In response to the terrorist attacks in Paris last week, Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, says the country is more vulnerable than ever to such attacks.
Comparing today’s conditions with the attempted 1990 coup, the Prime Minister argued that the nation “must know that we are not just vulnerable, but we are more vulnerable now than in 1990. We have to be vigilant in every single area. We have to be always vigilant and cognizant that we are exposed as everybody else in the world to this particular threat.”
He also assured the public that the question of returning T&T-born foreign terrorist fighters (FTFs) was being addressed. Former National Security Minister Gary Griffiths estimates that at least 30 citizens had become terrorist fighters.
Prime Minister Rowley also clarified current National Security Minister Edmund Dillon’s comments that “ Isis wasn’t a threat to TT.”
“There are a couple statements attributed to Mr. Dillon. One of the perils we face [as politicians] is we are subjected to interpretation and angles,” said Rowley. “I don’t know that he was saying Isis is not a threat. This thing called Isis is a global threat and if anyone understands that, it’s the National Security Minister.”