Our Choices Shape Our Nation

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar used two speeches marking Trinidad and Tobago’s 64th anniversary of independence to attack those she considers enemies, this editorial argues. Rather than offering a call for unity and nation-building, the speeches became a vehicle for grievance and retaliation.

The editorial says Persad-Bissessar’s words amounted to a battle cry for party loyalists to show no quarter to Opposition members, dissidents within the United National Congress and citizens who disagree with her. It warns that the speeches should be taken seriously, particularly because they appear to frame political conflict as a struggle between the UNC’s supporters and their opponents.

The writer also accuses the prime minister of stoking racial tensions between Indo-Trinidadians and other ethnic groups. Persad-Bissessar is portrayed as presenting herself as a warrior and champion of poor and oppressed descendants of indentured servants, while casting their history as more significant than similar struggles associated with descendants of African slaves. The editorial rejects her portrayal of Indo-Trinidadians as historically marginalized, saying it conflicts with what it calls overwhelming evidence.

According to the editorial, Persad-Bissessar has also advanced a narrative that UNC supporters were deliberately targeted, creating a sense of victimhood and siege. By presenting herself as the savior of the UNC family, it says, she seeks to secure their lasting loyalty.

The editorial argues that the prime minister placed personal and political interests above the country’s interests and used the anniversary to deepen mistrust and division. It says her decision to deliver the speeches, and her refusal to retreat after criticism, showed contempt for the people who elected her and her party in the 2025 general election. Several commentators from across the political divide have condemned the speeches, the editorial says.