Senator Mark accuses T&T gov't of racism

Opposition Senate leader Wade Mark has accused the Government of Trinidad & Tobago of producing a racially-biased document for the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which is being held in Port of Spain next month. And he says the article in the declaration violates the Constitution and the law.

The Draft’s Item 26 states: “We give high priority to improving the quality of, and access to, tertiary, vocational and adult education, especially for women, rural inhabitants, persons with disabilities, Afro-descendants and indigenous peoples.”

The senator said the language in the draft violates the Constitution and the Equal Opportunities Act, pointing out that it should also include the descendants of anyone who came to Trinidad and Tobago by forced migration.

There is no mention of Indians who began arriving in Trinidad as indentured labourers in 1845. Indentureship officially ended in 1917, by which time Indians had become part of the national population, having chosen to stay in the country and rebuild their lives as citizens.

Mark said, “Within the region of the Summit of the Americas, you have other categories of persons who through conquest, leading to slavery and indentureship, had suffered enormous disadvantage and inequality and were placed almost on the fringes of civilisation. That particular experience must be corrected but this cannot be done by selective discrimination. As such, the Draft requires re-casting, to capture the aspirations of all the people in the region.”

Mark is of the view that the article violates the equality enshrined in Section 4 of the TT Constitution, which states: “It is hereby recognised and declared that in Trinidad and Tobago there have existed and shall continue to exist, without discrimination by reason of race, origin, colour, religion or sex, the following fundamental human rights and freedoms....”.

Mark said the Draft also breaches the Equal Opportunity Act 2000.

Section 4(a) of the act bans discrimination in employment, the provision of goods and services, and the provision of accommodation, if the bias occurs on the ground of status, which is defined in Section 5 as sex, race, ethnicity, origin, religion, marital status, and disability.

This is not the first time that the opposition has raised issue of preferential treatment for one group of citizens.

In October 2003 when a policy document sought affirmative action for young African males to be recruited into higher education. It was called the Social and Economic Policy Matrix Framework, 2004 to 2006.

At the time there was confusion within the cabinet about the reference to citizens of African heritage. Keith Rowley, who was a cabinet minister at the time, defended it saying it was fair and that there was no mistaking about it - it was government policy.

But Prime Minister Patrick Manning called it a printer's error. It was deleted.

Mark charged that the government did not learn "anything" from that experience and is repeating the mistake.

“It’s unthinkable that the experience of October 2003 would have been so easily forgotten by the TT contingent whom undoubtably would form part of the drafting team.

“If the Draft is presented without being changed, it will not be able to be effected in Trinidad and Tobago. This country does not believe in affirmative action but in equal opportunity for all. It will be a breach of the Constitution which talks about equality.”

Summit coordinator Ambassador Luis Rodriguez and Government sources dismissed Mark's concerns that the reference to Afro-descendants is discriminatory.

“These are issues that refer to civil society participation and various other groups. There are groups for disabilities. In Latin America they refer to Afro-descendants and others. This is just a reference to various groups and their participation in those areas in their own particular development agenda, including those with disabilities etcetera."

He said the clause that offends Mark is part of a working draft declaration for the summit that the leaders and their officials will discuss before they agree on a final conference declaration. He explained that the nations that agree to the final declaration would be bound by the document.