Why the sudden environmental concern?

Take a close look at all of them who keep coming into La Brea to raise their voices against the smelter. Where do they live? What is their sudden interest in the welfare of La Brea and more importantly why are they ignoring the pollution at Point Lisas and other parts of the country?

Isn’t there a poisonous “cocktail of toxic emissions” from the many industries in Couva? Why did they keep silent when an entire natural mangrove swamp was destroyed to accommodate Movietowne and PriceSmart? Wasn’t that an environmental disaster?

However, the main question these hypocrites must answer is why they were silent when the UNC Government announced a decision to build a smelter at the Point Lisas Estate in Couva.

For those who may not recall, these are the words of the former UNC Prime Minister when he signed an agreement with Norsk Hydro at the Trinidad Hilton in November 1998. “It is with great pleasure that I address you on what for my government and the country is a most important and historic occasion. Today heralds a new dawn, the start of what might be considered a new industry with this signing of the Project Agreement for the establishment of an Aluminum Smelter in Trinidad and Tobago.”

I urge the residents of La Brea to try and get copies of this speech and ask yourselves why there was no protest about this smelter when it was being built in Point Lisas. All that has now happened is that the new government has shifted the Smelter Project from Couva to La Brea, a place with a lot of poverty and unemployment. So why all the protesting?

What is the real agenda behind the anti-smelter protests?