Presbyterian minister and former independent Senator Rev Daniel Teelucksingh yesterday called for laws to be passed in T&T to make racism illegal.
Speaking at the Independent Liberal Party’s interfaith service at the Passage of Asia Restaurant in Chaguanas, Teelucksingh said as the general election approaches he is astonished at the level of racism in the country. He said on May 13 at 10:30 am he was listening to a radio programme and was appalled to hear the announcer making racially insensitive remarks.
“There will never be social cohesion and trust between the two races if we don’t take action now. I think we need laws immediately to stop such treachery on the nation’s air waves. Anyone making remarks that are socially inflammatory, politically treacherous and anti-national should be charged for sedition. It should be a criminal offense to incite racism. That is the one kind of freedom people should not be allowed,” he said.
Teelucksingh, who stated that “2015 should never be a race of the races,” said all political parties should place policies to end racism on their agenda. He condemned what he described as a “continuation of the nasty legacy of the plantation system where the two races were kept apart for a political agenda.”
“There should never be an Indo-agenda or an Afro-agenda or any colour coded agenda. This is the silly season, the season of the sword and we have to put away the swords of racism, intrigue and antagonism,” he said. The former senator said the Emailgate affair was an example of the sword of intrigue.
“We are polarised politically and we are a socially fragmented society. When we look at those mysterious e-mails, we wonder what went wrong. It has been two years since those e-mails were read in Parliament and in this age of technology we wonder why is this investigation taking so long?” he said, adding that the longer the investigation takes, the more complicated and difficult the probe will be to unravel.
Teelucksingh expressed concern at the high level of antagonism at the highest levels of leadership. “There is so much suspicion. Where are our children going to look for role models?” he asked Also speaking at the service were Pundit Vishnu Maharaj and Imam Nazim Ali. Maharaj told the audience to keep their political preferences private and to stand up for the right morals and values. Ali called for discipline in the home, school, and in government.