St. Vincent and the Grenadines and other Caribbean nations must not be asked to choose the United States or Cuba and Venezuela, Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves says, adding that some persons take an “either or approach to live”
“… why should we do that? We have been taught to embrace Jews and Gentiles, the Law and Grace,” he said this week at the inauguration of the Venezuela-funded US$31.6 million Hugo Chavez Fuel Storage and Distribution Plant at Lowmans Bay.
Gonsalves said the nations of the region are friends of Cuba and Venezuela and are well-placed, as honest Caribbean countries, to be “honest brokers and interlocutors when sometimes our friends have quarrels.
“We are well-placed so to do, but, for persons to accept us, they must concede to us our right to self, mastery, our right to independence. We cannot be asked to give up our manhood and our womanhood and to turn askance to be friend of anyone,” he said, adding that anyone who asks otherwise wants the region “to be a vassal rather than a friend”.
The spirit of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, founding fathers of the United States, is of freedom and the right of a free people to make their own independence, Gonsalves said.
“And that is the foundation stone from which we started. Those are the ideas that underpin the laying of the stone here in 2007 in February, when President Chavez came to visit us and we became a member of ALBA,” he said of the fuel depot.
“This is not a matter which burns deeply in the political directorate of this country. It is in the heart and minds of people in this country. Persons without any ideological bias who look to the deeds of men and women and come to their own conclusions,” he said.
If the choice did arise between Marxist monster states and the USA, if it was put to a referendum, you would have your a…. whipped again comrade.
It’s time for you to go, and take all your Marxist friends with you, lets return to traditional values with our traditional friends and associates. Lets just put a halt to the gradual creeping Scientific Socialism.
If you like that system comrade, well go and live in one of those countries where you can work, eat and sleep it.
I am sure we will all donate if asked to whip around and pay your plane fare.
These greedy and desperate Caribbean countries will make a pack with the Devil — any devil — if it results in more money or resources. Morality, human rights, freedom, honesty, integrity, etc. have absolutely nothing to do with which countries we have dealings with. Never has, never will.
What is Gonsalves babbling on about?
About 10 years ago when he decided to make Cuba and Venezuela his comrade in arms and spoke glowingly about what they would do for SVG in respect to the Argyle Airport and price of oil I expressed caution in the newspapers. I asked how could Venezuela be our Godfather when the average GDP was only slightly higher than SVG’s and not in the same class as Barbados or T&T. Or Cuba whose GDP was lower than ours. How could they be our saviours?
Now I hope we all see clearly how big an error it was to put Gonsalves in power. He has bad ideas. Nothing but bad ideas and has trouble implementing even those.
What a mess!!