
01:14Essentially, other countries will view Trinidad and Tobago's decision and view that with a
01:23great deal of, what's the right word? I have to be polite on this morning's program with you,
01:29Lance. They'll view Trinidad and Tobago's position as being shameful. And therefore, they will question
01:38really what is the position of Trinidad and Tobago in international relations. So we have lost marks.
01:47The MSG leader also challenges what he describes as a distorted portrayal of Cuba in U.S. media.
01:54He believes the West has its own agenda to weaken Cuba.
01:58They want to end Cuba because if Cuba is broken, then no other country in this hemisphere will
02:05dare to pursue an independent, sovereign path of development and that the resources of this
02:10hemisphere will be totally controlled by the United States as part of their colonial and imperial
02:15agenda, what they now call the Don Roe Doctrine. That is a driving factor.
02:19Nicole M. Romany, TV6 News.
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