Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell says he welcomes the ongoing ‘raging’ public debate regarding a request by the United States to temporarily install a radar at the Maurice Bishop International Airport (MBIA) and the deployment of US military assets on or near Grenada.
But he said that his administration has not yet taken a decision on the matter and that he would be making a statement to the nation in due course.
‘Nothing much has changed since the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated that we were considering the request. We are still doing so. It is a technical matter and requires a lot of technical people to provide us with guidance on what it is we are being asked to accommodate,’ Mitchell said during his ‘DM with the PM’ programme on social media and other platforms on Tuesday night.
He said that the public became aware of the request from Washington through media reports, ‘but this request was made since August and we are in October, so if we were in a position to make a decision.and if we wanted to rush to do so, we could have done so’.
He said whether it is United States or any other country, Grenada receives request to ‘cooperate on any number of areas, particularly when it comes to things like security’.
A group comprising lawyers, educators, trade unionists and religious leaders calling itself the Coalition for a Zone of Peace has called on the government to say no to the request with former Senate president Chester Humphrey saying he is prepared to lead a peaceful protest and that the US request is a precursor to a possible invasion of Venezuela.
The Donald Trump administration has been building up a military presence off the coast of the South American country allegedly as part of its fight against the illegal shipment of drugs to the United States. Washington has confirmed that it has bombed several vessels, killing all but two people, in recent times as it puts its policy into action.
Last weekend, the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat said that Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders had met earlier this month to discuss several issues on the regional agenda, including the security build-up in parts of the Caribbean and its potential impact on member states.
It said that the position at that meeting was not endorsed by the government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Last Sunday, the Kamla Persad Bissessar administration in Port of Spain, reiterated its position why it is standing apart from its Caribbean Community (CARICOM) neighbours saying that the United Sates military operations are ‘aimed at combatting narco and human trafficking and other forms of transnational crime (and) are ultimately aimed at allowing the region to be a true ‘Zone of Peace’ where all citizens can in reality, live and work in a safe environment’.
Mitchell told the programme that on the question of policing or security matters ‘there are always ongoing request to consider’, giving an example, a request from the French to be able to board vessels carrying Grenadian flag in their efforts to prevent or stop illegal trafficking of drugs and persons.
‘In this case, the request that has been provided has a certain context. It is a request from the US Southern Command from a military perspective, Grenada has no military, so it is not something right off the bat that we are familiar with.
‘So that immediately makes it a type of request, which is why we have to consider the pros and cons of whether we agree or not,’ said Mitchell, who is also the Minister of National Security.
‘That is essentially what we are dealing with. I appreciate that because of the history of the Maurice Bishop International Airport, because October in particular is tied to that history, because the media reports came out in October that it is a highly emotional issue for everyone’.
Mitchell said that he is ‘extremely happy’ that members of the public have been extensively engaged in the debate surrounding the request from Washington, adding ‘people have made their comments, people have sent suggestions, people have made their recommendations.
‘It shows the vitality of democracy, it shows that freedom of speech is alive and well in Grenada, it shows we are a government that clearly understands them, because we have made no decision.
‘If we had made a decision without informing the public, without a discussion with the public, it would have been a different thing. So, I have no issue with the raging debate that’s taking place, it is just part and parcel of our democracy, but at the end of the day on these matters, the public’s view will always weigh heavily.’
Mitchell said the government still has to continue the process of ‘legal and technical engagement and if we even get to that point, we will then consult with the public as to what is the appropriate decision to be made.
‘So, while the emotion, the debate is welcomed, decision making always has to be made ina sober, fact evidence based, weighing the pros and cons in the overall context of everything else that is happening.
‘But it is important for me to emphasis that Grenada has excellent relations with each and every country in the Western Hemisphere. There is no country that Grenada does not have diplomatic relations with or has any challenges with.
‘When it comes to partnerships, from time to time you will have difference of views, time and time, you may even have falling out on a particular issue or particular matter. That’s the nature of diplomacy, that’s the matter of international relations, you get over them and you move on’.
Mitchell reiterated that he has ‘no issue with the debate, everybody giving their opinions on the matter’ adding that in his statement to the Parliament on the issue he would be repeating much of what he has disclosed on the programme.